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The 43rd Annual Macromarketing Conference will take place in Leipzig – Germany, July 10 to 13, 2018.

Deadline CFP: JANUARY 31, 2018

Link to Conference website:

Track Title: Sustainable & Ethical Consumption

Humanity’s collective resource demand exceeds the limits of the Earth’s natural capital. It is also a main driver of climate change, requiring us to find ways to curb overconsumption. A meaningful decrease in consumption and greenhouse gas emissions can only be achieved if consumers in industrialized nations alter their current materialistic way of life, which has spread extensively around the world over the last six decades. Given the substantial influence consumers have on environmental and social issues through their consumption patterns, consumers can mitigate negative effects by changing the practices involved with their daily consumption routines and adopting more sustainable consumption behaviors. Such forms of consumption have been discussed in the literature using a variety of labels. For instance, Burke et al. (2014) defined ethical consumerism as “the intentional purchase of products considered to be made with minimal harm to humans, animals, and the natural environment” (p. 2237). Similarly, Steg and Vlek (2009) described pro-environmental behaviors as forms of behavior that harm the environment as little as possible, or even benefit the environment.

Sustainable & ethical consumption is one of the most critical topics to consider from a macromarketing perspective. Consumption and consumer lifestyles evolve over time under the influence of, for example, cultural norms, institutions, and marketing actions. Strategies geared to implement more sustainable consumption patterns need to take such factors into consideration to increase the likelihood of effecting consumer behavior change.

In accordance with the conference theme, the Sustainable & Ethical Consumption track particularly invites work that seeks solutions that are simple to implement for consumers, marketers and/or public policy makers while effectively addressing adaption to, and mitigation of, the negative effects of global environmental changes, which are very complex phenomena. This track invites conceptual and empirical research that explores significance of consumption in the context of environmental, economic, and social sustainability; that examines how sustainable & ethical consumption is being promoted and implemented through marketing and public policy practices; or that explores the impact sustainable & ethical consumption has on general societal flourishing as well as the health of the planet.

Examples of possible topics include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Overconsumption and climate change adaptation / mitigation
2. Quality-of-life and overconsumption / sustainable / ethical consumption
3. Public policy’s role in enabling sustainable / ethical consumption
4. Marketing’s role in enabling (or hindering) sustainable / ethical consumption
5. Cross-cultural consumer attitudes to ethical behavior and sustainability
6. Consumer culture and sustainable / ethical consumption
7. Impacts of reduced (sustainable) consumption on current economic systems
8. Implementation of particular pro-environmental behaviors, such as using public transportation, conserving energy and water, buying and consuming local / organic foods, avoiding food waste
9. Effects of product labeling such as fair trade, organic, vegan
10. Social effects of overconsumption
11. Voluntary simplicity and other lifestyle concepts associated with sustainable forms of consumption
12. Historical perspectives on sustainable / ethical consumption

Full papers are preferred but extended abstracts will also be considered.

Track Chair:

Dr. Sabrina Helm
Email: helm@email.arizona.edu

References:

Burke, F., Eckert, P., and Davis, S. (2014), Segmenting consumers’ reasons for and against ethical consumption, European Journal of Marketing, 48(11/12), 2237-2261.

Steg, L., and Vlek, C. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(3), 309-317.

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