Sustainable marketing dilemmas: moral, ethical, and practical in business communication perspectives
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Keywords:
consumer trust; marketing communication disruption; sustainable marketing
Abstract
Abstract In recent years, corporations' sustainable marketing practices have gone beyond just selling mere products or services and present significant challenges. This study examines the moral, ethical, and practical challenges encountered by sustainable marketing, specifically from the standpoint of business communication. This research explains the notion of sustainable marketing and discerns its ethical dilemmas by examining the current body of scholarly literature. The discussion focuses on stakeholder theory, ethical consumerism, and communication theories. The study employs a qualitative research methodology, gathering data through comprehensive interviews and case analysis. The participants comprise marketing professionals, consumers, and companies that place sustainability as a top priority. The findings illustrate that organisations face many moral and ethical challenges while creating and executing sustainable marketing strategies. For example, challenges arise when trying to balance the desire for genuineness and openness and the success of marketing communications, as well as conflicts between moral evaluations and business goals. These challenges substantially impact the company's communication strategy, as they are directly connected to consumer trust and brand image. This study offers valuable insights for companies creating and implementing sustainable marketing strategies. It highlights the crucial role of managing moral and ethical factors to achieve long-term success. Moreover, the discoveries can aid policymakers and regulatory agencies formulate criteria and recommendations to foster sustainable corporate practices.
References
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Naseem, R., Majeed, W., Rana, N., Koch, E. B. de A., & Naseem, M. R. (2021). Entomophagy: an innovative nutritional and economic navigational tool in race of food security. In International Journal of Tropical Insect Science (Vol. 41, Issue 3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-020-00284-8
Piscicelli, L. (2023). The sustainability impact of a digital circular economy. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 61, 101251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101251
Prasetyo, Y. W. A., Santos, L. T., Abidin, K., & Chusumastuti, D. (2023). Artificial Intelligence for marketing communication: moral dilemma, ethics, and customer satisfaction. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 7(3), 726–741.
Qayyum, A., Jamil, R. A., & Sehar, A. (2023). Impact of green marketing, greenwashing and green confusion on green brand equity. Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC, 27(3), 286–305. https://doi.org/10.1108/SJME-03-2022-0032
Ruby, M. B., Walker, I., & Watkins, H. M. (2020). Sustainable Consumption: The Psychology of Individual Choice, Identity, and Behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 76(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12376
Sibinovski, B., Tripunoska, M., & Tripunoski, M. (2021). Marketing Communications in the Environment and Awareness of Sustainable Development. Nauchni Trudove, 1, 233–243.
Siderius, T., & Zink, T. (2023). Markets and the Future of the Circular Economy. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 3(3), 1569–1595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00196-4
Simanjuntak, M., Nafila, N. L., Yuliati, L. N., Johan, I. R., Najib, M., & Sabri, M. F. (2023). Environmental Care Attitudes and Intention to Purchase Green Products: Impact of Environmental Knowledge, Word of Mouth, and Green Marketing. Sustainability, 15(6), 5445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065445
Suryandari, N., & Lutviana, V. (2020). Impression management of buzzer in social media twitter. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 4(3), 614. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v4i3.2665
Susilo, D. (2023). Komunikasi Pemasaran Digital: Brand dan Isu Keberlanjutan dalam Pemasaran. Literasi Nusantara.
Susilo, D., & Dizon, C. C. G. (2023). Green and Sustainability Issues on Digital Marketing Communication on Gcash Philippines. International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science, 4(5), 1454–1461. https://doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v4i5.843
Todeschini, B. V., Cortimiglia, M. N., & de Medeiros, J. F. (2020). Collaboration practices in the fashion industry: Environmentally sustainable innovations in the value chain. Environmental Science and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.01.003
Wang, S., Liu, M. T., & Pérez, A. (2023). A bibliometric analysis of green marketing in marketing and related fields: From 1991 to 2021. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 35(8), 1857–1882. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-07-2022-0651
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Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). sage.
Yılmaz, M. B., & Baybars, B. (2022). A Critical Perspective on Greenwashing Under the Roof of Corporate Environmentalism (pp. 119–140). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82572-0_6
Zhang, D. (2022). Environmental regulation, green innovation, and export product quality: What is the role of greenwashing? International Review of Financial Analysis, 83, 102311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102311
Zhou, S., Blazquez, M., McCormick, H., & Barnes, L. (2021). How social media influencers’ narrative strategies benefit cultivating influencer marketing: Tackling issues of cultural barriers, commercialised content, and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research, 134, 122–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.011
Baldassarre, F. F., Santovito, S., Campo, R., & Dilorenzo, G. (2024). Sustainable and healthy purchasing behaviours towards palm oil-based food in Italy. British Food Journal, 126(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-11-2022-0968
Belch, G., & Belch, M. (2017). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. The McGraw-Hill.
Bharadwaj, S., Varadarajan, P., & Fahy, J. (1993). Sustainable competitive advantage in service industries: a conceptual model and research propositions. Journal of Marketing, 57(4), 83–99.
Boncinelli, F., Gerini, F., Piracci, G., Bellia, R., & Casini, L. (2023). Effect of executional greenwashing on market share of food products: An empirical study on green-coloured packaging. Journal of Cleaner Production, 391, 136258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136258
Chen, M., Smith, P. M., & Thomchick, E. (2017). Qualitative insights into buyer–supplier relationship attributes in the U.S. biofuels industry. Renewable Energy Focus , 22–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2017.09.001
Correia, E., Sousa, S., Viseu, C., & Larguinho, M. (2023). Analysing the Influence of Green Marketing Communication in Consumers’ Green Purchase Behaviour. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1356. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021356
De Leon, M. V. (2019). Factors influencing behavioural intention to use mobile banking among retail banking clients. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 3(2), 118. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v3i2.1469
Faßmann, M., & Moss, C. (2016). Instagram als Marketing-Kanal : Die Positionierung ausgewählter Social-Media-Plattformen. In Essentials. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-14349-7_4
Gregg, E. A., Kidd, L. R., Bekessy, S. A., Martin, J. K., Robinson, J. A., & Garrard, G. E. (2022). Ethical considerations for conservation messaging research and practice. In People and Nature (Vol. 4, Issue 5). https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10373
Gurita, D. (2021). Perspectives and strategies of religious tourism for a sustainable development of the economy. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Negotia, 66(3). https://doi.org/10.24193/subbnegotia.2021.3.04
Hailemariam, A., & Erdiaw‐Kwasie, M. O. (2023). Towards a circular economy: Implications for emission reduction and environmental sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4), 1951–1965. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3229
Halkos, G., & Managi, S. (2023). New developments in the disciplines of environmental and resource economics. Economic Analysis and Policy, 77, 513–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2022.12.008
Herrero, M., Hugas, M., Lele, U., Wirakartakusumah, A., & Torero, M. (2023). A Shift to Healthy and Sustainable Consumption Patterns. In Science and Innovations for Food Systems Transformation. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_5
Jarosławski, S., & Toumi, M. (2019). Non-profit drug research and development: the case study of Genethon. Journal of Market Access and Health Policy, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20016689.2018.1545514
Leipold, S., Petit‐Boix, A., Luo, A., Helander, H., Simoens, M., Ashton, W. S., Babbitt, C. W., Bala, A., Bening, C. R., Birkved, M., Blomsma, F., Boks, C., Boldrin, A., Deutz, P., Domenech, T., Ferronato, N., Gallego‐Schmid, A., Giurco, D., Hobson, K., … Xue, B. (2023). Lessons, narratives, and research directions for a sustainable circular economy. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 27(1), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13346
Marko, M., & Kusá, A. (2023). Greenwashing and the Nature of Education in Relation to Consumer Trust in Fast Fashion Marketing Communication. Communication Today, 86–99. https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2023.Vol.14.No.1.6
Middleton, V., & Hawkins, R. (1998). Sustainable tourism: A marketing perspective. Routledge.
Moore, K., Swisher, M., Rodriguez, J., Blevins, M., Hogan, M., Hunter, L., Kelly-Begazo, C., Komar, S., Mills-Wasniak, S., & Redhage, D. (2016). Principles Guiding Practice: A Case Study Analysis of the Principles of Sustainable Agriculture for Diverse Farms. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2016.063.008
Naseem, R., Majeed, W., Rana, N., Koch, E. B. de A., & Naseem, M. R. (2021). Entomophagy: an innovative nutritional and economic navigational tool in race of food security. In International Journal of Tropical Insect Science (Vol. 41, Issue 3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-020-00284-8
Piscicelli, L. (2023). The sustainability impact of a digital circular economy. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 61, 101251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101251
Prasetyo, Y. W. A., Santos, L. T., Abidin, K., & Chusumastuti, D. (2023). Artificial Intelligence for marketing communication: moral dilemma, ethics, and customer satisfaction. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 7(3), 726–741.
Qayyum, A., Jamil, R. A., & Sehar, A. (2023). Impact of green marketing, greenwashing and green confusion on green brand equity. Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC, 27(3), 286–305. https://doi.org/10.1108/SJME-03-2022-0032
Ruby, M. B., Walker, I., & Watkins, H. M. (2020). Sustainable Consumption: The Psychology of Individual Choice, Identity, and Behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 76(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12376
Sibinovski, B., Tripunoska, M., & Tripunoski, M. (2021). Marketing Communications in the Environment and Awareness of Sustainable Development. Nauchni Trudove, 1, 233–243.
Siderius, T., & Zink, T. (2023). Markets and the Future of the Circular Economy. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 3(3), 1569–1595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00196-4
Simanjuntak, M., Nafila, N. L., Yuliati, L. N., Johan, I. R., Najib, M., & Sabri, M. F. (2023). Environmental Care Attitudes and Intention to Purchase Green Products: Impact of Environmental Knowledge, Word of Mouth, and Green Marketing. Sustainability, 15(6), 5445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065445
Suryandari, N., & Lutviana, V. (2020). Impression management of buzzer in social media twitter. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 4(3), 614. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v4i3.2665
Susilo, D. (2023). Komunikasi Pemasaran Digital: Brand dan Isu Keberlanjutan dalam Pemasaran. Literasi Nusantara.
Susilo, D., & Dizon, C. C. G. (2023). Green and Sustainability Issues on Digital Marketing Communication on Gcash Philippines. International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science, 4(5), 1454–1461. https://doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v4i5.843
Todeschini, B. V., Cortimiglia, M. N., & de Medeiros, J. F. (2020). Collaboration practices in the fashion industry: Environmentally sustainable innovations in the value chain. Environmental Science and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.01.003
Wang, S., Liu, M. T., & Pérez, A. (2023). A bibliometric analysis of green marketing in marketing and related fields: From 1991 to 2021. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 35(8), 1857–1882. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-07-2022-0651
Yee, W. F., Ng, S. I., Seng, K., Lim, X.-J., & Rathakrishnan, T. (2021). How does social media marketing enhance brand loyalty? Identifying mediators relevant to the cinema context. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 1–17.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). sage.
Yılmaz, M. B., & Baybars, B. (2022). A Critical Perspective on Greenwashing Under the Roof of Corporate Environmentalism (pp. 119–140). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82572-0_6
Zhang, D. (2022). Environmental regulation, green innovation, and export product quality: What is the role of greenwashing? International Review of Financial Analysis, 83, 102311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102311
Zhou, S., Blazquez, M., McCormick, H., & Barnes, L. (2021). How social media influencers’ narrative strategies benefit cultivating influencer marketing: Tackling issues of cultural barriers, commercialised content, and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research, 134, 122–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.011
Published
2024-03-27
How to Cite
Sudirjo, F., Dizon, C. C., Rusmardiana, A., Deni, A., & Hantono, H. (2024). Sustainable marketing dilemmas: moral, ethical, and practical in business communication perspectives. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 8(1), 011-020. https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v8i1.8052
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