Green Netnographic Marketing Strategy for Eliminating Contact Research Practices in Nigerian Universities: A Post-Corona Virus Paradox

Abstract

Corona virus has halted activities in several countries. The effect of this virus has led to the shutting down of not just the economy but also academic activities in Nigeria. There are worries on the minds of policy makers in education, marketing and the general society on how academic and marketing activities such as conferences, seminars, information and researches can be done without endangering the lives of participants by gathering them in a place amidst COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, a friendly way of conducting research without physical contact with participants has suffix in virtual reality known as green netnographic marketing. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine the green netnographic marketing strategies for eliminating contact research practices in Nigerian Universities in a Post-COVID-19 era. Two research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a survey research design. 472 made up of Marketing Managers, Lecturers, and students of an online community in both public and private universities in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used as instruments for data collection. The instruments were structured on a four-point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) with values of 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. The instruments were validated by seven experts. Cronbach alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instruments. The analysis yielded an overall reliability index of 0.89 indicating that the instruments were highly reliable. The data collected for the study were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics. The study found 18 ethical and 14 staff training strategies in green netnographic marketing for eliminating contact research practices in Nigerian Universities in a Post-COVID-19 era. Based on the findings, recommendations were made which includes amongst other that marketing researchers should strictly adhere to green netnographic ethical considerations when conducting online research.