In this era of globalization and electronic revolution, almost all organizations are engaged in the constant pursuit of market expansion through product enrichment by giving value addition in various forms. Unable to give value enrichment, some of the unscrupulous organizations are resorting to unleash all kinds of heinous business rumors with an eye to capture the markets of their competitors. This article analyzes the different issues related to rumors such as their nature and classification, spreading tendencies, the conditions for their emergence, various methods and the appropriate technical channel selection in combating them, and collection of feedback.

Almost all modern organizations are spending huge sums of money in unleashing an information wave aimed at creating awareness about their products, which includes their multiple branding and co-branding, if any, to draw the attention of existing and potential customers for market consolidation and market expansion. Organizations guided by the principles of business ethics are concentrating more upon giving positive publicity to their realm of products with special thrust upon highlighting their product features with respect to their quality, durability, pricing, technological superiority, if any, customer care and/or after sales service, organizational transparency, business ambience and so on and so forth depending upon the product under consideration, target group and the market potential in relation to potential competitors in general.

While organizations guided by the principles of business ethics uphold sound advertising policies and make use of advertising more as an instrument to fulfill their final cause (that is, market expansion and/or market penetration), the unscrupulous organizations will resort to all kinds of devious ways and means to widen their market. These organizations aim at widening their markets not by rationalizing their product pricing or by improving the quality of their products or giving value addition to their products, but by unleashing all kinds of rumors by giving negative word-of-mouth through their personnel and at times involving hired unethical and anti-social elements, and a negative wave of propaganda causing severe losses to their competitors by extirpating their markets using all possible unethical, negative and heinous propaganda techniques.

Advertising Express Magazine, Electronic Revolution, Business Ethics, Public and Private Organizations, Commodity Markets, Psychological Laws, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, ONGC, Cellular Services, Corporate Medicare, Market Galvanization, Financial Institutions, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCGs, Agricultural Development, Cinema Advertising, Business Communication.