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Legitimate Green Marketing Communication: A Case Study on the Tour Operator TUI

Merten, Janina LU (2020) SKOM12 20201
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
Green marketing communication in the tour operating business is an emerging field
of research. In recognition of green marketing communication researchers’ and practitioners’ within the tour operating business need to achieve a more profound
understanding of legitimate green marketing communication. This is because of societies and especially millennials increasing sensitivity and scepticism towards
businesses implementation of green efforts. Further because of tourism industry’s
image of being environmentally unfriendly, which poses a challenge for tour operators adopting a green approach, since the risk of being perceived as contradictory or as a greenwasher is high. Thereupon, this thesis provides a case study examining one of the... (More)
Green marketing communication in the tour operating business is an emerging field
of research. In recognition of green marketing communication researchers’ and practitioners’ within the tour operating business need to achieve a more profound
understanding of legitimate green marketing communication. This is because of societies and especially millennials increasing sensitivity and scepticism towards
businesses implementation of green efforts. Further because of tourism industry’s
image of being environmentally unfriendly, which poses a challenge for tour operators adopting a green approach, since the risk of being perceived as contradictory or as a greenwasher is high. Thereupon, this thesis provides a case study examining one of the biggest European tour operator, hence TUI’s green marketing communication’s legitimacy. More specifically this study explores if and
how TUI legitimately communicates their green marketing efforts and how millenial recipients perceive and interpret TUI’s green marketing communication efforts. By conducting qualitative interviews, hence by applying a social constructivist perspective, and using data analysis as a supplementary data retrieval method this research identified five themes. Those five themes, namely taking responsibility, establish differentiation, being transparent, communicate realistically and being approachable, were examined as having an influence on the understanding of a tour operators green marketing communication’s legitimacy.
Further, this study shows that TUI largely fulfils communicator’s and recipient’s expectations on their green marketing communication, hence is acknowledge as legitimate. Yet, recipients perceived a lack in TUI taking on responsibility selflessly, in TUI communicating radically transparent and in TUI communicating realistically. Overall, this study’s ambition is to enhance knowledge within the field of strategic communications by exploring the purposeful use of green marketing communication by the tour operator TUI to examine if and how they fulfill their mission of becoming more environmentally friendly. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Merten, Janina LU
supervisor
organization
course
SKOM12 20201
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9028273
date added to LUP
2021-02-01 09:10:41
date last changed
2021-02-01 09:10:41
@misc{9028273,
  abstract     = {{Green marketing communication in the tour operating business is an emerging field
of research. In recognition of green marketing communication researchers’ and practitioners’ within the tour operating business need to achieve a more profound
understanding of legitimate green marketing communication. This is because of societies and especially millennials increasing sensitivity and scepticism towards
businesses implementation of green efforts. Further because of tourism industry’s
image of being environmentally unfriendly, which poses a challenge for tour operators adopting a green approach, since the risk of being perceived as contradictory or as a greenwasher is high. Thereupon, this thesis provides a case study examining one of the biggest European tour operator, hence TUI’s green marketing communication’s legitimacy. More specifically this study explores if and
how TUI legitimately communicates their green marketing efforts and how millenial recipients perceive and interpret TUI’s green marketing communication efforts. By conducting qualitative interviews, hence by applying a social constructivist perspective, and using data analysis as a supplementary data retrieval method this research identified five themes. Those five themes, namely taking responsibility, establish differentiation, being transparent, communicate realistically and being approachable, were examined as having an influence on the understanding of a tour operators green marketing communication’s legitimacy.
Further, this study shows that TUI largely fulfils communicator’s and recipient’s expectations on their green marketing communication, hence is acknowledge as legitimate. Yet, recipients perceived a lack in TUI taking on responsibility selflessly, in TUI communicating radically transparent and in TUI communicating realistically. Overall, this study’s ambition is to enhance knowledge within the field of strategic communications by exploring the purposeful use of green marketing communication by the tour operator TUI to examine if and how they fulfill their mission of becoming more environmentally friendly.}},
  author       = {{Merten, Janina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Legitimate Green Marketing Communication: A Case Study on the Tour Operator TUI}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}