Studies Glossary

Paper: "Green or social? An analysis of environmental and social sustainability advertising and its impact on brand personality, credibility and attitude"

- Frauke Sander, Ulrich Föhl, Nadine Walter, Vera Demmer

The study focuses on the influence of sustainability advertising on brand personality, credibility, attitudes toward the advertising itself, and brand attitude. A distinction was made between advertising on environmental sustainability and advertising on social sustainability. It was demonstrated that advertising on environmental sustainability has more influence on consumers in the experiment. This is in line with the results from other studies on the subcategories of the topic of sustainability. Accordingly, it is deduced that a focus on ecological aspects in the advertising area achieves better effects for advertising the sustainability of a brand.

Paper: “How Do I Carry all this now?” Understanding Consumer Resistance to Sustainability Interventions

– Claudia Gonzalez-Arcos , Alison M. Joubert , Daiane Scaraboto , Rodrigo Guesalaga, and Jörgen Sandberg

The paper deals with the obstacles towards acceptance of sustainable measures from the consumer point of view. The results show that the reasons are not to be found in consumer unwillingness, but underlie dynamic, social practices. Possibilities and measures to reduce and manage the negative attitude towards sustainable practices are proposed and discussed.

Paper: Sustainable marketing based on virtue ethics: addressing socio-ecological challenges facing humankind

– Bruno Dyck & Rajesh V. Manchanda

The paper deals with the divergence of financial success as a classic marketing goal and the fulfilment of social goals. The aim of the paper is to develop a new approach to the 4 Ps of marketing. As a solution, Social and Ecological Thought (SET) Marketing is presented. It is based on virtue ethics and reconciles social and environmental justice with profitability goals. The interplay of SET marketing with the 4 Ps of marketing is discussed and implications for further research and practical applications are made.

Paper: Measuring Sustainable Marketing Orientation—Scale Development Process

The paper deals with the question of how sustainable marketing orientation should best be built into the operations of an organization. In doing so, the components of sustainable marketing orientation (strategic integration, social commitment, ethical options) are reviewed and confirmed. Furthermore, a tool for measuring this will be developed. Comprehensive literature research as well as 20 expert interviews serve as a basis. The resulting hypotheses are further confirmed by a quantitative study. 

Paper: Marketing Strategies in the Age of Sustainable Development:  Evidence from the Food Industry

The paper deals with the characteristics and motivations behind different sustainability marketing strategies. Four different strategy types emerge from the food market, which can be clearly separated from each other (performers, followers, indecisives and passives). Here, consumers are one of the driving forces behind the selection of the appropriate strategy type. From the food industry insights, deductions are made for the market as a whole. Further learnings show that the integration of both social and environmental aspects into marketing strategy strongly depends on product segment.

Study: What do we mean by sustainability marketing?  

Inspired by the growing discourse on sustainable marketing, the study addresses the question of what sustainability in marketing actually means. It also discusses how and by whom sustainability can be achieved in marketing. To this end, nearly 200 articles were analysed. As a result, three different approaches to sustainable marketing are provided: Auxiliary Sustainability Marketing (The production of sustainable products), Reformative Sustainability Marketing (The additional promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle) and Transformative Sustainability Marketing (The focus on necessary change in existing processes). How the different approaches can be applied is discussed.

Sustainable Purchasing Patterns and Consumer Responsiveness to Sustainability Marketing Messages

In consumer research, significant deviations can be observed between behavioral intentions and actual purchasing behavior, not least in the area of sustainability. For this reason, the study by Kronthal-Sacco et al. looks at the actual sales figures for CPG products marketed as sustainable and thus draws conclusions about the development of the market. Findings from the study reveal, among other things, a growth in the market share of sustainable products from 14% in 2013 to 17% in 2018. Here, the organic segment in particular plays a dominant role.