The Digital and Physical Footprint of Dark Net Markets

Abstract

Over the past decade, the world has been contending with a growing set of challenges related to illicit traffic as advancements in technology, communications, and global integration facilitate the operation of black markets and greater organization of criminal activity. In this study, the dark web and associated dark net markets are introduced as an important context for scholars interested in international marketing. Furthermore, the scale, scope, and structure of the real-world drug trade is empirically analyzed as an example of the work possible within this dark world. The study concludes by highlighting key themes from the literature in international marketing scholarship and focuses on how they might be co-opted to contribute toward the understanding and countermarketing of illicit systems of exchange.