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The Intersection of Sustainability, Marketing, and Public Policy: Introduction to the Special Section on Sustainability
Abstract
In this introduction to the special section on sustainability, the authors propose two primary factors that can help characterize past research in marketing on sustainability. The first of these factors, the research objective, has two dimensions: mitigate versus create and short-term versus long-term focus. To mitigate (vs. create) implies that the objective of the research is to understand factors whose reduction (enhancement) would have a positive impact on sustainability. Short-versus long-term focus describes the fact that the research objective can be to impact an immediate behavior related to sustainability or can be focused on longer-term drivers or consequences of such behaviors. The second factor, research context, can have multiple dimensions, although much of the past and current research on sustainability has been conducted in four contexts: environmental, nonenvironmental, business-to-consumer, and business-to-business. The authors first review past literature in light of this framework and then discuss the articles in the special section. They close with a discussion of where researchers interested in studying the intersection of sustainability, marketing, and public policy can go from here.
... Sustainable consumption is defined as the use of goods and services that cater to basic needs and ensure a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials, and emissions of waste and pollutants to avoid jeopardizing the needs of future generations (Lorek & Ver-gragt, 2015). Given the growing body of literature on sustainable consumption, several review papers have summarized the key studies on the subject (e.g., Iyer and Reczek, 2017;Narula and Desore, 2016;White et al., 2019;Trudel, 2019). ...
... Accordingly, previous studies have focused on understanding consumers' evaluations of sustainable consumption from various aspects (Iyer & Reczek, 2017). In particular, proposing ways to encourage consumers to engage in sustainable consumption has been a vital research topic acknowledged by researchers. ...
... Early works focused on the relationship between environmental concerns and behavior and the characterization of green consumers. Since then, numerous studies have been conducted, and several review papers have been published (e.g., Iyer and Reczek, 2017;Narula and Desore, 2016;White et al., 2019;Trudel, 2019). ...
Identifying ways to encourage consumers to engage in sustainable consumption is a vital research topic. While previous studies have identified several messages or appeals that can improve consumer responses, studies examining these in detail remain scant. There are many psychological barriers to consumers’ involvement in sustainable consumption. Therefore,
much more work exploring effective means to promote sustainable consumption is necessary. This study proposes that anthropomorphizing a sustainable product can enhance consumers’ evaluations of that product. Although prior studies have examined anthropomorphism in sustainable contexts, investigations regarding sustainable products remain limited.
This method is considered beneficial because it is not a recommendation or request for consumers to engage in sustainable consumption; thus, it is unlikely to elicit consumer resistance. This study also incorporates perceived personal relevance and package attractiveness as mediators to explain the underlying mechanism of this effect. The results showed that
consumers favored an anthropomorphized product through more substantial perceived personal relevance to the product and more potent perceived package attractiveness. These findings contribute to the literature on sustainable consumption and anthropomorphism and provide evidence of their relation. In addition to describing the features of sustainable products,
marketers should portray sustainable products as more humanized to increase consumer acceptance.
... Still, public transport is very relevant from a public policy and marketing perspective because it touches on two topics that are central to public policy. First, it deals with sustainability and sustainable behavior (e.g., Iyer and Reczek 2017;Prothero et al. 2011), as using public transport can be considered a sustainable alternative to driving. Second, it deals with consumer and societal well-being (e.g., Anderson et al. 2013;Davis, Ozanne, and Hill 2016). ...
... First, as noted, public transport is a largely neglected but important study context for society. Second, there remains a strong need to understand how sustainable behavior can be stimulated and, specifically, how marketing efforts (i.e., advertising and promotions) can do this (Iyer and Reczek 2017). Third, we address the need to study long-term effects of measures that stimulate sustainable behavior by studying long-term effects of advertising and promotion. ...
... Third, we address the need to study long-term effects of measures that stimulate sustainable behavior by studying long-term effects of advertising and promotion. Fourth, we answer the call within sustainability research for more longitudinal data using time-series methods (Iyer and Reczek 2017). ...
To reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, public policy makers often try to stimulate the use of public transport, as it is a more sustainable alternative to traveling by car. This study therefore investigates the impact of firm-initiated marketing actions and traveler satisfaction on monthly cumulative traveled distance of a Western European railway firm, as well as possible effects of this cumulative traveled distance on satisfaction. Analysis of time-series data on traveled distance, advertising, promotions, and satisfaction using a vector autoregressive model with exogenous variables that accounts for seasonality, trending behavior, and gasoline prices reveals positive effects of advertising and promotions. Advertising elasticities are considerably smaller than meta-analytic values of brand-advertising elasticities. Similarly, promotion elasticities are lower than those frequently reported in marketing. The authors find no effect of satisfaction on traveled distance; however, they do find a negative effect of traveled distance on satisfaction, which could be explained by capacity constraints. The authors conclude that firm-initiated marketing actions are useful and effective in fostering public transport usage.
... Existing assessment tools often prove to be too narrow, too conceptual or focus only on a few selected tools or areas, thus failing to capture the intricacies of sustainable wine production [6][7][8][9]. This lack of uniformity and the ambiguity of the sustainability concept itself often lead to biassed designs, misinterpretations, flawed conclusions and difficulties in comparing data [6,[10][11][12]. Further gaps exist due to the lack of empirical studies addressing sustainable land management in the wine industry, with few identifying the key actors enabling such transformation. ...
... (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 18 March 2024 doi:10.20944/preprints202403.0981.v111 ...
Addressing the urgent sustainability challenges in the wine industry, this study explores the efficacy of sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) and smart farming technologies (SFTs) across wine value chains in Cyprus and Italy. Employing KPIs for a rigorous assessment, the research delves into the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these technologies. In Cyprus (SIP7), the integration of digital labelling and smart farming solutions led to a substantial reduction in pesticide usage by up to 75% and enhanced the perceived quality of wine by an average of 8%. Italy's SIP10 witnessed a 33.4% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, with an additional benefit of a 5.3% improvement in intrinsic product quality. Notably, SIP10 also introduced a carbon credit system, potentially generating an average annual revenue of €4,140 per farm. These findings highlight the transformative potential of SOIs and SFTs in promoting sustainable practices within the wine industry, demonstrating significant advancements in reducing environmental impact, improving product quality, and enhancing economic viability. The study underscores the critical role of innovative technologies in achieving sustainability goals and provides a compelling case for wider adoption within the agricultural sector.
... The lack of a widely accepted definition for sustainability concept contributed likewise to an explosion of assessment tools, often characterised as inadequate with biased design, leading to erroneous interpretations, flawed conclusions, and data comparison issues (Gafsi and Favreau, 2013;Iyer and Reczek, 2017;Martins et al., 2018;Santiago-Brown et al., 2014). ...
... To find a proper analysis of overall agricultural systems and human-environment interactions from a holistic perspective has been a hard task (Gafsi and Favreau, 2013;Iyer and Reczek, 2017). Even though the scientific body has started to apply complex assessment approaches that cross all fundamental components of sustainability, it is also claimed that the development and incorporation of theoretical frameworks is still absent from the majority of these studies (Gibbes et al., 2020). ...
Assessment tools are a vital instrument and a powerful aid to support our transition towards sustainability. Despite benefits of embracing a more sustainable approach being finally recognised by the wine industry, sustainability issues are still largely unexplored by the sector in comparison to other industries. Acknowledging any sustainability assessment should be linked to the context in which the system being evaluated operates, the notable shortage of instruments designed specifically to evaluate winegrowing systems is perceived as one important gap needed to be addressed. After recognising the immensity and heterogeneity of assessment tools developed until this date by a plethora of other sectors, the goal of this study is to identify instruments that may conform better to the specificities of complex systems such as winegrowing. Beyond a context-oriented exploration, multivariate statistical techniques of Hierarchical and K-means cluster analysis were applied on a representative sample of 42 assessment tools. Out of the seven instruments proposed by the clustering results, one was originally developed to evaluate viticulture (EIOVI), another later adapted and expanded for winegrowing systems (INDIGO), and two already used to assess vineyard management practices (IDEA; INSPIA). Results also showed farm level and indicator-based assessment tools to be largely represented, with spatial coverage and assessment methodology categories showing higher clustering weights. This work contributes to enlighten policymakers to acknowledge the importance of taking context-comprehensiveness into account, when implementing or improving agri-environmental measures and regional policies. Findings can also be used by stakeholders or decision-makers looking to make sustainability more measurable and operational.
... Majority of the previous researches had a special focus on the environmental aspect of sustainability (Kotler, 2011;Ahmed et al., 2018;Hast et al., 2015;Lee et al., 2017;Ismail, 2018). However, more rigorous research is needed in the context of non-environmental elements of sustainability (i.e., social and economic sustainability) (Iyer and Reczek, 2017). Additionally, in order to tackle the interdependent economic, social, and ecological issues that presently confront man-kind, the sustainability dimensions must successfully blend (Peattie and Belz, 2010). ...
... Moreover, most of the studies reviewed have used survey or experimental methods, so other techniques can also be adopted that may provide newer insights. For instance, researchers can consider time-series techniques, meta-analyses, and qualitative methods to identify and evaluate the long-term effect of different strategies (Iyer and Reczek, 2017). In addition to this, researchers are encouraged to search for potential mediators which may have been omitted in this study. ...
... Majority of the previous researches had a special focus on the environmental aspect of sustainability (Kotler, 2011;Ahmed et al., 2018;Hast et al., 2015;Lee et al., 2017;Ismail, 2018). However, more rigorous research is needed in the context of non-environmental elements of sustainability (i.e., social and economic sustainability) (Iyer and Reczek, 2017). Additionally, in order to tackle the interdependent economic, social, and ecological issues that presently confront man-kind, the sustainability dimensions must successfully blend (Peattie and Belz, 2010). ...
... Moreover, most of the studies reviewed have used survey or experimental methods, so other techniques can also be adopted that may provide newer insights. For instance, researchers can consider time-series techniques, meta-analyses, and qualitative methods to identify and evaluate the long-term effect of different strategies (Iyer and Reczek, 2017). In addition to this, researchers are encouraged to search for potential mediators which may have been omitted in this study. ...
... Este estudo justifica-se pelo impacto de políticas e ações de marketing verde e sustentável no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas (Iyer & Reczek, 2017), no desempenho da firma (Wu & Lin, 2016), na cadeia de suprimentos (H. K. Chan, He, & Wang, 2012) e na rede de stakeholders. ...
... Especificamente, os formuladores de políticas públicas e organizações nacionais devem propor ações que aliem desenvolvimento econômico, social e ambiental por meio de ações de marketing, com base nas pesquisas realizadas. (Iyer & Reczek, 2017). ...
Este artigo tem como objetivo realizar estudo bibliométrico sobre marketing verde e marketing
sustentável. A partir da amostra de 374 artigos e revisões extraídas da base de dados Web of
Science, foram realizadas análises de indicadores bibliométricos e sociométricos (redes de cocitação
e co-ocorrência de palavras-chave). Os resultados indicam que o número de publicações
cresceu 786,11% na última década (2009-2018) em relação à década anterior, e que os Estados
Unidos são o país com maior número de trabalhos na área. Os tópicos mais relevantes em
marketing verde e sustentável são green brand image (imagem de marca verde), eletronic
product (produto eletrônico), greenwash, carbon neutrality (neutralidade de carbono) e green
brand equity (valor de marca verde). A análise de cocitação demonstrou que autor Ken Peattie
foi cocitado 195 vezes, sendo o mais importante na área. O periódico que mais publicou sobre
marketing verde e sustentável foi o ‘Journal of Cleaner Production’. A partir das evidências é
possível concluir que as pesquisas sobre marketing verde e sustentável estão em franco processo
de expansão internacional.
... À escala urbana as cidades têm vindo a passar por um período de transformações decorrentes de vários fatores, sendo evidentemente um deles o aumento da população (Montgomery, 2008;Reis, Silva, & Pinho, 2016). Isto coloca desafios aos espaços urbanos (ver DGT, 2015;Iyer & Reczek, 2017), não só porque a pressão sobre os recursos existentes é maior, mas também porque as cidades se devem assumir como espaços de bem-estar e de qualidade de vida (Martins & Cândido, 2013). ...
... A Sustentabilidade Urbana é um pressuposto importante na formulação de políticas públicas atendendo aos desafios atuais das cidades mediante os processos de transformação urbana (Iyer & Reczek, 2017), sendo este também um pressuposto importante para Portugal, como demonstra a "Estratégia Cidades Sustentáveis 2020" (ver: DGT, 2015). ...
A crescente preocupação de orientar a política de cidades para abordagens mais inteligentes e sustentáveis, tem sido manifestada e reforçada por diversos instrumentos de política pública, com representação às diversas escalas de atuação (europeia, nacional, regional e local). É importante analisar este posicionamento à luz do desenvolvimento teórico-concetual do conceito de sustentabilidade, que evidencia igualmente a preocupação pela necessidade de adotar estratégias de monitorização da sustentabilidade a uma escala local e mais próxima dos cidadãos. Neste sentido, a Agenda 2030 das Nações Unidas e outras iniciativas internacionais (Leeds for cities, ISO 37210, Social Progress Index) estabelecem-se como referenciais centrais de análise e monitorização da sustentabilidade à escala local, que consolidam passos não só metodológicos, como de processos de implementação de política pública de sustentabilidade urbana. No âmbito do projeto DRVIT-UP, cujo objetivo é desenvolver um sistema de apoio à decisão (SAD) que permita estabelecer uma relação entre diferentes fatores de transformação urbana em Portugal (habitação, infraestruturas, serviços de interesse geral, demografia e economia) e a sustentabilidade urbana, pretende-se avaliar o impacto das decisões políticas sobre o território e a qualidade de vida das pessoas. Nesse sentido, este trabalho propõe fazer confluir os desafios específicos dos principais fatores de transformação urbana com os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, de um ponto de vista empírico, para o contexto Português. Assim, pretende-se materializar uma matriz de indicadores que dê suporte ao SAD a desenvolver, para a monitorização do desenvolvimento sustentável à escala local, através dos seguintes passos: 1) construção dum referencial concetual, de políticas públicas de sustentabilidade urbana; 2) avaliação dos principais desafios na construção e aplicação de uma matriz de indicadores capaz de integrar a sustentabilidade urbana na agenda política local e no desenho de políticas que respondam aos desígnios da coesão territorial e lidem com o processo de transformação urbana em Portugal; e, por fim, 3) aplicação deste referencial ao contexto do DRIVIT-UP e seleção de um conjunto de indicadores relevantes, fiáveis e disponíveis. Keywords. Monitorização, Políticas Públicas, Sistemas de Apoio à Decisão, sustentabilidade urbana, transformação urbana 1. INTRODUÇÃO A sustentabilidade urbana tem vindo a manifestar-se uma preocupação presente na tomada de decisão e no contexto do planeamento. A sustentabilidade enquanto conceito surge na sequência das Conferências das Nações Unidas subordinadas ao tema do desenvolvimento e meio ambiente, decorrentes na segunda metade do século XX e primeira década do século XXI, sendo o Relatório Brundtland "O Nosso Futuro Comum" da Comissão Mundial sobre o Meio Ambiente e o Desenvolvimento (1987) um marco histórico no que ao desenvolvimento sustentável diz respeito. Se, inicialmente, o termo sustentável estava associado à dimensão ambiental, posteriormente com a Cimeira da Terra, em 1992, no Rio de Janeiro, foram assumidas mais duas dimensões, a social e económica. Atualmente no contexto das transformações urbanas, a sustentabilidade é um conceito e ao mesmo tempo um fim, na formulação de políticas públicas e na tomada de decisão em contextos urbanos. É assim, neste contexto, que a sustentabilidade se insere no DRIVIT-UP, um projeto que tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um sistema de apoio à decisão (SAD) possível de ser aplicado na modelação das transformações urbanas no contexto local. Na base da conceção deste projeto está a consideração de cinco drivers, que têm um papel determinante no processo e forma que decorrem as transformações urbanas, quer à macroescala-a demografia, economia e emprego-quer à microescala-os Serviços de Interesse Geral, as Infraestruturas e a Habitação. Do ponto de vista operativo, no que toca à sustentabilidade urbana, importa perceber de que forma os Objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável se relacionam com cada um destes drivers e se constituem um referencial de indicadores que permitem auxiliar a sua monitorização. Contudo, a monitorização do desenvolvimento sustentável seja ela ou não aplicada às transformações urbanas revela-se uma tarefa difícil, resultado da complexidade inerente ao conceito e operacionalização de sustentabilidade, da inexistência de uma matriz de indicadores aceite universalmente ou da multiplicidade de critérios existentes para a seleção de indicadores. Isto não impede, todavia, que seja possível identificar inúmeras práticas, no contexto internacional-Leed for cites, ISSO 37210 e Social Index Progress (ver por exemplo Klopp e Petretta, 2017), nacional e local
... Thus, conscious consumption is the result of an intention for green consumption, seeking products and services that currently impact the environment less than other products in the market (JOSHI and RAHMAN, 2015;MEDEIROS and RIBEIRO, 2017). Finally, the sustainable consumption encompasses all the social actors involved from the beginning of the production chain, from use/consumption to disposal (SILVA, 2012, IYER andRECZEK, 2017). Both the conscious and the sustainable consumption are not addressed in this research, which is limited to observing green consumption, because it is easier identified as a practice in consumer behavior. ...
... ranging from 2.55 to 3.10. Therefore, there was no intersection between these variables and the data reinforced the confirmation of hypothesis H4, which states that the prediction of use of green products is higher than the current use of them, revealing a substantial gap between the intention of green consumption and their actual practice and ratifying the findings of the initial experiment (IYER and RECZEK, 2017;HOCH, 2002). Consumers have access to the green characteristics, but they do not use it as much. ...
Resumo Este estudo analisou a relação entre as diferentes motivações do consumo verde no contexto de um produto com características egoístas e/ou altruístas, dados os diferentes níveis de consciência ambiental e seu impacto no comportamento do consumidor. Para tal foi realizada uma pesquisa explicativa, de caráter quantitativo, que utilizou como método a realização de um experimento do cenário dos valores sociais e da consciência do indivíduo. Os resultados mostraram que a motivação na perspectiva da preocupação ambiental, que propõe um consumo altruísta, influenciou em maior intensidade a prática do consumo verde quando comparada à motivação da perspectiva social (modismo e posicionamento individual), que, por sua vez, propõe um consumo egoísta. Os dados também demonstraram que para a elite tecnológica o valor social proporcionado pelo consumo, seja por sua perspectiva normativa ou pelo status social, não influenciam a prática do consumo verde. Por fim, a pesquisa comprovou que o nível de consciência ambiental é um importante antecedente da intenção de uso de produtos verdes, na qual usuários com maior nível de consciência ambiental têm maior intenção de consumo, embora também ter sido demonstrado a existência de uma grande lacuna entre a predição de uso e o uso corrente de produtos verdes para consumidores.
... O consumo verde vem se estabelecendo como uma alternativa para aqueles consumidores sensíveis ao apelo ambiental (OTTMAN, 2011;IYER;RECZEK, 2017;MAN-RAI;MANRAI, 2017). O conceito de consumidor verde se refere às pessoas que compram produtos levando em consideração não só os critérios básicos de preço e de qualidade, mas que procuram características verdes nos bens de consumo (BERTOLINI; POSSAMAI, 2005;YOUNG et al., 2010). ...
... O consumo verde vem se estabelecendo como uma alternativa para aqueles consumidores sensíveis ao apelo ambiental (OTTMAN, 2011;IYER;RECZEK, 2017;MAN-RAI;MANRAI, 2017). O conceito de consumidor verde se refere às pessoas que compram produtos levando em consideração não só os critérios básicos de preço e de qualidade, mas que procuram características verdes nos bens de consumo (BERTOLINI; POSSAMAI, 2005;YOUNG et al., 2010). ...
... Stakeholders are currently requesting for proper and better tools to upkeep the industry´s transition and improve their competitiveness (Keichinger & Thiollet-Scholtus, 2017;Qiang, Qile, & Yanqing, 2013;Ramos, 2019). Nevertheless, very few assessments consider holistic indicators or provide a robust basis level for data comparison (Gafsi & Favreau, 2013;Iyer & Reczek, 2017;Martins, Araújo, Graça, Caetano, & Mata, 2018;Santiago-Brown, Metcalfe, Jerram, & Collins, 2014). According to literature, the majority of available sustainability assessment tools are often environmentally focused, based mostly on impact assessment, non-context-comprehensive or unfit to evaluate permanent crops such as viticulture (Flores, 2018;Merli, Preziosi, & Acampora, 2018;Trigo, Marta-Costa, & Fragoso, 2022). ...
Wines are complex products. They historically have been identified by country and/or region of origin as well as by the producer or, in recent decades, marketed using grape varietal descriptions that gained 'generic brand status' (Spawton, 1999). Spawton (1990) supports a multi-faceted view of a wine brand. This brand hierarchy includes country of origin, region or appellation, variety of grape from which the wine is made, domain, bodega, or estate, and producer label. It may also include family heritage, production facility and equipment, winemaker, specific vineyard, soil type, climate, and even regional tourism characteristics and cuisine (Lockshin et al., 2000). Because of its agricultural nature, the wine industry has many brand-building sources to draw upon that go beyond primary product attributes. The proliferation of means of identifying wines leads to various product variants and types and a complex buying situation for consumers; this is a significant difference between wine and other consumer goods.
... The concept of sustainable marketing has evolved through successive periods, which can be divided chronologically into three periods: ecological marketing in the 1970s, environmental/ecological marketing in the 1980s and mid-1990s, and sustainability marketing since the second half of the 1990s ( Leonidou & Leonidou, 2011;Lloveras et al., 2022;Sołtysik et al., 2024). The growing importance of sustainable marketing has also been highlighted in academic research (Harrison et al., 2023;Žabkar et al., 2018), public policy and corporate practices (Iyer & Reczek, 2017). Saleem et al. (2021) conducted a bibliometric analysis of articles published between 1977 and 2020 in the Web of Science (WOS) database with the aim of summarizing the current state of green marketing research as well as presenting and analysing the search results using selected keywords ("Green marketing" OR "ecological marketing" OR "eco* marketing" OR "sustainable marketing" OR "Environmental Marketing" OR "Enviro* Marketing"). ...
Reducing the negative impact of economic activity on the environment has become a major challenge for public administration bodies and entrepreneurs. At the same time, the rapid pace of environmental and technological change is having a significant impact on the development of enterprises. As a result, companies are constantly seeking new strategies to achieve their goals and ensure long-term success. Moreover, one of the means of reconciling economic, social, and environmental goals at this level is the implementation of a business model based on the assumptions of both sustainable development and the circular economy, which is one of the most important challenges of our time. This requires transforming the current economic model into another, alternative model, the aim of which is to reconcile economic growth with environmental protection. Transitioning to this new economic model will require a strategic approach from entrepreneurs, one that takes into account environmental goals based on long-term goals, and which at the same time embraces a management approach centred on, but not limited to, environmental management systems and tools. As a consequence, the main objective of the chapter will be to describe the model of sustainable transformation for enterprises.
Keywords: sustainable transformation, sustainable development, circular business model, sustainable enterprise
... Dentro desse contexto, a reciclagem surge como uma oportunidade de diferencial de mercado e reconhecimento da marca pelo público.A disseminação de produtos verdes interfere na mudança da consciência da sociedade por meio de apelos morais e sentimentos de culpa no ambiente de uso. Essa disseminação é provocada pela mídia, pela sociedade e pelas políticas e programas de incentivos para empresas comprometidas com o desenvolvimento e com valores considerados verdes(Iyer & Reczek, 2017). ParaOttman (2012), o marketing verde deve ser utilizado como estratégia competitiva e se torna uma ferramenta de diferencial no mercado. ...
O desenvolvimento sustentável tem como pilares a preservação ambiental, o desenvolvimento econômico e a justiça social e, nesse contexto, a reciclagem de materiais é uma importante ferramenta, pois oferece contrições para o desenvolvimento sustentável. O objetivo da pesquisa foi identificar as contribuições ambientais, econômicas e sociais proporcionadas pela reciclagem por meio da Cooperativa dos Recicladores de Penápolis (Corpe) no período de 2000 a 2017. A pesquisa foi exploratória e descritiva. Optou-se pelo método de estudo de caso, com coleta de dados por meio de pesquisa documental e observação sistemática. Também foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica sobre o tema desenvolvimento sustentável e sociedade sustentável, marketing verde, reciclagem, coleta seletiva e cooperativas de reciclagem. Dentre os resultados, encontrou-se como contribuições ambientais a coleta de materiais que retornaram em forma de matéria-prima, preservando assim o meio-ambiente e a melhoria do Índice de Qualidade de Resíduos (IQR) do aterro sanitário de Penápolis/SP. Quanto às contribuições econômicas, verificou-se que foi proporcionada receita financeira à Corpe e economia proporcionada pelo prolongamento da vida útil do atual aterro sanitário. Já com relação aos benefícios sociais, verificou-se geração de fonte de renda para os cooperados, condições dignas e de respeito através de trabalho regular, reintegração social e melhoria nas condições de trabalho de pessoas que retiravam seu sustento recolhendo materiais no aterro sanitário.
... Elkington (1994)'s Triple Bottom Line theory is often regarded as the most well-known and comprehensive theoretical model used in the sustainable development approach (Hayati, 2017). This theory argues that People, Planet and Profit are imperative principles of sustainability and promotes the idea that sustainable development occurs when organisations demonstrate responsibility towards environmental health, social equity and economic viability (Hayati, 2017;Iyer & Reczek, 2017). ...
São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) is one of the world’s smallest organic cocoa exporting countries, whose product has a positive socio-cultural and economic impact. Small producers who ensure it, are associated into two cooperatives that experience several difficulties and dilemmas including climate changes and poverty. Diversification of livelihood strategies could lead to wellbeing, poverty and climate mitigation. The aim of this study was to analyse producers’ perception of sustainability related to the organic cocoa production in STP and to explain the influence of different factors on their livelihood strategies (LS). An ordered probit model for disaggregation of factor categories was used for the 2021 period. The results showed that gender, age, family size, members on-farm and off-farm work and professional training courses do not influence livelihood strategies. The important variables for them are education level, perception of social class, insurances and loans and access to services.
... Sustainability initiatives aim to meet the needs of consumers via markets that frequently interact with public policy (Iyer and Reczek 2017). Although previous research on consumer acceptance of sustainability initiatives has focused on issues such as product formulation changes (e.g., Chernev and Blair 2021;Luchs et al. 2010;Newman, Gorlin, and Dhar 2014), consumer motivations for engaging with these products (e.g., Edinger-Schons et al. 2018), and perceived green product benefits (e.g., Goldsmith, Newman, and Dhar 2016;Haws, Winterich, and Naylor 2014;Tezer and Bodur 2020), few studies have examined how firms can frame their messages related to sustainability. ...
Consumer perceptions of brand motives related to corporate environmental responsibility affect the decisions of both corporations and consumers. Yet prior literature has typically viewed these firm motives as dichotomous, either solely intrinsic or solely extrinsic. The authors argue for a novel approach to positioning sustainability motives, where the brand communicates both intrinsic and extrinsic benefits together, as a joint motive. With a joint motive, a brand can highlight how an effort can benefit both planet and business with a “doing well by doing good” approach. Across five experiments, including a field study on Facebook, this research investigates the positive impact of the joint motive and its ability to enhance the credibility of sustainable initiatives via heightened perceptions of trustworthiness and expertise. Results provide converging evidence for the benefits of presenting a joint motive for sustainability efforts with implications for policy and practice.
... En cualquier caso, frente a los distintos escándalos financieros y los altos índices de evasión de impuestos a nivel mundial, se evidencia un incremento en las presiones sociales con respecto a las actuaciones de los profesionales contables . Sin embargo, dada la vinculación laboral de los profesionales contables y la complejidad de la realidad empresarial, existen múltiples situaciones en la conducta ética del profesional contable que afecta en las funciones públicas de este profesional, incluidas la precisión y fidelidad a la organización quien asume su costos prestacionales (Iyer & Reczek, 2017). Entre los principales efectos negativos de las conductas éticas de los profesionales contables se pueden mencionar (D. ...
El estudio se centra en analizar las sanciones interpuestas por los órganos de control debido a violaciones al código de ética de los contadores en Colombia, con algunos análisis comparativos internacionales de Francia y la ciudad de New York. La metodología se basa en una revisión de los informes de sanciones disciplinarias publicados por los órganos de control en Colombia, Junta Central de Contadores. Los resultados muestran que las sanciones más interpuestas son las amonestaciones que como causal de incumplimiento de las normas técnica. De esta manera, el estudio permite crear una visión de la importancia de las prácticas contables en los entornos comerciales, detallando el deber que tiene el contador en el actuar de manera ética para evitar sanciones que perjudique su accionar profesional.
... Performance (Seshadri, 2013) The sustainability syndicate: Shared responsibility in a trans-organizational business model Public and Performance (Choi & Jin, 2015) Is the Web Marketing Mix Sustainable in China? The Mediation Effect of Dynamic Trust Public, Performance and Preservation (Dermody et al., 2015) Advancing sustainable consumption in the UK and China: the mediating effect of pro-environmental self-identity Public, Performance and Preservation (Lim, 2015) A blueprint for sustainability marketing Public (McDonald et al., 2015) Flying in the face of environmental concern: why green consumers continue to fly Performance (Sheth & Sinha, 2015) B2B branding in emerging markets: A sustainability perspective Public (Villarino & Font, 2015) Sustainability marketing myopia Performance (Ceschin & Gaziulusoy, 2016) Evolution of design for sustainability: From product design to design for system innovations and transitions Public and Performance (Kumar et al., 2016) Assessing (Moscardo & Murphy, 2016) Using destination community wellbeing to assess tourist markets: A case study of Magnetic Island, Australia Public (Onel, 2016) Pro-environmental Purchasing Behavior of Consumers Performance and Preservation (Taherdangkoo et al., 2016) The role of sustainability environment in export marketing strategy and performance: a literature review Public and Preservation (Dennings & Tabanico, 2017) Research Into Woodland Owners' Use of Sustainable Forest Management to Inform Campaign Marketing Mix Public and Performance (Font & McCabe, 2017) Sustainability and marketing in tourism: its contexts, paradoxes, approaches, challenges and potential Public and Performance (Iyer & Reczek, 2017) The Intersection of Sustainability, Marketing, and Public Policy: Introduction to the Special Section on Sustainability (Shin & Searcy, 2018) Evaluating the Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Craft Beer Industry: An Assessment of Challenges and Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Accounting Public (Svenson, 2018) Smartphone crises and adjustments in a virtual P3 community -doing sustainability oriented smartphone consumption Public and Performance (Taoketao et al., 2018) Does sustainability marketing strategy achieve payback profits? A signaling theory perspective Public and Performance (Thomas, 2018) Sustainability marketing. ...
Sustainability marketing in the fashion industry is the subject of this theoretical synthesis. This conceptual essay entails dissecting the conceptual underpinnings and construction components of sustainability marketing derived by current scholarly perspectives to offer an updated articulation of sustainability marketing as a flourishing interdisciplinary research area. As a result of our theory synthesis approach, this paper developed a sustainability marketing model, referred to as the new 3Ps of sustainability marketing-Preservation (Environment), Public (Society) and Performance (Economy) which add to the traditional 4Ps-"Product, Price, Place, and Promotion." The paper further examines the role of these new 3Ps of sustainability marketing in fashion, considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The model offers a uniquely integrated framework for designing marketing strategies in the fashion industry consistent with sustainability marketing and aims to promote, communicate, and educate consumers who are either existing or potential customers of sustainable fashion brands. The framework encompasses segments of the fragmented fashion industry whilst mapping strategies for marketing sustainability and presenting new post-pandemic opportunities across all value-creation stages. Finally, we offer implications and directions for further research.
... The eco-innovation are referred as new products, processes, and practices that are designed to reduce or avoid environmental hazards, or modifications to existing products, processes, and practices [18]. Iyer and Reczek emphasised the development of eco-friendly creations in innovation (for example, the introduction of innovative recyclable materials), which is more in line with the current understanding of innovation [19]. ...
This study used 2017-2019 Chinese A-share-listed automobile manufacturing companies as research samples to analyse the impact of the government-business relationship on eco-innovation. We found that a healthy government-business relationship had a positive impact on enterprise eco-innovation. The mediating effects test verified that a healthy government-business relationship affected enterprise eco-innovation through financing constraints. In addition, managerial ownership significantly increased the positive impact of a healthy government-business relationship on enterprise eco-innovation. We also found that a healthy government-business relationship had a more substantial impact on enterprise eco-innovation in non-state-owned enterprises when considering corporate property rights. The study results provide empirical evidence for the influence of the government-business relationship on enterprise eco-innovation and deepen our understanding of eco-innovation in China’s automobile manufacturing industry.
... Recent studies have suggested that consumers' interest and value perceptions have increased in relation to sustainability and the environment (Arruda Filho & Brito, 2017;Iyer & Reczek, 2017; Jamšek & Culiberg, 2020; Kieckhäfer et al., 2017;Nekmahmud & Fekete-Farkas, 2020;Sheng et al., 2019). But in which scenarios does this proposition hold true? ...
This paper evaluates how the convergence (integration) of green characteristics in multifunctional technological products/services affects consumers’ decision making, evaluating intention to purchase convergent products in these specific scenarios with green attributes. Three studies were developed. The first two focused on when the inclusion or exclusion of green attributes changes consumers’ perspectives related to (1) utilitarian or hedonic characteristics in the convergence, and (2) selfish or altruistic characteristics of technology usage. The last study incorporated a change in the independent variable from the inclusion or exclusion of green attributes to the inclusion of green attributes as a benefit. Therein, both research scenarios included green characteristics, one related to the periphery and other to the centrality of the product, with a moderating effect of (3) high or low brand trust according to the green convergence design. The results demonstrate that green characteristics are better suited to scenarios in which most of the convergence relates to utilitarian attributes in products, but egoistic characteristics in services, the latter of which reflects a hedonic perspective. Concerning both scenarios of a product with green characteristics, the green benefit is better suited to the utilitarian context, in which the brand is perceived as important, leading to a high level of trust.
... Destination image is a subjective construct (Iyer and Reczek, 2017). Destination image define as the physical characteristic, attribute and appearance of the tourist destination that visitors perceived on the destination (Chui et al., 2013). ...
Despite the significant contribution of the tourist growth to the economics, besides the concern of its impact on the environment has gained much attention. This integrated green image in the theory of planned behavior to determine the factor influencing Younger tourist environmentally responsible intention behavior particularly recycling behavior intention. The study identified the factors influencing tourist environmentally responsible behavior within the lens of the theory Of Planned Behavior (TPB). The framework was tested with regression analysis with data collected from 229 younger traveler visiting in Bali, Indonesia. The result showed that environmental attitude, subjective norm have a positive impact on younger tourist environmentally responsible intention (recycling intention). Whereas, perceived behavior control does not influence intention. Further, Destination Green Image has a positive impact on environmental attitude. This finding provide an additional knowledge and understanding to the existing body literature of tourist behavior particularly in context of tourism environmentally responsible behavior. Practical and theoretical implication for sustainable tourism are proposed on this study.
... The concept's inherently ambiguous nature and the absence of a widely accepted single definition is one major cause for this argument, and it also contributes to the emancipation of inadequate sustainability-related research studies and parallel assessment methodologies [6][7][8][9]. Sustainability assessments are often characterized as having biased design, erroneous interpretations, flawed conclusions, and serious incompatibility issues due to the difficulties of data comparison [10][11][12]. ...
No question remains regarding our need to change toward sustainable agriculture. When ranking the industries that have more prevalent environmental impacts, agriculture holds a considerable share of responsibility. However, as sustainability is an ambiguous concept surrounded by controversy and debate, rather than attempt to describe its meaning through a single universal definition, we instead stressed the need to delineate a set of fundamental principles. With the goal of putting the sustainable-agriculture concept into practice, an inductive qualitative content analysis was employed based on multivariate methods on hundreds of different definitions, theories, notions and sustainability indicators gathered through a deep-structured literature review. Through this novel approach, we were able to identify four fundamental principles for sustainable agriculture (integrated management, dynamic balance, regenerative design, and social development), and concluded that in order to shift our current agricultural systems into more efficient and sustainable ones, we need to start making better use of natural and human resources. This work provides guidelines for reference that can be used by anyone whenever they make a decision regarding sustainable agriculture or apply a methodology to assess a particular behavior, process or situation.
... In conceptualizing consumption as concerning the depletion of resources, we can more easily see how anticonsumption research has evolved into the domain of voluntary simplification and being against excessive or overconsumption (e.g., Cherrier andMurray 2002, 2007), as well as the intersection and potential cross-relevance of scholarly work pertaining to anticonsumption, environmentalism, and sustainability (Black and Cherrier 2010;Cherrier, Black, and Lee 2011;Iyer and Reczek 2017 been a much-neglected aspect of the consumption continuum, and further research from marketing scholars concerning waste, disposal, unmaking waste, reuse, repurposing, maintenance, and circulation would be welcomed. Questions that marketing scholars and public policy makers should find pressing include: What happens once we are finished with consumption? ...
... Today brands have become activists and polemicists. (The Economist 2020) In recent years, the focus on individual health and wellbeing has expanded to planetary health in relation to the food industry (Iyer and Walker Reczek 2017). In the light of climate change and ever-increasing evidence that calls for urgently changing food production and consumption (Poore and Nemecek 2018), how do brands leverage this debate? ...
In the light of climate change and ever-increasing evidence of the need for urgently changing food production and consumption, how do brands enter and leverage this debate? How can brands become activists by mobilizing debates around a political cause, and how can those debates promote the legitimacy of emerging industry practices? Through a case study of the now-famous food and beverage brand Oatly, this paper describes how brand-induced political activism can challenge consumption, production, policy, and ideologies. It can promote brand development and positioning, provided that the brand has earned legitimacy. This study suggests that the new branding principle in the age of the climate crisis and eco-anxiety can be characterized as ‘citizen activist,’ in which consumer culture goes beyond the cultivation of self, focusing instead on systemic changes in production and consumption.
... Alongside the theories we have borrowed, we have inherited a preference for quantitative, positivistic research approaches (Iyer and Reczek, 2017;Thomas, 2018). Taken together these underpinning assumptions have greatly affected the approach, and created analytical blind spots (Thomas, 2018), we as marketers and consumer behaviourists take towards studying sustainability. ...
Purpose
Seeking ways towards a sustainable future is the most dominant socio-political challenge of our time. Marketing should have a crucial role to play in leading research and impact in sustainability, yet it is limited by relying on cognitive behavioural theories rooted in the 1970s, which have proved to have little bearing on actual behaviour. This paper aims to interrogate why marketing is failing to address the challenge of sustainability and identify alternative approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
The constraint in theoretical development contextualises the problem, followed by a focus on four key themes to promote theory development: developing sustainable people; models of alternative consumption; building towards sustainable marketplaces; and theoretical domains for the future. These themes were developed and refined during the 2018 Academy of Marketing workshop on seeking sustainable futures. MacInnis’s (2011) framework for conceptual contributions in marketing provides the narrative thread and structure.
Findings
The current state of play is explicated, combining the four themes and MacInnis’s framework to identify the failures and gaps in extant approaches to the field.
Research limitations/implications
This paper sets a new research agenda for the marketing discipline in quest for sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research.
Practical implications
Approaches are proposed which will allow the transformation of the dominant socio-economic systems towards a model capable of promoting a sustainable future.
Originality/value
The paper provides thought leadership in marketing and sustainability as befits the special issue, by moving beyond the description of the problem to making a conceptual contribution and setting a research agenda for the future.
... Given the current state of disposable consumption, there is a great need to understand how to best motivate sustainable behaviors such as recycling (Iyer and Reczek 2017;Kotler 2011;White, Habib, and Hardisty 2019). Over half of the material taken to landfills could have been recycled instead, and recent recycling rates are not increasing even as more companies use recycled and/or recyclable materials in their products (Chaudhuri 2018;Meng and Trudel 2017). ...
Recycling campaigns abound, but do consumers think about what becomes of those recyclables? This research proposes that product transformation salience (thinking about recyclables turning into new products) increases recycling. The authors theorize that consumers are inspired by the transformation of recyclables into new products and that this inspiration motivates them to recycle. The authors demonstrate the effect of product transformation messages on recycling behavior using a recycling campaign (Study 1) and advertisements for products made from recycled plastic (Study 2). Study 3 demonstrates the mediating role of inspiration. Then, three field studies provide robust support for the transformation salience effect through click-through rates for recycling advertisements (Study 4), recycling rates during pre–football game tailgating (Study 5), and a reduction in the amount of recyclable materials incorrectly placed in the landfill bin by students in a university residence hall (Study 6). The authors discuss implications for the design of recycling campaigns and positioning of recycled products in the marketplace as well as theoretical contributions regarding the roles of transformation salience and inspiration in encouraging recycling and other sustainable behaviors.
... A final implication of the long time horizon is linked to all of the SHIFT factors. One striking facet of the current review is that most of the existing research involves surveys or experiments that take place at a single point in time (Iyer and Reczek 2017). Future research could profitably examine the longitudinal effects of different interventions on sustainable behaviors. ...
Highlighting the important role of marketing in encouraging sustainable consumption, the current research presents a review of the academic literature from marketing and behavioral science that examines the most effective ways to shift consumer behaviors to be more sustainable. In the process of the review, the authors develop a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing and encouraging sustainable consumer behavior change. The framework is represented by the acronym SHIFT, and it proposes that consumers are more inclined to engage in pro-environmental behaviors when the message or context leverages the following psychological factors: Social influence, Habit formation, Individual self, Feelings and cognition, and Tangibility. The authors also identify five broad challenges to encouraging sustainable behaviors and use these to develop novel theoretical propositions and directions for future research. Finally, the authors outline how practitioners aiming to encourage sustainable consumer behaviors can use this framework.
... This diversity of articles on such critical topics is also apparent in the most recent issues (for which citations are just beginning to accumulate). Here, we see continued interest in food and financial consumer decisions (Haws, Davis, and Dholakia 2016;Sciandra, Lamberton, and Reczek 2017;VanEpps, Downs, and Loewenstein 2016); online privacy and data security (Markos, Milne, and Peltier 2017;Walker 2016); sustainability, as in the Fall 2017 special section (e.g., Iyer and Reczek 2017;Schwartz and Loewenstein 2017); tobacco and e-cigarette disclosures and warnings (Berry et al. 2017;Netemeyer et al. 2016); food waste (Block et al. 2016;Gruber, Holweg, and Teller 2016); and the general societal impact of research at the intersection of policy and marketing (Ozanne et al. 2017). Of course, JPP&M articles continue to be influential not only through citations in academic literature but also in how they influence policy-relevant decisions that have a positive impact on the lives of consumers and organizations. ...
This study explores how government support and consumer awareness affect the waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics in the circular economy framework. To improve waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics consumer awareness, the extended triple bottom line concept introduces technology with traditional economic, social, and environmental aspects. The impact of government initiatives on consumer awareness and socioeconomic factors on the intention to reuse the waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics is examined. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze survey data from 330 Chinese participants. The results revealed that government policies significantly influence extended triple bottom line awareness while socioeconomic factors impact waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics reuse intentions. However, direct government support does not significantly impact the expected service quality of waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics. These findings improve the literature by identifying relevant factors and boosting waste of electrical and electronic equipment reverse logistics comprehension in a circular economy environment, driving the development of efficient and sustainable waste management strategies.
To confront considerable increases in household waste, public authorities encourage citizens to adopt zero waste. However, public policies rely mostly on individual "responsibilization," which presents an obstacle to effective behavioral conversion. Although academic literature has explored citizens' commitment to zero waste, it has focused mainly on intentions to act rather than on actual behavior. Using practice theory, the current research analyzes interview data from 24 participants in a local zero-waste action program to uncover how practices emerge, develop, are articulated, and become stabilized throughout participants' zero-waste journeys. The implementation of these practices (i.e., routinized behaviors) depends not only on the specific components related to each practice (i.e., meanings, competences, and material arrangements) but also on existing relationships that articulate them within bundles and constellations of practices. To facilitate the reduction and elimination of waste, public authorities should target interventions in citizens' zero-waste journeys that support the formation of new habits.
The article’s purpose has been to conduct a comprehensive and critical review of the empirical literature on green marketing and consumer behavior to determine emerging issues and trends. It begins with an outline of the relevant theoretical framework that underpins green marketing and consumer behavior. Next, the paper presents a rigorous analysis of the current scientific literature. This is followed by an assessment of emerging trends and issues derived from the literature review. Lastly, the article draws relevant marketing implications and outlines appropriate recommendations for managerial decision-making.
Addressing the urgent sustainability challenges in the wine industry, this study explores the efficacy of sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) and smart farming technologies (SFTs) across wine value chains in Cyprus and Italy. Utilising a mixed-methods approach that includes quantitative analysis through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and qualitative assessments to understand stakeholders' perspectives, this research delves into the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these technologies. In Cyprus, the integration of digital labelling and smart farming solutions led to a substantial reduction in pesticide usage by up to 75% and enhanced the perceived quality of wine by an average of 8%. A pilot study in Italy witnessed a 33.4% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, with the additional benefit of a 5.3% improvement in intrinsic product quality. The pilot introduced a carbon credit system, potentially generating an average annual revenue of EUR 4140 per farm. These findings highlight the transformative potential of SOIs and SFTs in promoting sustainable practices within the wine industry, demonstrating significant advancements in reducing environmental impact, improving product quality, and enhancing economic viability. This study underscores the critical role of innovative technologies in achieving sustainability goals and provides a compelling case for their wider adoption within the agricultural sector.
This paper draws upon several related perspectives not necessarily following a single assumed methodology in addressing climate changes issues for the automobile industry. It utilizes economists' simple demand and supply tools in illustrating how net-zero initiatives can be considered from a “micro” as well as a “macro” perspective. Drawing this distinction can illustrate a difference between green car and green certificate initiatives for an agenda for the industry's drive to net zero. Macro net-zero is almost universally agreed and implemented in many industries of the world including the automobile industry. A pragmatic approach for micro net-zero arguably may be additionally needed, as we are likely to see fossil fuel driven vehicles coexisting with alternative energy vehicles during an unavoidable transitory phase-out period. As an illustration of benchmark carbon pricing method, a CO2 auditing exercise is conducted based on specific car information retrieved from the US Department of Energy dataset. We found under quite reasonable assumptions, green certificate fee calculated specific to a new car in dealership showroom would not be high in absolute as well as in percentage term compared to the price of the car. Furthermore, if green fees can be monitored to be spent on tree planting agencies, an acreage-tree equivalent of the green fee can also be calculated, thus enabling the pricing mechanism to be integrated with green marketing. The importance of marketing as a means to privatize a Pigouvian tax is recommended, pointing out the notion of augmented product inclusive of a green certificate for vehicles may contribute to net-zero. The proposed framework stated in the context of integrated perspectives can be useful for static efficiency while also noting the limitation of market economics towards contributing to dynamic efficiency, which is currently going through a process of Schumpeterian competition. The framework helps clarify energy policy issues that have now mixed discussions of old (i.e., fossil fuel) and new technology (i.e., alternative energy). This micro net zero perspective may not be limited to the automobile industry.
This chapter reviews marketing scholarship on environmental sustainability. The literature covers several themes of both consumer behavior and firm-level topics. Consumer issues include their assessment of efficacy and the extent to which they are aware and sensitive to environmental issues. Numerous interventions and marketing appeals for modifying attitudes and behaviors have been tested and are reported. Consumers and business managers have both been queried regarding attitudes of recycling and waste. Firm-level phenomena are reflected, including how brand managers can signal their green efforts to their customers, whether doing so is beneficial, all in conjunction with macro pressures or constraints from industry or governmental agencies. This chapter closes with a reflection on the research.
Purpose – Sustainability principles have been practiced and researched in marketing for nearly five decades,
but the challenges we face today are still significant. This context defines the purpose of this paper, which is to
find, synthesize and critically evaluate the existing literature on marketing in a sustainability context from
1969 to 2019. The ultimate aim is to provide a unified body of literature on sustainability marketing and classify
the extant literature.
Design/methodology/approach – The relevant articles from selected journals were identified and manually
verified using the Scopus database. The SPAR- 4- SLR protocol provides the framework for the methodology.
In total, 749 articles were eligible for inclusion in the study.
Findings – The research findings are presented in the form of article categorization into 11 thematic
categories. The thematic categories outlined previous studies’ trend and contribution characteristics under the
individual category, illustrating their implications.
Practical implications – The literature review aids in understanding the current state of research and piques
researchers’ interest in sustainability marketing. The findings of the study will be a valuable resource for future
scholars, managers and policymakers.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature by providing valuable insights from
previous research on the research trend in sustainability marketing and by providing a recommendation for
future research avenues. After a long hiatus, this is the most up-to-date comprehensive article, providing a
general overview of research trends.
Keywords Sustainability marketing, Social marketing, Green marketing, Environmental marketing,
Sustainability, Literature review, Bibliometrics
The global wine industry has recognized the benefits of embracing a more sustainable approach to be more competitive and resilient. However, evaluation of complex winegrowing systems and assessment of their sustainability performance remains a difficult task. In this paper, we use the Douro wine region in Portugal as a case study to test different benchmarking approaches to assess sustainability performance. Our findings revealed a greater sustainability of social and environmental components of the Douro vineyard farms, but the economic pillar shows weaknesses. We may assume that the Douro region demands a strategy to improve its economic stability, resilience, and adaptability to face future challenges (more adverse climate conditions, labor shortage, and increased costs). This work also emphasizes the need of the wine sector to increase and improve research on sustainability issues and evaluation frameworks to assess it, having always present the context where the winegrowing system operates.
As our global crisis on climate, food, fuel and economy continues to aggravate, an advancement into sustainable agriculture has become one of the greatest requirements of this millennium. Despite our knowledge-gap and scepticism around this subject, today’s corporations are demanding for proper assessment methods capable of helping to build business resilience, for the sake of knowing how to well adapt, evolve or transform in the face of future crisis. By reviewing current practices amongst the agrarian sector, findings allowed us to confirm well-established observations from literature and to enlighten the fundamental role of context comprehensiveness when assessing sustainability. This work provides relevant information for micro-level performance evaluations, as results may support decision-makers to recognise, understand or apply any of the analysed 105 assessment tools.
Purpose
The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy such as solar energy is difficult and requires significant ongoing public policy marketing initiatives. Drawing on institutional theory, this paper aims to explore how public policy marketing initiatives through institutional narratives and discourses legitimize solar energy's sustainable consumption in a developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a post-structuralist approach, the authors undertook a thematic analysis to study the process of sustainable consumption. The authors conducted face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders in the solar energy sector and complemented the primary data with secondary analysis of archived published materials and podcasts.
Findings
First, narratives on conformance rules and regulations (regulatory legitimacy) are significant sustainable consumption predictors of solar energy. However, the top-down regulatory legitimation narrative alone is insufficient to overcome poorly developed taken-for-granted (cognitive legitimacy) and morally correct consumption behavior (normative legitimacy), especially among the general population. Second, while consumption is primarily seen as a micro-level, residential and commercial customers phenomenon, the intersecting macro- (government) and meso-levels' (industry/market) narratives and discourses influence and direct micro-level consumption.
Originality/value
Future research agenda on legitimizing the sustainable consumption of solar energy needs to consider the dynamic interactions of institutional narratives and discourses through the lens of institutional theory and practice. Sustained, bold and provident government interventions and actions through market structure and policy issues play a crucial role in the consumption process, particularly in developing economies.
In this JPPM article for the 40 th Anniversary of the Journal of Public Policy … Marketing, the authors first share what is meant by “policy,” “public policy,” and “marketing and public policy” for researchers in our field. The authors then offer examples of JPPM research informing policy across different stages of the policy making process: problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, budgeting, implementation, and evaluation. They also discuss important sources of public policy (e.g., federal, state, and international agencies; self-regulation; the courts; nonprofits; society; industry standards; company policies; personal ethics) and their role in the marketing and public policy process. The authors then offer JPPM application examples (e.g., consumer protection; anti-trust/competition; vulnerability; diversity, equity, and inclusion; nutrition labeling; addiction, cannabis, and anti-drug research; tobacco warning labeling and education; and privacy and technology) and share ideas for developing research that contributes to the marketing and public policy discipline and in making a positive difference in society and people's lives.
Sustainability Marketing (SM) is an innovative as well as a provocative area of research in the 21st century owing to the intensified competitive pressure in the business environment. Sustainability is conceptualized to constitute economic, social and environmental dimensions. These are originally premised on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach. The present study examines these elements by acknowledging the nexus between marketing and sustainability to reveal the antecedents and consequences pertaining to SM. This study investigates the feasibility of joint application of sustainability and marketing along with a blueprint of SM’s effect on corporate reputation (CR) and consumers’ purchase intentions (PI). Four hundred and forty respondents from North India were surveyed through email. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to examine SM’s effect on CR and PI through sustainability advertising (SA). The study implies that if the practitioners believe in sustainability and want to reap the benefits of favourable CR, they must adopt SA strategies for positioning the firm’s sustainability efforts in the desired way.
Interest in sustainability is increasing as a result of the stress placed by a growing global population on resources. Marketers are well positioned to understand the adoption of sustainable consumption. The influence of religiosity on sustainability has been studied although the findings are mixed. Our research aims to address that discrepancy and provide a better understanding of the role of religiosity in sustainable behaviors. Religiosity is influenced by cultural factors espoused by society at large. To gain insight into the relationship between religiosity and sustainability we utilized a mixed‐method approach to examine the dynamics of these relationships in three national contexts: The United States, Turkey, and Greece. We found that religiosity has a significant influence on sustainable behavior in cultures that are collectivist with a long‐term orientation. We also found that this effect is mediated by individuals’ long‐term orientation. Our findings provide important theoretical contributions and help inform public policy.
This chapter reviews marketing scholarship on environmental sustainability. The literature covers several themes of both consumer behavior and firm-level topics. Consumer issues include their assessment of efficacy and the extent to which they are aware and sensitive to environmental issues. Numerous interventions and marketing appeals for modifying attitudes and behaviors have been tested and are reported. Consumers and business managers have both been queried regarding attitudes of recycling and waste. Firm-level phenomena are reflected, including how brand managers can signal their green efforts to their customers, whether doing so is beneficial, all in conjunction with macro pressures or constraints from industry or governmental agencies. This chapter closes with a reflection on the research.
Eco-innovations are increasingly manufactured and consumed across national borders. Although global outsourcing can be financially profitable, it is questionable whether consumers respond to eco-innovations manufactured in different countries in the same way. This article introduces the ecological country-of-manufacture (COM) concept, which reflects consumers’ perception of a country’s commitment to sustainable development policy and practices. Drawing on schema theory, the current research examines how consumer reactions to “ecological (in)congruence”—when the sustainability reputation of a COM is a (mis)match with product eco-friendliness levels—vary across product categories (Study 1a), consumption contexts (Study 1b), and national settings (Study 2). Consumers report more preferential evaluations when there is ecological incongruence for privately consumed products and ecological congruence for publicly consumed products. The results also demonstrate the differential moderating effects of socioeconomic development factors and cultural dimensions. In emerging markets with highly embedded, hierarchical, and high-harmony cultures, consumers require ecological congruence to justify their adoption decisions, whereas in developed markets with highly autonomous, egalitarian, and high-mastery cultures, consumers are more likely to adopt eco-innovations that are ecologically incongruent.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether consumers respond differently to different types of eco-innovations and to explore how and under what conditions eco-friendly consumer innovativeness (ECI) impacts consumers’ perception and adoption intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Two online experiments with real consumers in the USA were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships. Two eco-innovation products were examined: a connected vacuum cleaner (Study 1) and an innovative smartphone (Study 2).
Findings
First, consumers tend to express more positive product beliefs, higher preferences and stronger adoption intentions toward resource use elimination innovations compared with the other types of eco-innovations across two product categories. Although consumers are not willing to pay more, they would adjust their payment equity by increasing consumption levels for resource use elimination innovations. Second, this research demonstrates ECI affects adoption intentions via formulating consumer perceptions of product eco-friendliness. Perceived trade-offs between eco-friendly benefits and product effectiveness strengthens the positive effect of ECI while weakening the impact of perceived product eco-friendliness on adoption intentions.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies may validate and extend the results for marketing communication to different types of eco-friendly innovative consumers to determine which marketing messages best match the perceptions and preferences of certain eco-friendly innovative consumers.
Practical implications
This study offers useful insights for strategic research-and-development investment and decision-making processes in selecting the best-suited approaches to developing eco-innovations and maximizing their success in the commercialization phase. Specifically, firms should place greater emphasis on resource use elimination innovation, which could evoke more positive consumer responses than resource use efficiency innovations and resource use substitution innovations. Moreover, it is important to improve the segmentation of the early adopters in the eco-innovation market with respect to specific types of eco-innovations so that marketers can distinctively address eco-friendly innovative consumers that best fit the potential user profile of their products.
Originality/value
The current research is novel as neither an empirically nor a theoretically founded framework has been suggested to examine how and why consumers respond differently to different types of eco-innovations. The findings shine new lights on eco-innovation research by providing useful insights into the underlying mechanisms and the conditions under which ECI affects consumers’ responses.
Food overconsumption contributes greatly to health problems that affect a large portion of the population while also straining the earth's natural resources. Attempts by policy makers to encourage sustainable food practices often focus more on the role of producers and less on the role of consumers, even though a growing number of consumers are concerned about the sustainability of their food products. Yet consumers often fail to perceive any immediate, personal benefits from consuming sustainably; instead, they envision future societal-level benefits. Three studies capturing actual behavior-the consumption of food and beverages-provide evidence that food promoted as sustainable can produce individual consumer benefits through reduced consumption. Study 1 shows the effect ofsustainability in lessening consumption. Study 2 demonstrates how sustainability semantically primes a prosocial focus, which is the mechanism involved in the reduction of consumption. Study 3 then shows that this effect is enhanced for people with higher levels of self-control.
Many serious problems, including those associated with the environment, warrant a sustained response, but the emotions that motivate action are often transient. We conducted five online experiments examining the impact of affective ads about global warming on pro-environmental behaviors. We find that sadness-inducing videos led to more time devoted to an energy-footprint calculator and greater donations to an environmental organization than non-affective videos (preliminary study and study 1). However, once emotions have cooled off after a delay, there are no differences in induced behavior between affective and non-affective messages (study 2). Warning people that emotions, and their effects on behavior, cool off does not reverse the effects of the time delay (study 3), unless people make a non-binding commitment just after watching the affective ad (study 4). Our results help to explain why emotion-evoking ads designed to promote pro-environmental behaviors, such as cutting energy use, often fail to produce sustained behavior change, and suggest that those who seek to promote a sustained response may need to elicit behavioral commitments in moments of high emotion.
This research identifies how choice of an eco-product (e.g., low-energy LED light bulbs, biodegradable paper towels) influences downstream, environmentally responsible behavior. Eco-product choice subsequently either reinforces or undermines environmentally responsible behavior, and this effect is contingent upon the pre-existing environmental consciousness of individual consumers. Among less environmentally conscious consumers, pro-environmental behavior is undermined. In contrast, highly environmentally conscious consumers display reinforcement of pro-environmental behavior. We reveal that these differential effects are driven by two discrete processes working in opposition: Goal-satiation drives licensing in the case of less environmentally conscious consumers, and prosocial self-perceptions drive reinforcement among highly conscious consumers. In addition, we identify a point-of-purchase intervention that mitigates the detrimental effects among less environmentally conscious consumers. Together, these results shed light on the downstream consequences for consumers of eco-product choice, with implications for the marketing and regulation of such products.
Consumers are often surrounded by resources that once offered meaning or happiness but that have
lost this subjective value over time—even as they retain their objective utility. We explore the potential for social
recycling—disposing of used goods by allowing other consumers to acquire them at no cost—to transform unused physical resources into increased consumer happiness. Six studies suggest that social recycling increases positive affect relative to trash, recycling, and donations of goods to nonprofit organizations. Both perceptions of helping the environment and helping other people drive this increase in positive affect. We conclude that social recycling offers a scalable means for reengineering the end of the consumption cycle to transform unused resources into happiness. We suggest that further research should continue to enrich a general theory of disposition, such that we are able to maximize the ecological, interpersonal, and community utility of partially depleted resources.
Why are men less likely than women to embrace environmentally friendly products and behaviors? Whereas prior research attributes this gender gap in sustainable consumption to personality differences between the sexes, we propose that it may also partially stem from a prevalent association between green behavior and femininity, and a corresponding stereotype (held by both men and women) that green consumers are more feminine. Building on prior findings that men tend to be more concerned than women with gender identity maintenance, we argue that this green-feminine stereotype may motivate men to avoid green behaviors in order to preserve a macho image. A series of seven studies provides evidence that the concepts of greenness and femininity are cognitively linked and shows that, accordingly, consumers who engage in green behaviors are stereotyped by others as more feminine and even perceive themselves as more feminine. Further, men’s willingness to engage in green behaviors can be influenced by threatening or affirming their masculinity, as well as by using masculine rather than conventional green branding. Together, these findings bridge literatures on identity and environmental sustainability and introduce the notion that due to the green-feminine stereotype, gender identity maintenance can influence men’s likelihood of adopting green behaviors.
Firms can save considerable money if consumers conserve resources (e.g., if hotel patrons turn off the lights when leaving the room, if restaurant patrons use fewer paper napkins, if airline passengers clean up after themselves). In two studies conducted in real-world hotels, the authors show that consumers’ conservation behavior is affected by the extent to which consumers perceive the firm as being green. Furthermore, consumer perceptions of firms’ greenness and consumer conservation behavior depend on (1) whether the firm asks consumers to conserve resources, (2) the firm’s own commitment to the environment, and (3) the firm’s price image. In addition, firm requests to consumers to save resources can create consumer reactance and can backfire when firms themselves do not engage in visible costly environmental efforts. Such reactance is more likely for firms with a high-price image. Finally, the authors show that by spending a little money to signal environmental commitment, firms can save even ...
Corporate sustainability management encompasses multiple dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Companies are increasingly evaluated within the public sphere, and within their own organizations, according to the degree to which they are perceived to simultaneously promote this nexus of virtues. This article seeks to explore the tensions frequently faced by organizations that strive to manage these dimensions and the role of public policy in that pursuit. A multiple-case study approach is utilized in which the authors selected case organizations according to whether they were attempting to manage the three dimensions of sustainability. The authors utilize paradox theory and a typology provided by previous research to understand the nature of the tensions that emerge in the selected case study organizations. They extend this previous work by examining the role of public policy in providing the situational conditions to make these paradoxical tensions salient, and they examine organizational responses to these conditions. Directions for firms, policy makers, and future researchers are provided on the basis of this study's findings.
The authors propose that mindfulness is an antidote to mindless consumption, which adversely affects individual and collective well-being. The concept of mindfulness is explained and applied to the consumption context. More specifically, the authors examine mindful consumption as an ongoing practice of bringing attention, with acceptance, to inner and outer stimuli, and the effects of this practice on the consumption process. The transformative potential of mindful consumption is reviewed across domains of consumer, societal, and environmental well-being, with suggestions for future research. The article highlights some of the challenges to realizing the transformative potential of mindful consumption and concludes with suggestions for the actions that consumers, institutions, and policy makers could take to promote mindful consumption.
In recent years, self-driving cars have generated significant attention and discussion. While it is recognized that a number of technical and legal issues need to be solved, widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles is increasingly considered to be inevitable. However, the long-term effects of this technology are rarely considered and seldom examined in the literature. Among these potential impacts are a number of direct and indirect, positive and negative outcomes, and the net effect in terms of societal benefit or harm is far from clear. In this paper, we identify the several of these outcomes, and we explore conditions in the broader transportation system under which self-driving vehicles may be either harmful or beneficial. We investigate how autonomous operation could affect the attractiveness of traveling by car, how this in turn could affect mode choice, and how changes in mode choice would affect the broader transportation system. The paper considers three speculative scenarios, defined primarily by different behavioral responses to the availability of autonomous driving. The scenarios build on an established system dynamics model that represents the major forces involved in transportation systems. A wide range of outcomes are considered, and potential policy interventions are discussed.
This article proposes a utilitarian model in which recycling could reduce consumers’
negative emotions from wasting resources (i.e., taking more resources than what is being
consumed) and increase consumers’ positive emotions from the disposal of consumed
resources. The authors provide evidence for each component of the utility function
using a series of choice problems, and formulate hypotheses based on a parsimonious
utilitarian model. Experiments with real disposal behavior support the model hypotheses.
The findings suggest that the positive emotions associated with recycling
can overpower the negative emotions associated with wasting. As a result, consumers
could use a larger amount of resource when recycling is an option and more strikingly,
this amount could go beyond the point at which their marginal consumption utility
becomes zero. The authors extend the theoretical model and introduce acquisition
utility and the moderating effect of cost of recycling (financial, physical, and mental).
From a policy perspective, this research argues for a better understanding of consumers’
disposal behavior to increase the effectiveness of environmental policies and campaigns.
Although campaigns designed to promote pro-environmental behaviours increasingly highlight self-interest, recent research suggests that such appeals may not always be effective. For example, individuals are more likely to check their tyre pressure when prompted with self-transcendent (that is, benefits to the environment) versus economic motives; and, self-transcendent appeals are more likely to promote recycling behaviours than self-interested appeals. The present experiments identify an important psychological factor that helps to explain when highlighting economic benefits will be more or less effective in encouraging pro-environmental behaviours. Specifically, we demonstrate that highlighting economic benefits (for example, the money a consumer can save) reduces consumer interest in sustainable products when individuals are in more abstract mindsets compared with when the evaluation is more immediate (that is, their mindset is more concrete). Further, we provide evidence that this shift in interest is driven by the lack of 'fit' between abstract thinking and economic motivations, in the context of pro-environmental behaviour.
In Study 1, the authors find that people are more satisfied with a service experience when they choose to participate in the provider's voluntary green program (e.g., recycling)-an effect mediated by the "warm glow" of participation. The downside, however, is that this same mechanism decreases satisfaction among people who choose not to participate. In Study 2, analysis of data from the J.D. PowerGuest Satisfaction Index suggests that incentivizing the program (i.e., compensating the program participants) paradoxically increases satisfaction for those who do not participate but decreases satisfaction among those who do. Studies 3 and 4 explore how manipulating incentive characteristics might enable managers to maximize satisfaction for both groups. Study 3 indicates that, compared with no incentive, an "other-benefiting" incentive increases warm glow and satisfaction for green program participants but decreases them among nonparticipants. Study 4, however, suggests that mixed incentive bundles (i.e., providing both self-benefiting and other-benefiting options)maximize warm glow and satisfaction for both groups-the ideal outcome for managers.
This research shows that consumers who willfully ignore ethical product attributes denigrate other, more ethical consumers who seek out and use this information in making purchase decisions. Across three studies, willfully ignorant consumers negatively judge ethical others they have never met across various disparate personality traits (e.g., fashionable, boring). The denigration arises from the self-threat inherent in negative social comparison with others who acted ethically instead of choosing not to do so. In addition, this denigration has detrimental downstream consequences, undermining the denigrator's commitment to ethical values, as evidenced by reduced anger toward firms who violate the ethical principle in question and reduced intention to behave ethically in the future. There are two moderators of the effect: Denigration becomes less strong if willfully ignorant consumers have a second opportunity to act ethically after initially ignoring the ethical product information and also significantly weakens if initially ignoring the ethical attribute is seen as justifiable. These results have implications for understanding ethical consumption behavior, perceptions of ethical consumerism in general, and marketing of ethical products.
Offshore wind turbines have been successfully deployed in Europe since 1991, providing thousands of megawatts of clean energy for multiple nations. Ten years ago, it seemed that the United States would follow suit: The US Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the Department of the Interior (DOI) to establish an offshore leasing regime in federal waters (generally oceanic waters 3–200 nautical miles from the coast). It appeared to be a crucial step in opening the door to the country’s vast offshore wind resource: turbine installations in the Mid-Atlantic Bight alone could power all United States electricity, automobile transport, and building heat needs (1).
Household consumption has a major impact on the ecological environment. Still, research on effective approaches to reduce consumption is in the early stages. For example, it is not clear whether a widely used approach-descriptive norm demarketing-is effective. Some evidence suggests that this approach actually triggers a boomerang effect, enhancing consumption among some consumer groups. With two experiments (online and lab), the current research contributes to prior work on demarketing and social norms in multiple ways. First, whereas prior work has tested the impact of descriptive norm demarketing on consumer groups classified according to their consumption/usage levels, the current work classifies consumers according to the value system that underlies consumption-that is, materialism. Second, whereas evidence on the boomerang effect has mostly appeared in the energy domain, this research demonstrates the effect across numerous consumption contexts. Third, this research offers a potential remedy to the boomerang effect-namely, carbon labeling that emphasizes the ecological damage of consumption. Finally, the key outcome tested empirically is the actual ecological consequences of consumer behavior in terms of carbon footprint.
Although companies are devoting significant resources to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, insights into the optimal formulation, implementation, and effectiveness estimation of CSR strategies are currently scarce. This article takes an indepth look at when, why, and how CSR works from a consumer's perspective. In contrast to the simple, monotonie relationships between CSR and consumer purchase behavior evident in marketplace polls, this article proposes a more complex, contingent model of consumer responses to CSR. It articulates both the internal outcomes (e.g., awareness, attitudes, attachment) and external outcomes (e.g., word of mouth, purchase, loyalty) of CSR initiatives for not just the company, but also the consumer and the CSR issue/cause. This article delineates the key factors that are likely to moderate the extent to which the inputs lead to the internal outcomes and the internal outcomes lead to the external ones. This framework can help guide companies in not only formulating and implementing their CSR initiatives, but also measuring the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Many companies offer products with social benefits that are orthogonal to performance (e. g., green products). The present studies demonstrate that information about a company's intentions in designing the product plays an import role in consumers' evaluations. In particular, consumers are less likely to purchase a green product when they perceive that the company intentionally made the product better for the environment compared to when the same environmental benefit occurred as an unintended side effect. This result is explained by consumers' lay theories about resource allocation: intended (vs. unintended) green enhancements lead consumers to assume that the company diverted resources away from product quality, which in turn drives a reduction in purchase interest. The present studies also identify an important boundary condition based on the type of enhancement and show that the basic intended (vs. unintended) effect generalizes to other types of perceived tradeoffs, such as healthfulness and taste.
Previous research has found that people tend to avoid products or behaviors that are linked to dissociative reference groups. The present research demonstrates conditions under which consumers exhibit similar behaviors to dissociative out-group members in the domain of positive consumption behaviors. In particular, when a consumer learns that a dissociative out-group performs comparatively well on a positive behavior, the consumer is more likely to respond with positive intentions and actions when the setting is public (vs. private). The authors suggest that this occurs because learning of the successful performance of a dissociative out-group under public conditions threatens the consumer)s group image and activates the desire to present the group image in a positive light. The authors show that although group affirmation mitigates these effects, self-affirmation does not. They also examine the moderating role of the positivity of the behavior and the mediating role of group image motives. Taken together, the results highlight conditions under which communicating information about the behaviors of dissociative out-groups can be used to spur consumers to engage in positive actions.
ABSTRACT: The re-acquisition of discarded objects reshapes linear consumption into a cycle, simultaneously reducing new resources consumed and reducing consumer waste. The authors examined sustainable consumption behavior in the context of the annual inorganic collection in Auckland, New Zealand. Depth interviews and observations revealed that the recognition that treasure can be found in trash was pivotal in motivating collectors to collect for self and others, prolonging the useful life of objects. Contrary to the “future-for-others framing” of sustainable consumption that is often evident in public discourse, collectors initially had a “present-for-us” perspective. However, being confronted with excessive waste made this negative consequence of consumerism more proximate, motivating subsequent sustainable consumption behavior. The authors suggest how public policy makers can take advantage of the finding that the desire to consume sustainably is not just a motivator, but is also a consequence, of sustainable consumption.
Energy conservation appeals to homeowners stressing patriotism and social responsibility have not worked. The authors believe that more precise information for the homeowner showing the specific dollar costs and savings for various energy actions will stimulate meaningful, beneficial trade-offs for the individual. They further believe that broadly conceived, publicly sponsored marketing strategies can help individual consumers make more informed energy-conservation choices from among the continuous, seasonal, and one-time actions available to them. If public policymakers focus efforts on the most cost-effective, energy-saving actions for households, the community will receive the greatest energy savings for a fixed amount of public expenditures.
Cross-cultural comparisons can prove helpful for pinpointing factors which underlie efficient energy use. This study examines differences in the attitudes of Swedes, Canadians, and Americans about energy conservation, as a vehicle for evaluating the energy policies of these nations. Although they are efficient energy users, the heavily regulated Swedes possess weaker perceptions of personal involvement and effectiveness with regard to their energy problems. Canadians seem to have a more realistic understanding of the energy situation, and are more sensitive to the economic rationale for conservation, possibly as a result of their government's conservation promotion campaigns. Implications of the findings for U.S. energy policy are discussed.
A structural equation model is used to explore the relationships among a set of constructs including concern about air pollution, miles driven, political orientation, and attitudes toward specific public policy alternatives such as rationing gasoline.
Manufacturers are increasingly producing and promoting sustainable products (i.e., products that have a positive social and/or environmental impact). However, relatively little is known about how product sustainability affects consumers’ preferences. The authors propose that sustainability may not always be an asset, even if most consumers care about social and environmental issues. The degree to which sustainability enhances preference depends on the type of benefit consumers most value for the product category in question. In this research, the authors demonstrate that consumers associate higher product ethicality with gentleness-related attributes and lower product ethicality with strength-related attributes. As a consequence of these associations, the positive effect of product sustainability on consumer preferences is reduced when strength-related attributes are valued, sometimes even resulting in preferences for less sustainable product alternatives (i.e., the “sustainability liability”). Conversely, when gentleness-related attributes are valued, sustainability enhances preference. In addition, the authors show that the potential negative impact of sustainability on product preferences can be attenuated using explicit cues about product strength.
Environmental concerns have begun to reshape the landscape in which global organizations compete. The demands and influences of the environmental movement are evident in the dollar value size of the environmentally conscious marketplace. In addition, the growing regulatory concerns over the environmental impact of corporate practices have begun to influence corporate strategies. The authors discuss the concept of an enviropreneurial marketing strategy, which reflects the confluence of social performance goals, corporate entrepreneurship orientations, and marketing strategy by integrating environmental concerns when developing marketing policies and practices. They provide a brief overview of the emergence of the enviropreneurial strategy paradigm, identify three types of enviropreneurial marketing strategies, and develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of an enviropreneurial marketing strategy. Finally, they conclude with a brief discussion of future research needs.
Policy makers have proposed various incentive programs to curb consumption-related problems, such as traffic congestion and carbon emissions. While experts consider such programs effective in reducing those problems, consumers are more skeptical. Although this "effectiveness skepticism" is currently viewed as an important cause of public opposition, the authors argue that it may also arise as a consequence of opposition. Specifically, consumers oppose policies they consider personally unattractive or unfair. This opposition motivates them to also be skeptical about the potential effectiveness of such policies. Three studies that include a variety of methods, policies, and samples provide empirical support for this reasoning: perceptions of expected effects can be biased by consumers' perceptions of personal attractiveness and fairness. In line with this causal ordering, the authors find that offering optimistic effectiveness estimates, although successful in reducing effectiveness skepticism, did not boost policy support. Policy makers aiming to boost support prior to implementation should thus not only communicate a policy's effectiveness, but also address other causes of opposition.
Policy makers and social agencies need novel insights to manage the major global challenge of encouraging prosocial and sustainable behaviors. This research identifies a positive aesthetic cue, "Kindchenschema cuteness," that can reliably induce some people-specifically, those who exhibit high approach motivational orientation (per the behavioral approach system [BAS]; Carver and White 1994)- to engage in prosocial and conservation behaviors. Studies 1 and 2 show that consumers high (vs. low) in BAS (measured) react more favorably to conservation appeals featuring cuteness, an effect mediated by experienced feelings of tenderness. Study 3 replicates the effect usinga prime of approach motivation (BAS) to assess donation intentions. Study 4, a large-scale field experiment conducted over eight weeks at multiple locations, shows that people recycle more at bins featuring cute visuals with active (high-BAS) messages compared with bins featuring cute visuals with passive (low-BAS) messages. The authors conclude with a discussion of practical implications for policy makers.
This study proposes that certain religious and spiritual beliefs—specifically, representations of God—play an indirect but influential role in individuals' cognitive processing of 1) sustainability behaviors, 2) the importance of pro-environmental policies, and 3) the willingness to vote for pro-environmental policies. Across three studies, this research investigated the role of three representations of God: 1) God as an authoritarian personified-being, 2) God as a benevolent personified-being, and 3) God as a mystical cosmic force. Results of Study 1 suggest that attitude toward nature mediates the relationship between these representations of God and three sustainability behaviors. In a similar way, results of study 2 suggest that attitude toward nature mediates the relationship between these representations of God and the importance of pro-environmental policies. Additionally, self-transcendence is found to be an antecedent of mystical representation of God. Study 3 includes awe as an antecedent of self-transcendence and generally replicates the findings from Study 2 regarding the role of the representations of God in the cognitive processing of willingness to vote for pro-environmental policies.
Public policy makers seek to enhance disclosure of firms' sustainability performance, yet firms debate about whether, or to what extent, they should engage in sustainability reporting. This paper seeks to advance current understanding about the business returns to sustainability reporting by examining the short- and long-term investor reactions. Through an event study, this research documents significant short-term stock market reaction to the release of sustainability reports. In particular, abnormal stock returns around the release of such reports are positively related to firm sustainability performance, and this positive link is smaller for firms in a strong information environment. The results show that, over the long term, relative to non-reporting firms, firms that release sustainability reports enjoy higher value relevance of sustainability performance. These findings suggest that sustainability reports enhance information transparency and allow investors to incorporate sustainability information in stock valuation. This study provides strong evidence for the business case of sustainability reporting, and offers important implications for public policy makers in terms of devising policies and regulations to promote sustainability reporting.
In face of the increasing attention on issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) by the general public and policy makers, companies have put growing emphasis on ensuring CSR along their supply chains. Existent research has produced evidence that companies can increase their suppliers' CSR engagement by exerting explicit pressure on them, e.g., through contractual clauses. Adding to this conventional chain of CSR enforcement, this paper conceptualizes and empirically validates a so far undescribed extended chain of CSR enforcement that also leads to higher levels of a supplier firm's CSR engagement irrespective and even in absence of explicit pressure by the customer firm. In particular, a customer firm's CSR orientation in interaction with a powerful position in the supply chain leads suppliers to perceive pressure to engage in CSR regardless of factually exerted pressure. As a result, suppliers are likely to increase their CSR engagement in order to be customer oriented or in pre...
Uncovering inexpensive, simple techniques to encourage students to act in a pro-environmental manner is of critical importance. Through a four-week field study at a large, environmentally focused elementary school, it was found that placing negatively valenced emoticons (i.e., red frowny faces) on trash cans increased the proportion of recycled material from 22% to 44%. Subsequently, through a controlled laboratory study at a recognized “green” university, it was found that the negatively valenced emoticon increased the percentage of students who recycled their provided paper from 46% to 62%. Therefore, using emoticons as a complement to existing environmental education may be an easily implementable technique to positively change the recycling behavior of both older and younger students.
Between 1973 and 1983 there was a marked increase in reported research concerning consumer behavior and energy use. The present study evaluates this research, identifies those findings judged most significant, and discusses their theoretical and practical implications for the design and marketing of consumer energy conservation policies and programs.
From the FDA's efforts to prompt healthier eating to the EPA's desire to prompt people to engage in environmentally-friendly behaviors, a wide range of policy makers wish to persuade consumers. To do so, they must decide how and whether to use information about the behavior of other consumers as part of their persuasive message. In four experimental studies, the authors demonstrate that the persuasive advantage of high versus low consensus information depends on the target consumer's trait level of susceptibility to interpersonal influence (SII). Low SII consumers differentiate between low and high consensus information, such that they are more persuaded by high consensus information. In contrast, high SII consumers find any cue about the behavior of others persuasive, regardless of whether it is high or low consensus. Importantly, this finding suggests that policy makers may find success motivating behavioral change even in low consensus situations. The authors close by reporting data from two broad-scale correlational surveys that identify behavioral, psychographic, and demographic characteristics related to consumer SII as well as domains in which low consensus currently exists, so that these individuals and related issues can be identified and targeted by policy makers.
Food waste presents a complex global problem that involves multiple actors and institutions within the aggregate food marketing system. Food waste occurs across food production and distribution, as well as at the hands of the consumer. In this research, the authors focus on waste that occurs across what is termed the "squander sequence," which describes waste that occurs from consumer behaviors at the preacquisition, acquisition, consumption, and disposition stages. The authors set forth a behavioral theory-based agenda to explain food waste in the squander sequence with the ultimate goals of encouraging future research to uncover the psychological underpinnings of consumer-level food waste and of deriving transformative consumer solutions to this substantive issue.
It has been known for some time that consumers' identities influence purchasing decisions, and that people form strong identity connections or "links" with products and brands. However, research has yet to determine whether identity-linked products are differentially treated at disposal in comparison to products that are not identity-linked. Across seven studies, the current research shows that when an everyday product (e.g., paper, cups, aluminum cans) is linked to a consumer's identity it is less likely to be trashed and more likely to be recycled. Further, the tendency to recycle an identity-linked product increases with the strength and positivity of the connection between the consumer and product (or brand). Finally, the disposal behavior can be explained by consumers' motivation to avoid trashing a product that is linked to the self because it is viewed as an identity-threat. In sum, consumers will be more likely to recycle (rather than trash) a product if the product is linked to a consumer's identity. This occurs because placing an identity-linked product in the trash is symbolically similar to trashing a part of the self, a situation consumers are motivated to avoid.
Alliances are being used by environmental organizations to achieve their mission of improving the natural environment. Many of these alliances have been formed within the nonprofit sector, whereas others have been formed across economic sectors with government agencies and businesses as partners. The authors discuss two studies that examine differences among alliances formed by environmental organizations with (I) government agencies, (2) for-profit businesses, and (3) other environmental organizations. In Study I, which is based on a national survey of environmental organizations, they examine the relative effectiveness, formality, influence, and political position associated with different types of alliances. In Study 2, they further explore these relationships through in-depth telephone interviews of a subsample of respondents drawn from Study I. Both studies contribute to the understanding of nonprofit alliance relationships and their role in influencing environmental policy and market behavior.
In 1980, the iconoclastic economist Julian Simon challenged celebrity biologist Paul Ehrlich to a bet. Their wager on the future prices of five metals captured the public's imagination as a test of coming prosperity or doom. Ehrlich, author of the landmark book The Population Bomb, predicted that rising populations would cause overconsumption, resource scarcity, and famine-with apocalyptic consequences for humanity. Simon optimistically countered that human welfare would flourish thanks to flexible markets, technological change, and our collective ingenuity. Simon and Ehrlich's debate reflected a deepening national conflict over the future of the planet. The Bet weaves the two men's lives and ideas together with the era's partisan political clashes over the environment and the role of government. In a lively narrative leading from the dawning environmentalism of the 1960s through the pivotal presidential contest between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan and on into the 1990s, Paul Sabin shows how the fight between Ehrlich and Simon-between environmental fears and free-market confidence-helped create the gulf separating environmentalists and their critics today. Drawing insights from both sides, Sabin argues for using social values, rather than economic or biological absolutes, to guide society's crucial choices relating to climate change, the planet's health, and our own.
The authors examine the extent to which environmentally sensitive behavior at the workplace facilitates the translation of proenvironmental attitudes into consumer choices. They take advantage of a naturally occurring quasi-experiment in workplace experience and use a conjoint choice task to measure consumer behavior. The results indicate that (1) consumers are influenced by environmental attributes, (2) experience and level of concern moderate the influence of environmental attributes, (3) the effects of experience and concern are more than just additive, and (4) experience can facilitate environmentally conscious behavior among those with high levels of environmental concern by reducing their sensitivity to the effect of brand name. The authors conclude with implications for activists, public policymakers, and marketing managers.
This study characterizes participants in three related, but different environmental protection activities. The activities studied here are donating items for reuse, recycling newspapers, and walking when possible for reasons of conservation and environmental concern. The findings indicate that demographic, media usage patterns, information sources, and knowledge provide modest understanding of environmental protection activities. Participation can be better understood in terms of personal values and when aspects of helping behavior are considered. The empirical findings of this study provide policymakers with insights into how environmental protection activities can best be promoted
Little attention has been focused on the application of industrial marketing to macro-marketing theory, and only recently have academics become concerned with issues in ecology and business-government interface. Additionally, marketing theory and practice have centered on exchange between buyers and sellers in a consumer market; unfortunately the exchange paradigm has rarely been applied to the roles played by business and government as buyer and seller, respectively. This interdisciplinary study investigates industrial buying-center members’ attitudes toward the adoption of an ecologically-related government policy, currently known as the “Bubble.” The study explores the business-government interaction under economic incentive and political market domains. This article also point to one neglected area—the application of group dimension to the public policy issue in marketing. Guided by ecological marketing and diffusion theory, 42 firms involved in the Bubble policy project were surveyed. Findings suggest that benefit and uncertainty about the policy, as well as structure and climate of the buying-centers, were significant predictors of a firm's attitude toward adopting the policy.
As organizations increasingly target consumers who are concerned about the environment, the nature of their advertising becomes more of an issue. While much has been written about the problems associated with environmental advertising, this phenomenon has seldom been addressed systematically. This paper is intended to ascertain the extent to which environmental ads contain misleading and deceptive claims and to pose public policy recommendations concerning environmental advertising.