University of Twente Student Theses

Login

Marketing through corporate sustainability in German multi national enterprises with subsidiaries in India : a web research on how MNEs communicate environmental, economic and social measures on their corporate website

Weber, N.C (2016) Marketing through corporate sustainability in German multi national enterprises with subsidiaries in India : a web research on how MNEs communicate environmental, economic and social measures on their corporate website.

[img] PDF
353kB
Abstract:Purpose: In this globalized world sustainability in all business practices is gaining appreciation and value. The aim of this research is to identify the online marketing usage and aspects of sustainability, as a part of the overall integration of sustainability in the corporate strategy. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected via a web research on the state of Corporate Sustainability in 50 German multinational enterprises with at least one subsidiary in India. The web research focused on sustainability as a marketing method on the corporate website, while taking the main three dimensions economy, environment and society and other related measures into consideration. Findings: The data revealed that CS is used in versatile ways and various terms are applied to describe sustainability/responsibility issues. A clear standard is not established across the different industry types, but most of the corporations communicate environmental and social aspects. Publishing of sustainability reports is also common, but without an online accessible version. The chemical industry and >100.000 employee corporations are the clear pioneers in this field, because they form their own initiatives, projects and create own additional publication types, like blogs, newsletters or magazines. Practical implication: Since tailoring a marketing strategy to the needs of stakeholders’ involved increases the chances of adoption, it is recommended that marketing managers should benchmark themselves to the pioneers in this field and constantly get involved in a stakeholder dialogue to identify changing values and interests. Theoretical implication: The study contributes to the development of the connection between marketing and sustainability by considering the websites as their modern communication channel. Future studies can analyze the trends and differences between German MNE and NE or other developed or emerging economies. Originality/value: The research results highlight that sustainability is constantly evolving and far from standardized similar to the marketing communication of related objectives.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:International Business Administration BSc (50952)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/70004
Export this item as:BibTeX
EndNote
HTML Citation
Reference Manager

 

Repository Staff Only: item control page