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Images of Responsible Consumers: Organizing the Marketing of Sustainability

Fuentes, Christian LU orcid (2015) In International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 43(4-5). p.367-385
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.



Design/Methodology/Approach: Theoretically, this paper takes a marketing-as-practice approach and makes use of practice theory to conceptualize the marketing of sustainability. Methodologically, an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains and their marketing work has been conducted. Interviews with management, observations made at the stores of these three retailers and various marketing texts and images produced by these retailers form the material analysed.



Findings: This paper illustrates three different ways of marketing and enacting sustainability. It shows that... (More)
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.



Design/Methodology/Approach: Theoretically, this paper takes a marketing-as-practice approach and makes use of practice theory to conceptualize the marketing of sustainability. Methodologically, an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains and their marketing work has been conducted. Interviews with management, observations made at the stores of these three retailers and various marketing texts and images produced by these retailers form the material analysed.



Findings: This paper illustrates three different ways of marketing and enacting sustainability. It shows that sustainability is framed differently and, indeed, enacted differently in order to fit various ideas about who are the responsible consumers. The argument is that rather than consumer demand, supply pressure or media scandals, the marketing of sustainability is in each of the cases studied configured around a specific notion of the responsible consumer. What sustainability work is marketed, through which devices it is marketed, and how it is framed is guided by an idea of whom the retailers’ responsible consumers are, what their lifestyles are, and what they will be interested in. Images of responsible consumers work as configuring agents around which retailing activities and devices are organized.



Originality/value – The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the marketing of sustainability and offers a new explanation about what it is that influences the various approach to sustainable marketing taken by retailers. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Sustainable, marketing, qualitative method, consumer, images, practice theory, marketing-as-practice
in
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
volume
43
issue
4-5
pages
367 - 385
publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
external identifiers
  • scopus:84929306381
ISSN
0959-0552
DOI
10.1108/IJRDM-03-2014-0039
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
43fa0baa-6730-41de-88c4-dc6eda022e3d (old id 4938980)
alternative location
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/IJRDM-03-2014-0039
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:44:23
date last changed
2024-01-24 14:45:08
@article{43fa0baa-6730-41de-88c4-dc6eda022e3d,
  abstract     = {{Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain what organizes the marketing of retail sustainability.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Design/Methodology/Approach: Theoretically, this paper takes a marketing-as-practice approach and makes use of practice theory to conceptualize the marketing of sustainability. Methodologically, an ethnographic study of three Swedish retail chains and their marketing work has been conducted. Interviews with management, observations made at the stores of these three retailers and various marketing texts and images produced by these retailers form the material analysed.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Findings: This paper illustrates three different ways of marketing and enacting sustainability. It shows that sustainability is framed differently and, indeed, enacted differently in order to fit various ideas about who are the responsible consumers. The argument is that rather than consumer demand, supply pressure or media scandals, the marketing of sustainability is in each of the cases studied configured around a specific notion of the responsible consumer. What sustainability work is marketed, through which devices it is marketed, and how it is framed is guided by an idea of whom the retailers’ responsible consumers are, what their lifestyles are, and what they will be interested in. Images of responsible consumers work as configuring agents around which retailing activities and devices are organized.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Originality/value – The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the marketing of sustainability and offers a new explanation about what it is that influences the various approach to sustainable marketing taken by retailers.}},
  author       = {{Fuentes, Christian}},
  issn         = {{0959-0552}},
  keywords     = {{Sustainable; marketing; qualitative method; consumer; images; practice theory; marketing-as-practice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4-5}},
  pages        = {{367--385}},
  publisher    = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management}},
  title        = {{Images of Responsible Consumers: Organizing the Marketing of Sustainability}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3563591/5469501.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1108/IJRDM-03-2014-0039}},
  volume       = {{43}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}