Fotografias como um recurso de pesquisa em marketing: o uso de métodos visuais no estudo de organizações de serviços

It is argued that the visual methods of data gathering and analysis in service marketing research yield a wealth of valuable information, as the use of pictures (or videos) imparts objectivity and credibility to the researchers' findings. In this article, pictures of a hospital and of a hotel were taken from their official web sites, and subsequently analyzed, to show how the recourse to impression management by both the hospital and the hotel has led the former to intentionally reproduce some features of the latter. The theoretical basis of the paper lies on the use of the visual methods; on the emphasis on the role of the scenery in service production, and on the literature on impression management and service marketing. In spite of the possible difficulties involved in the use of visual methods in marketing research, (and not only in Sociology and Anthropology, as is usually done), the contention is made that this article contributes to the enrichment of the debate, and for the quest for improvement of methodological tools in management and, specifically, marketing.