Sustainability marketing beyond sustainable development: towards a degrowth agenda

Abstract

Drawing on ecological economics, post-development studies, and political ecology, this paper argues that sustainable development notions have run their course within sustainability marketing debates and proposes degrowth as an alternative framework to steer disciplinary debates in new directions. We chart unexplored territory, offering sustainability marketing scholars tools to navigate degrowth-minded policies, transformative frameworks, and business models. In doing so, our work contributes to existing sustainability marketing debates in three ways: first, we respond to the paucity of studies engaging with the political economy of sustain-ability marketing. Second, we make visible the tensions and contra-dictions that arise as marketers seek to reconcile imperatives of economic growth and sustainability. Finally, we foreground degrowth as an emerging sustainability proposition, with potential for inspiring the radical set of transformations required to avert catastrophic climate change and keep global temperatures well below +2°C (relative to pre-industrial levels), as pledged in the Paris Agreement.

Achieving The Goal of Sustainable Brand Management: The Mediating and Complementary Roles of Brand Awareness, Brand Image, And Brand Identity

“…Interestingly, the long evolution of the marketing concept, from ecological, green, to enviropreneurial (sustainable) marketing, has not redefined the essence of marketing. Instead, research [25] suggests sustainable marketing has helped align marketing theories and practices with the United Nations' SDGs. While sustainable marketing alone will not save the Earth, it gives us more time to reflect on how best to save the environment from further degradation.…”

Analysis of the sustainability aspects of fashion: A literature review

“…80,81 The de-growth theory reduces energy and resource use to bring the economy back into balance with the living world, reducing inequality and improving human well-being. [87][88][89][90][91]…”

Research trends of sustainability and marketing research, 2010–2020: Topic modeling analysis

“…This increases the number of sustainable products and services and enhances sustainability-driven consumerism while continuously satisfying customers and other stakeholders [ 7 , 19 , 21 , 22 , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] ]. Sustainable development represents a path to resolving the apparent paradox between profitability, consumption, and the need to protect the environment [ 64 , 65 ]. However, although there are several sustainable applications in marketing, altering the research trends of sustainability and marketing is regarded as less concerning.…”

“…The research gaps in the literature on sustainability and marketing can be described in two ways. First, research on sustainability and marketing is limited in the business context [ 7 , 19 , 21 , 22 , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] ]. The literature on sustainability and marketing tends to focus more on micro- and meso-marketing perspectives than on macro-marketing, such as enterprise systems and industrial aspects that would eventually impact marketing activities [ 36 , [67] , [68] , [69] ].…”

“…We employ topic modeling, more specifically, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), the most widely used algorithm in topic modeling, for effective and systemic analysis of the existing literature on sustainability and marketing. Previous studies have used different methods to investigate the impact of sustainability marketing on consumer behaviors and intentions, such as communication methods (e.g., psycho–physiological and attitudinal measures), surveys, mixed methods (minor qualitative and major quantitative parts), action research experiments (i.e., developing a series of marketing initiatives and testing their impact on consumption behavior), and social invention measurements [ 1 , 15 , 21 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 35 , 55 , 64 , 72 , 73 ]. This study systematizes scientific knowledge and research trends in sustainability and marketing literature over the past 10 years, from 2010 to 2020.…”