MK838 – Social Responsibility & Sustainability
University
-
Subject
Management
Module Code
MK838
Social Responsibility & Sustainability
- Introduction
This class explores sustainability and the role of marketing in society as an agent of change. Marketing as a discipline is often tarnished by the assumption that it focuses on encouraging overconsumption, driving sales for sales sake and is misleading the public. Whilst this is often true, marketing also has a substantial role to play in tackling the biggest challenges in our society, and in particular driving societal discourse and market change towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This class builds from a foundation of evidence-based marketing, driven by systems thinking, understanding full product and service life cycles and fact-led decision-making. Ensuring the claims made and communication approaches employed are substantiated, well designed and targeted at change for good. A number of different techniques are explored to identify and exploit vectors for change through different approaches to understanding market systems, targeting key stakeholders to drive change, and marketing tactics for reshaping market, organisational and consumer behaviour. The class is an advanced marketing class, assuming a sound grounding in areas of consumer behaviour, branding, strategic marketing and marketing research as a foundation on which more advanced concepts can be built.
- Class Description
The class will apply theory to specific context with reference to a broad international range of destinations. An initial overview of destination typologies will be illustrated with examples from developed and developing countries, in urban and rural contexts. This will be followed by an in-depth exploration of resources which contribute to the cohesive destination ‘product’. A critical examination of the need to reconcile the sustainable management of these resources for the long term with the drive towards their commodification and marketing for consumption is undertaken. The important links between destination development and branding for tourism and wider spheres of economic development are explored. Attention proceeds to the inter-organisational contexts where planning and policymaking affecting the destination take place at local, regional, national and international levels in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Finally, external issues with the potential to influence the sustainability and market viability of the destination, such as political and economic factors and climate change, are explored.
- Class Aims
This class aims are:
- to provide an understanding of the challenges in addressing sustainability in a marketing role, particularly around product – service development, business models, positioning and communication.
- To apply approaches to engaging in greater levels of sustainability. In particular approaches to circularising the economy, engendering behavioural change and reformulating complex business and societal processes.
- Learning Outcomes
Subject specific knowledge and skills
- i) Knowledge Based Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the class, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of:
- To examine sustainability from a whole systems perspective with a focus on markets and consumers.
- Evaluate the social responsibilities of, and relationships between, companies and their external and internal stakeholders.
- Learn to apply a range of sustainability frameworks and tools such as the circular economy, lifecycle, and behavioural change approaches.
- Demonstrate the ability to analyse and debate environmental and societal problems, and to develop, present and defend potential solutions.
Cognitive abilities and non-subject specific skills
- ii) Skills Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the class students should be able to:
- B1 Use enhanced critical skills, fact checking and presentation.
- B2 Demonstrate debating and argumentation skills
- B3 Read and interpret scientific reports and materials.
- B4 Understand markets and products through a systems approach
- Teaching and Learning Methods (including special features)
Teaching for this class will be based on synchronous and asynchronous learning activities. Synchronous activities will comprise of interactive lectures, class discussions, and applied learning activities. The class will be highly participative in nature and all students are expected to contribute, Asynchronous activities will require each student to read the prescribed reading materials such as case studies in advance of each session, as these materials will often be linked to pre-session activities that will be further discussed in the class. Instructions for these activities will be offered on a weekly basis during the interactive sessions, or through MyPlace, Full slide-packs and all essential reading materials will be further available through MyPlace..
Indicative content and structure/lecture programme
| Session | Lecture Title/Subject/Content |
| 1 | Module Introduction / Introduction of Marketing Sustainability and the Causes of climate change
Essential Readings: Wilkie, William and Elizabeth Moore 1999 Marketing’s Contributions to Society. Journal of Marketing 63 (Special Issue): 198-218 Jackson, T. (2017). Prosperity without Growth: The Foundations for the Economy of the Future, Taylor Francis, Routledge Core ideas from this book are available via Jackson, T., (2009) Prosperity without Growth? The Transition to a Sustainable Economy https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/2163 Ch, 3-5. Various YouTube videos also give a precis. The Common Home Plan: A new green deal for Scotland. (Eds; McAlpine, R, Dalzell, C and Black, I.R). Commonweal https://commonweal.scot/policy-library/common-home-plan |
| 2 | Sustainable Principles and Frameworks: Definitions and Goals
Essential Readings: Bauer, M.A., Wilkie, J.E., Kim, J.K. and Bodenhausen, G.V., 2012. Cuing consumerism: Situational materialism undermines personal and social well-being. Psychological Science, 23(5), pp.517-523. Soper, K “The Trouble with Consumption,” Places Journal, November 2020. Accessed 18 Nov 2020. <https://placesjournal.org/article/alternative-hedonism-and-the-trouble-with-consumption http://www.consume.bbk.ac.uk/researchfindings/althedonism.pdf https://web.stanford.edu/class/me221/readings/NaturalStepOverview.pdf
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| 3 | Consumption and Sustainability: The Culture of Consumption & the Sustainable Consumer
Essential Readings: Prothero, A., & Fitchett, J. A. (2000). Greening capitalism: Opportunities for a green commodity. Journal of Macromarketing, 20(1), 46-55. McDonagh, P., & Prothero, A. (2014). Sustainability marketing research: Past, present and future. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(11-12), 1186-1219. Carrigan, M. (2017). Revisiting ‘The Myth of the Ethical Consumer’: why are we still not ethical shoppers. Journal of Consumer Ethics, 1(1), 11-21. Caruana, R., Glozer, S., & Eckhardt, G. M. (2020). ‘Alternative Hedonism’: Exploring the Role of Pleasure in Moral Markets. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(1), 143-158. Kilbourne, W., &Mittelstaedt, J. (2012). From profligacy to sustainability: Can we get there from here? Transforming the ideology of consumption. In Transformative consumer research for personal and collective well-being (pp. 311-328). Routledge. Kilbourne, W. E. (2004). Sustainable communication and the dominant social paradigm: can they be integrated? Marketing Theory, 4(3), 187-208.
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| 4 | Sustainable Technology: Will Technology Save us?
Essential Readings: Davies, I., Oates, C. J., Tynan, C., Carrigan, M., Casey, K., Heath, T., … & Wells, V. (2020). Seeking sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research. European journal of marketing.Vol. 54 No. 11, pp. 2911-2939. Geels, F. W., &Schot, J. (2007). Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways. Research policy, 36(3), 399-417. Smith, A., Voß, J. P., & Grin, J. (2010). Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: The allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges. Research policy, 39(4), 435-448. Geels, F. W. (2019). Socio-technical transitions to sustainability: A review of criticisms and elaborations of the Multi-Level Perspective. Current opinion in environmental sustainability, 39, 187-201. Adams, J. (1996). Can technology save us?. World Transport Policy and Practice, 2(3), 4-17.
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| 5 | Sustainable Communications
Essential Readings: Yang, Z., Nguyen, T. T. H., Nguyen, H. N., Nguyen, T. T. N., & Cao, T. T. (2020). Greenwashing behaviours: causes, taxonomy and consequences based on a systematic literature review. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 21(5), 1486-1507. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2020.13225 de Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. D. L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1), 1-12. Davies, I. A., & Doherty, B. (2019). Balancing a hybrid business model: The search for equilibrium at Cafédirect. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(4), 1043-1066. Bocken, N. M., & Allwood, J. M. (2012). Strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of consumer goods by influencing stakeholders. Journal of Cleaner Production, 35, 118-129. |
| 6 | Reading Week |
| 7 | Information society, Incentives and Punishment
Essential Readings: Manca, S., Altoè, G., Schultz, P. W., &Fornara, F. (2020). The persuasive route to sustainable mobility: elaboration likelihood model and emotions predict implicit attitudes. Environment and Behavior, 52(8), 830-860.
O’Keefe, D. J. (2013). The elaboration likelihood model. The Sage handbook of persuasion: Developments in theory and practice, 137-149.
Lehman, P. K., & Geller, E. S. (2004). Behavior analysis and environmental protection: Accomplishments and potential for more. Behavior and social issues, 13(1), 13-33. Curtin, J., McInerney, C., &Gallachóir, B. Ó. (2017). Financial incentives to mobilise local citizens as investors in low-carbon technologies: A systematic literature review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 534-547.
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| 8 | Social Influence Approaches
Essential Readings: Abrahamse, W., & Steg, L. (2013). Social influence approaches to encourage resource conservation: A meta-analysis. Global environmental change, 23(6), 1773-1785.
Cialdini, R. B., Demaine, L. J., Sagarin, B. J., Barrett, D. W., Rhoads, K., & Winter, P. L. (2006). Managing social norms for persuasive impact. Social influence, 1(1), 3-15.
Nolan, J. M., Schultz, P. W., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., &Griskevicius, V. (2008). Normative social influence is underdetected. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 913-923.
Castro-Santa, J., Drews, S., & van den Bergh, J. (2023). Nudging low-carbon consumption through advertising and social norms. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 102, 101956.Web link
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| 9 | Sustainable Economic Models: The Circular Economy
Essential Readings: Stahel, W.R., 2016. The circular economy. Nature, 531(7595), pp.435-438. Ellen MacArthur Foundation “Towards the Circular Economy “vol2* PP 13-36. http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/business/reports/ce2013 Belk, R., 2014. You are what you can access: Sharing and collaborative consumption online. Journal of business research, 67(8), pp.1595-1600. Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F., 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of marketing, 68(1), pp.1-17. Corvellec, H., Stowell, A.F. and Johansson, N., 2022. Critiques of the circular economy. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26(2), pp.421-432. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled?t=1610533693756 |
| 10 | A Sustainable Future?
Essential Readings: Prothero, A., & McDonagh, P. (2021). Ambiguity of purpose and the politics of failure: Sustainability as macromarketing’s compelling political calling. Journal of Macromarketing, 41(1), 166-171.
Davies, I., Oates, C. J., Tynan, C., Carrigan, M., Casey, K., Heath, T., … & Wells, V. (2020). Seeking sustainable futures in marketing and consumer research. European journal of marketing.Vol. 54 No. 11, pp. 2911-2939. Arvidsson, A. (2009). The ethical economy: Towards a post-capitalist theory of value. Capital & Class, 33(1), 13-29. |
- Class Core and Indicative Reading List
Core Class Reading List:
No Core text is used on this course, please see MyPlace for readings.
Indicative Reading List
See above table
- Assessment
Individual assignment (100%)witha maximum word count of 3,000 words.
Reassessment: Individual assignment.
Matrix of Outcomes, Learning and Assessment Methods
| A. Knowledge-based Outcomes | Learning Method | Assessment Method |
| By the end of the class, students are expected to develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills in the following areas
A1. To examine sustainability from a whole systems perspective with a focus on markets and consumers. A2. Evaluate the social responsibilities of, and relationships between, companies and their external and internal stakeholders. A3. Learn to apply a range of sustainability frameworks and tools such as the circular economy, lifecycle, and behavioural change approaches. A4. Demonstrate the ability to analyse and debate environmental and societal problems, and to develop, present and defend potential solutions.
|
L, DR, CD, ALA L, DR, CD, ALA
L, DR, CD, ALA
L, DR, CD, ALA
|
IA IA
IA
IA |
| B. Skills and Other Attributes | ||
| You should also have developed an ability to:
B1 Use enhanced critical skills, fact checking and presentation. B2 Demonstrate debating and argumentation skills B3 Read and interpret scientific reports and materials. B4 Understand markets and products through a systems approach
|
L, DR, CD, ALA
L, DR, CD, ALA L, DR, CD, ALA
L, DR, CD, ALA
|
IA
IA IA
IA |
Learning methods: Class Lecture (L), Class Exercise (CE), Class Discussion (CD), Video/DVD Presentation (VDP), Guest Lecture (GL), Directed Reading (DR), Independent Reading (IR), Class Presentation (CP), Online Update (OU).
Assessment methods: Exam (Ex), Group Assessment (GA), Individual Assessment (IA).
- Student activity – indicative hours
Activity Hours
Lecturer-led workshops 20
Independent activities 10
Directed reading 10
Independent reading 20
Assignment 40
Total 100
