Ethical issues relating to the use of the Internet and the implications for managers and business practice

The IT&C industry products are ubiquitous in modern society. However, their specificity led, for a long time, to a so-called “marketing blind-spot” in the IT industry, situation especially evident after the Microsoft devastating success from the early nineties. Microsoft was the first IT company to use large scale marketing techniques, among whom was an obscure (at the time) approach to qualitative marketing research known as “usability testing”. This technique was employed to determine if a user interface was appropriate and comfortable for its intended users. Usability testing adoption in the IT industry generated a wealth of information about how users interacted with IT products, information that is paramount in gaining an upper hand in today’s highly competitive Information Society.