THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK

Ethical considerations are a potentially powerful influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Marketers have begun to recognize the need to incorporate business ethics into their marketing activities. The practice of 'ethical branding' is a relatively new phenomenon and previous studies ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zhang, Lifu
Format: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20342/
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author Zhang, Lifu
author_facet Zhang, Lifu
author_sort Zhang, Lifu
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Ethical considerations are a potentially powerful influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Marketers have begun to recognize the need to incorporate business ethics into their marketing activities. The practice of 'ethical branding' is a relatively new phenomenon and previous studies have been mainly focusing on how consumers make sense of it, rather than how and why marketers position their products as ethical brands. This study aims to explore the motives behind ethical branding decisions and the ways in which ethical brands function, by adopting a multidisciplinary approach combining perspectives from marketing and cultural studies. The review of the marketing literature describes the changing nature of marketing, entry barriers, consumer pressure, and business performance as key determinants in marketers' decision-making process with regard to ethical branding. The focus of this study lies in the contribution of cultural studies to the ongoing debate. It highlights the significance of identity, power, and meaning in understanding ethical brands and provides an analysis of various advertisements and marketing campaigns, using cultural studies research methods, in order to explain how products can be marketed as ethically conscious commodities.
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spelling nottingham-203422018-04-12T11:27:40Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20342/ THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK Zhang, Lifu Ethical considerations are a potentially powerful influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Marketers have begun to recognize the need to incorporate business ethics into their marketing activities. The practice of 'ethical branding' is a relatively new phenomenon and previous studies have been mainly focusing on how consumers make sense of it, rather than how and why marketers position their products as ethical brands. This study aims to explore the motives behind ethical branding decisions and the ways in which ethical brands function, by adopting a multidisciplinary approach combining perspectives from marketing and cultural studies. The review of the marketing literature describes the changing nature of marketing, entry barriers, consumer pressure, and business performance as key determinants in marketers' decision-making process with regard to ethical branding. The focus of this study lies in the contribution of cultural studies to the ongoing debate. It highlights the significance of identity, power, and meaning in understanding ethical brands and provides an analysis of various advertisements and marketing campaigns, using cultural studies research methods, in order to explain how products can be marketed as ethically conscious commodities. 2006 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20342/1/06MSClixlz14.pdf Zhang, Lifu (2006) THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished) Business Ethics Branding Ethical Branding CSR Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Cultural Studies
spellingShingle Business Ethics
Branding
Ethical Branding
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
Marketing
Cultural Studies
Zhang, Lifu
THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title_full THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title_fullStr THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title_full_unstemmed THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title_short THE BRANDING OF ETHICS: A Multidisciplinary Investigation into the Ethical Branding Phenomenon in the UK
title_sort branding of ethics: a multidisciplinary investigation into the ethical branding phenomenon in the uk
topic Business Ethics
Branding
Ethical Branding
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
Marketing
Cultural Studies
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/20342/