IJMR Call for Papers: 20 Years of Net Promoter Score

The International Journal of Market Research (IJMR), an MRS publication, has issued a call for papers on the theme of '20 Years of Net Promoter Score: Looking back and looking forward'.

It is now 20 years since the proprietary Net Promoter Score (NPS) was popularised in the HBR article 'The One Number You Need To Grow'.

Over the last two decades NPS has become, arguably, the most popular metric used to measure consumer satisfaction. The simplicity and apparent transparency of NPS has had a powerful effect as a reporting metric amongst senior managers. NPS has also inspired variants and other single item metrics.

However, NPS is not without its detractors. These include concerns over its predictive capability (particularly over claims around loyalty and growth), the cross-cultural validity of the measure, and its broader application in complex service contexts such as health and education. As use of NPS matures it is time for a retrospective, and to look to the future.

This special issue is primarily concerned with papers that contribute to the advancement of the knowledge base on NPS. This can take the form of empirical and conceptual work that reflects both the use of NPS, and metrics inspired by the use of NPS.

Conceptual and/ or methodological contributions that offer insight into this area are welcomed. The following is a non-exhaustive list of potential topics for this special issue:

• Case studies about how and why an organisation adopted the NPS, how it was implemented and what issues have been faced
• Market research provider’s insights into delivering NPS results (not sales pitches for NPS or survey systems)
• Case studies on how NPS has been linked to outcomes such as purchasing behaviour or sales
• Comparisons between NPS and other customer metrics such as satisfaction, effort scores, attitudes
• Measurement properties of the NPS (building on work done to date) or willingness to recommend scales
• Links from NPS scores to aggregate-level outcomes such as sales, market share or individual level outcomes such as retention or future purchase behaviour. (Note, cross sectional studies merely linking NPS to purchase intention will not be considered adequate)
• Comparisons of NPS to other metrics in terms of association with sales or market share outcomes
• Consumer interpretations of the NPS question (what do they think they are being asked?)
• Consumer characteristics associated with higher or lower NPS / willingness to recommend.

Submission details:

Authors wishing to propose an article for the special issues should initially send an abstract (no more than 500 words) to the Special Issue Editors by the end of October 2022. Authors will be informed by the end of November 2022 if their abstract has been selected to be invited to progress further. Those full manuscripts that are successful after the review process will be included in the special issue.

Abstracts for both full papers and shorter research notes are welcome. Details of word length and article formats are available here. 

Potential authors are welcome to contact the special issue editors for advice on the suitability of a proposed paper.

Special Issue Editors:

Dan Nunan, University of Warwick (daniel.nunan@warwick.ac.uk)

John Dawes, Ehrenberg Bass Institute, University of South Australia (John.Dawes@marketingscience.info)

The aim is to publish this special issue in late 2023.