Neuromarketing in the core of analysing and anticipating consumer behaviour in the airline business sector. Appealing or repulsive for the airline customer?

Abstract

In parallel to the medical and psychological science, human brain has long been in the epicentre of modern business practice. ‘Neuromarketing’ constitutes a fundamental means to this process. Thus, notwithstanding the first signs of its genesis being viewed in medical terms in early 70s, it is only in recent years that neuromarketing research has grown exponentially. Yet, academic literature remains silent on the issue of neuromarketing application in the aviation sector. More precisely, the psychological resonance that practices of the kind could exert in prospective airline passengers’ psychology is not represented in current literature, mainly considering that successful promotion and profitability are of paramount importance in the airline business. In this study 874 scientific publications have been reviewed. Neuromarketing is presented in its constituents while the following areas of extant scholarship are highlighted: psychological, emotional, decision-making, advantages, challenges and ethics. The study ends up to a proposed theoretical framework paving the way for further research against the backdrop of the relationship between neuromarketing methods application marketing mix and airline passengers’ decisions.