Corporate sustainability in the marketing industry; Marketing agency employees’ varying conceptualizations of sustainability

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Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

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Date

2024

Department

Johtamisen laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Management and International Business (MIB)

Language

en

Pages

62 + 2

Series

Abstract

Despite the ever-growing interest in corporate sustainability, we are still lacking a common understanding of the concept which may be hindering the progress towards a more sustainable world. Marketing is a particularly interesting field from the point of view of sustainability, since it is at the same time considered problematic, due to its role in promoting unsustainable consumption, but it is also seen as a solution, because it can influence consumption behaviour. Therefore, the objective of this case study is to enlighten the way sustainability is understood in the context of a Finnish marketing agency; what kind of dimensions sustainability has, what motivates it and what kind of actions are seen as key in contributing to sustainability. From a more theoretical point of view, the objective is to analyse how may the underlying contradiction between marketing and sustainability be affecting the perceived feasibility of sustainable marketing. To gather information on the various conceptions of sustainability, 10 interviews of marketing agency employees were conducted. The findings support that there is no common understanding of the main dimensions of sustainability. For some people it means primarily environmental things, while others also incorporate social issues into it, and some have a triple bottom-line view, which also incorporates economic considerations into the concept. Also, sustainability was seen as value-based decision making and a generally positive thing that can enhance reputation and be a differentiation factor. The indirect effects of marketing were clearly a concern for the interviewees, since the most effective and important action was seen to be client portfolio management. The finding indicates that employees would like to see the agency considering sustainability questions when deciding which companies it works with, and that way indirectly improves their own corporate sustainability. However, the economic feasibility of selecting clients was doubted. Furthermore, the findings indicate that practitioners find there to be a contradiction between marketing and sustainability, and this underlying conflict adds a level of complexity into the sustainability discussion in this field. From a theoretical point of view, through sustainable client portfolio management the agency could practice both green and social marketing. However, this raises the interesting question, whether promoting sustainable consumption is against the whole purpose of marketing agencies and marketing in general in this economic system.

Description

Thesis advisor

Moisander, Johanna

Keywords

sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable marketing, marketing agency

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202405193401

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ