Affiliate Marketing Strategy: A Literature Review on Value Creation, Governance, and Ethical Challenges

Abstract

Affiliate marketing makes a world of differences in digital marketing, especially where performance is paramount. The literature out there feels scattered even though this strategy has a huge economic punch and grows quickly. That seems to be the indication that we need to take a deeper look into exactly how it creates value. That's why this research digs into aspects like technological change, how it's governed, and the ethical side. It adopts a qualitative approach, drawing from reviews of existing studies and investigating the case of PayPal and Honey. From what crops up, such as the trust to be developed, sources to appear credible, and management of the parasocial connections with individuals online, they are important for the success of affiliate programs. It's not just setting up incentives or tracking data in an analytical way; those intangibles are right up there with them. However, these models also pose a big threat, which includes cookie stuffing and fraudulent attribution, which affects the metrics and the overall integrity of the affiliate program. Affiliate marketing is shifting from a focus on short-term customer relationships to longer-lasting partnerships. The short term and long term need to be balanced together in branding. The theory and real world are intertwined in the following explanation to describe the current relationships that exist between brands, affiliates, and consumers. The intricacy of these processes may be overwhelming; however, the process that is seen in the current marketing environment can be clearly defined.