Business Commons^™

Corporate Social Responsibility In Sport: The Illustrative Case Of The German Men’S Bundesliga, Denise Morawek

Masters Theses

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a pivotal aspect for companies and governments, exceeding mere risk management to create opportunities and enhance overall performance. While the concept of CSR in sports

is relatively recent, its significance is growing, especially in Germany’s sport industry. The Bundesliga, one of the world’s top football leagues, showcases a unique CSR landscape shaped by societal, economic, and political drivers. Societal motives reinforce regional identity, economic strategies target customer retention, and political actions, including governmental programs and football governing bodies’ initiatives, shape CSR endeavors. Germany’s distinctive 50+1 rule, albeit with exceptions, highlights the fan-centric model. The …

Consumers' Acceptance To Buy And Dispose Of Recycling Textile Products, Roa Alsayed

Theses and Dissertations

The textile industry is the second most polluting worldwide, following food manufacturing. It is one of the industries that is rarely scrutinized in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This work analyzes the fashion industry from the perspective of consumer attitudes towards the purchase and disposal of clothing, and their behavior with regards to old garments. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two countries that achieved similar results in the fashion industry. The methodology is divided into three phases. First, the manuscript begins with a review of topics such as sustainability, consumer behavior in the …

Yala Designs Marketing Strategy, Anna Buckley

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper dives into the complexities of a sustainable pajama company's social media marketing strategy. This paper also analyzes the strategies of competitors and market leaders in an attempt to formulate suggested strategies based off their success.

A Consumer's Guide To Greenwashing, Katie Fowler

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past 37 years since the term greenwashing was coined, there have been sparse attempts to regulate this deceptive environmental marketing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, also known as the Green Guides, in 1992. The Guides have been revised on three separate occasions – 1996, 1998, and 2012 – in an attempt to remain relevant with the proliferation of environmental marketing claims and trends. However, the Guides were created as interpretive rules that do not give the FTC the authority to enforce the regulations unless they can prove that …

A Continuation Of The Differentiation Of Transit Agencies And Their Funding In The United States, Hannah Stapp

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

This paper explores the role of efficiency, and effectiveness, measured in relation to the differentiation of public transportation agencies operating in the United States with a bus mode. Data is gathered from the National Transit Database (NTD) from 2015-2019, at the agency level. A k-means clustering approach is used to determine how these ratios segment agencies in the market. After agencies are classified into three groups, a discriminant analysis is done to affirm the distinctiveness of the solution. Next, an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model is run each year to investigate whether or not the ratios used to form …

Consumer's Perceptions Of Sustainable Products Through Social Media, Alessandra M. Cutone

Honors Theses and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, marketing has shifted drastically. Companies have slowly made the switch from mailers and print marketing to a variety of digital marketing forms in order to keep the attention of their consumers. This research examines consumer’s perceptions of advertisements through social media influencers relating to sustainable products. More specifically, what drives consumers to buy eco-friendly products on social media? Does the sustainability focus of the influencer matter for product endorsement? And along with that, does there need to be a match between the sustainability focus of both the product and the influencer? The results of this …

Using Primates As A Flagship Species In Marketing Campaigns: Effects On Proenvironmental Attitudes And Behavioral Intentions, Taylor Barber

All Master's Theses

Shade coffee plantations grow coffee under a canopy of trees and provide alternative habitats for many bird and primate species, known as agroecosystems, particularly in Latin America. The aim of the current project was to better educate the public about shade plantations and the positive effects they can have on conservation for primates. In addition, marketing tactics such as the presence of a shade plantation certification label and howler monkey images were assessed for their effects on consumer purchasing intentions as well as participant support for biodiversity and sustainability. Participants were recruited through the Department of Psychology’s research system at …

“Green” Marketing In The Apparel Industry: The Spectrum Of Veracity, Stephanie R. Keane

Honors Theses in Science, Technology, and Society

Apparel companies’ propensity for manipulation in their marketing of environmental initiatives contributes to immense environmental pollution from petrochemical textile material production. Public scrutiny pressures these businesses to adopt “green” initiatives to avoid losing devoted consumers. In some cases, these initiatives disguise the real operations of a company or claim benignity for the company when this is not the reality. Previous business ethics research analyzed the emergence of “greenwashing” in corporations and thus concluded that corporations market themselves as eco-friendly to portray commodification as sustainable. In the form of case studies, this paper scrutinizes four companies: Zara, Patagonia, Lululemon, and Pact. …

Effective Green Marketing Strategies On Social Media: Selling Companies And Their Consumers On Investing In Carbon Offsetting And Solar Energy In 2021, Melvin Richard Springer Iv

Honors Theses

In a digital world where consumers and businesses alike care significantly about sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR), the success of startup companies hinges on constant, clear, and thoughtful communication. Through my research into successfully marketing such concerns on social media as well as my internship at Clearloop, I discovered some of the best ways to convince both companies and consumers that preserving the planet should be a primary concern for every environmentally conscious company. Companies that ignore their impacts on the environment are synonymous with companies doomed to fail in the 21^st century. Clearloop’s model of partnering with …

Sustainability, A Competitive Advantage In The Corporate World, Samantha Kennelly

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract: Over the years, society has become more aware of the impact they leave on the environment. For this reason, many are wondering what can be done to curb their footprint, and research has shown that customers now more than ever are demanding more sustainable goods. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between corporate social responsibility, consumer desires, and sustainability as a competitive advantage. I will first discuss the history and present factors surrounding environmental problems, in particular marine plastic pollution, we face today. I will define microplastics and marine plastics and …

Effects Of Economic Development Status And Eco-Product On Consumption Values: From The Perspective Of Us Consumers, Mostafa Zaman

Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers select a product based on numerous product characteristics. Numerous studies conducted earlier revealed that consumers in developing countries preferred products made in western or developed countries because their product quality is better than the quality of local products (Lee & Nguyen, 2017; Dao & Heidt, 2018; Rodrigo et al., 2019). Moreover, consumers are increasingly concerned about manufacturers’ environmental issues. Although ethical consumers believe that eco-products could save the environment, some consumers are not concerned about the eco-products and thus select products based on other product attributes (Joshi & Rahman, 2015). Hence, it becomes very challenging for retailers to select …

Online Atmospherics In Second-Hand Retail, Hope Manuel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Within the retail sector, two sections have grown drastically with the help of each other in the past decade. Those two sections include online retail and second-hand retail. Online retail has grown remarkably due to the implementation of online atmospherics. This phenomenon led to the purpose of this study: to observe the online atmospherics present in online second-hand retail. To achieve this purpose, the literature related to online retail, target audience, motivations of consumers, reselling, and online second-hand apps was explored. For this study, five online second-hand retail sites were chosen. Eighteen of the most common online atmospherics were observed …

“Green” Marketing In The Apparel Industry: The Spectrum Of Veracity, Stephanie R. Keane

Honors Theses

Apparel companies’ propensity for manipulation in their marketing of environmental initiatives contributes to immense environmental pollution from petrochemical textile material production. Public scrutiny pressures these businesses to adopt “green” initiatives to avoid losing devoted consumers. In some cases, these initiatives disguise the real operations of a company or claim benignity for the company when this is not the reality. Previous business ethics research analyzed the emergence of “greenwashing” in corporations and thus concluded that corporations market themselves as eco-friendly to portray commodification as sustainable. In the form of case studies, this paper scrutinizes four companies: Zara, Patagonia, Lululemon, and Pact. …

Consumer Purchasing Decisions Based On A Company's Sustainability Efforts And Marketing Initiatives, Brooke Kopperud

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this research is to look at what factors lead to consumers purchasing green or environmentally friendly products and services. Based on these factors, we are further researching how a business can improve their sustainability efforts, and then learn what marketing techniques will be effective in relaying these efforts to consumers. We will first examine the history of the green movement to understand what has led to today’s demand for businesses to increase their sustainability efforts. We will analyze current consumer demographics to find out who is responding to green marketing and showing interest in current environmental issues. …

Can Marketing Content Strategies Help Promote Sustainability On Social Media?: Comparing The Effectiveness Of Owned Versus Earned Endorsement, Eilleen R. Plante

Honors College Theses

The importance of sustainability is rising as consumers make more environmentally conscious purchases (Neilson, 2018). Despite the growing demand for sustainable products, there is still a consumer attitude-behavior gap concerning sustainability. Social media has proven to be an effective way to promote sustainability (Saeed, Farooq, & Kersten, 2019), and social media influencers are more effective advertising agents compared to traditional advertising (Araujo, Neijens, & Vliegenthart, 2016). However, the best way to advertise sustainable products through social media-based advertising has not yet been studied. This study examines the different content marketing strategies on social media - owned social media posts and …

Green Gains Green: A View Of How Sales Is Affected By Sustainability And Innovation In A B2b Setting, Justin Ruben Munoz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Dissertation topic that I have chosen to study places both a prominent topic currently making waves in marketing with the field of marketing that has quickly become my specialty and my focus of research going forward. I have chosen to study green and sustainable measures that organizations currently put into practice along with how those sustainable initiatives affect the sales and revenue of that organization. The context of the study is in business-to-business (B2B). Specifically, this current research takes place in a new context that has seldom seen research in the current decade, as most of the research on …

The Green Gap: How Consumers Value Sustainable Fashion, Alexandra K. Richey

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Fashion: Corporate Social Responsibility And Essential Marketing Strategies, Taite Jorgensen

CMC Senior Theses

This paper analyzes how fast fashion has impacted future trends of the fashion industry. Due to globalization, the fast fashion industry has been able to create new norms of over-consumerism and international labor. Because of this, the fast fashion industry is able to mass produce in a way consumers have never seen before, in addition to making it all at extremely low prices. However, fast fashion brands are only able to mass produce cheap goods through unethical methodologies; these methodologies include unsustainable materials and practices, inhuman labor conditions and wages, and by making sizes that exclude bigger bodies. Consumers are …

An Exploratory Study Of Generational Coffee Preferences, Lindsey Falkner

Honors College Theses

This research focuses on generational differences in preferences towards coffee-style beverages. The aim of this research is to provide recommendations to marketers within the saturated coffee industry. An online exploratory study was conducted with two-hundred and fifty-two participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show that differences exist between the coffee preferences across all generations, especially when it comes to the current trends (e.g., premiumization, convenience, and sustainability). Further, the results reveal several factors that may cause these generational differences. Finally, the study explored several ways that marketers in the coffee industry can appeal to different generations’ preferences, especially utilizing …

Project Renew Worcester, Danni Yue, Amy Zhang, Jing Han, Omid Ashrafi, Yiming Xu

School of Professional Studies

n The client for this capstone project is RENEW Worcester which is a fledgling solar power project whose main goals are to bring renewable energy in the form of solar power into local, primarily low-income communities and are committed to the mission of making the transition off of fossil fuels to clean, renewable power. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, they are a local chapter of Co-op Power which is a consumer-owned sustainable energy cooperative (co-op) made up of numerous different local chapters all over the New England area as well as the state of New York. The problem that we will …

Identifying The Influences Of Psychological Factors On Fashion Customization, Sukyung Seo

LSU Master's Theses

As environmental concerns have been increasing and fashion market condition has been fierce and competitive ever before due to consumers’ ever-changing fashion tastes, customization has received growing attention considering as a solution to overcome those challenges. Despite the numerous attention, research on customization has been limited to only issues from business viewpoints whereas studies from consumers’ standpoints are little.

The purpose of the study was to examine how consumers’ psychological properties (i.e., self- promotion, need for uniqueness, self-expression, social identity, self-monitoring, and other-directedness) affect buying intention of customized apparel products mediated by perceptions of customization and extended-self. To achieve the …

Going Off Course: A Case Study On The Marketing Strategy Of Patagonia, Jamie Elizabeth Drawbridge

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

In recent years, society has seen a shift in marketing practices from traditional to non-traditional strategies in order to stand out amongst competitors and connect with customers. This is especially true of the outdoor gear industry. With participation in outdoor recreation on the rise, companies in the outdoor gear industry must come up with marketing strategies as active as its consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine the marketing strategy of Patagonia. The research for this study was conducted using a case study matrix, created by the researcher, in order to evaluate Patagonia’s marketing strategy. This study found …

Do Hotel Guests Act According To Their Intentions As It Relates To Sustainability In A Hotel Setting?, Heather A. Price

Honors Theses and Capstones

As humans continue to use our planet’s resources at a rapid pace, we must act quickly to implement solutions and strategies that will create a positive impact on our environment. The hotel industry represents a huge opportunity for increasing sustainability practices, as these establishments tend to consume tremendous amounts of natural resources through energy and water usage; thus creating quite a bit of waste. For this customer-centric industry, change starts with consumer expectations and intentions to act. The purpose of this study was to assess hotel guests’ values and intentions for sustainable hotels, and compare how this aligns with their …

Marketing Practices Of Socially Responsible And Sustainable Businesses, Brooke A. Bivins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The topic of this research is marketing practices of socially responsible and sustainable businesses. It examines the strategies companies and brands use to represent themselves to the public through products, advertising, and philanthropy. This includes an evaluation of existing frameworks and case studies, as well as in-depth interviews. The question that this research will answer is as follows: How can new or existing companies embrace and integrate social responsibility or sustainability in a way that is authentic and contributes to a positive public reputation?

Younger generations are increasingly willing to switch to and, in some cases, pay more for products …

Creating Competitive Advantage In The Premium Market Segment Through A Sustainability Strategy, Andrew E. Iberg

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Sustainability: An Examination Of Trends In The Floral Industry, Emily Gaul

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

Sustainability in the floral industry is a constantly changing subject. As more products are created for florists to use in their designs, sustainability will evolve and be redefined. The purpose of this study was to examine the sustainable trends in growing, designing, and marketing within the floral industry. As seen in the companies analyzed, each business plan constitutes a different set of practices that are utilized for the benefit of that company. An applied best practices analysis was conducted on the floral industry’s trends in sustainability. In the floral industry, businesses are shifting away from importing and focusing on local …

Consumers' Perceptions Towards Sustainability: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Mertcan Tascioglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has become a subject of increasing concern to academics and practitioners in recent years. Increasing consumer demand for socially responsible products encouraged supply chains to put increasing emphasis on sustainability. In adapting sustainability practices consumers play a very important role for supply chains. Thus this dissertation examines consumers’ perceptions towards sustainability practices. Although most previous research has examined environmental sustainability practices, the social dimension of sustainability has received little attention. This dissertation attempts to explore both environmental and social sustainability and their effects on consumer perceptions in different cultural contexts and price levels. Two scenario based experiments are utilized. …

Generation Y And Sustainability, Shelby L. Talbott

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.