This research project aims to evaluate the concept of targeting ethical consumers and the existence of such buyers in the market. It explores the ethical behavior of consumers and the potential problems and recommendations for targeting ethical consumers.
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Running head:CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT
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CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT2 Table of contents Problem discovery and definition....................................................................................................3 Review the literature........................................................................................................................4 Introduction......................................................................................................................................4 Description of search process..........................................................................................................5 Critical analysis of the literature......................................................................................................8 Implications andConclusion.........................................................................................................10 References......................................................................................................................................11
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT3 Problem discovery and definition Preliminary exploration of the broad topic Business and Marketing ethics is an important aspect in which a company operates in an ethical manner. It is important to look, that in the current scenario Shop here has created a target market of ethical consumer base. This means that, they will be targeting consumer with ethical values and ethical purchasing intent. The company for this purpose has ensured that their products fulfill the requirements to be an ethical product. They have also intended to ensure the safety and security of the customer from their end by not allowing any unethical action. This is a great step taken by the company but the management of the company is concerned about this decision of targeting ethical buyers or consumers and has a question in regards of such buyer's existence within the market. Thus, in accordance with this, the following research is being conducted. Research aim The research aim is to know about the company's concept of targeting ethical consumer and to evaluate the nature and existence of such buyers within the market. This will help in evaluating the nature of ethical consumer in the market and to gain knowledge on whether ethical concerns intend the consumer to make an ethical purchasing decision. Research objective â—ŹTo know about the ethical consumers which Shop here has targeted â—ŹTo know about their ethical behaviour of consumer derives there purchasing intentions â—ŹTo know the problem which is there within this targeting of the ethical consumer by the company â—ŹTo recommending on the problems which are there within this targeting of the ethical consumer by the company
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT4 Research question 1.What is the concept of ethical consumers? 2.Does the ethical behaviour of consumer derive there purchasing intentions? 3.What is the problem in targeting of the ethical consumer by the company? 4.What are the possible recommendations for the problems which are there within this targeting of the ethical consumer by the company? Review the literature Introduction In the current literature review, there will be analysis of the ethical consumers, who can be brought under one umbrella of widely accepted concept named as ethical consumerism. Articles and research studies in relation to this have been selected to ensure that effective discussion over the said topic is performed which will help in drawing an effective conclusion. The aim of this literature review is to demonstrate the existence of ethical consumer as the target market of Shops here (Khan, Rodrigues &Balasubramanian, 2016). The literature review will also demonstrate the knowledge acquired from previous research studies reflecting on which ethical consumerism deprives purchasing intention of any consumer. The review of literature will be focused on achieving the research objectives and solving the subject’s research question. The literature review will be following a mixed approach of both qualitative and quantitative research to determine a conclusive result. It is important to consider that through the use of effective reviewing method different kinds of literature and research paper in regards to this study will be evaluated in an evident form.
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CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT5 Shop here is a company operating on the national market and is in seek of carrying out ethical business activities after the incident in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. The company has been focusing on developing an ethical supply chain which renders ethical production and raw materials for the development of a high-quality ethical product. The company has chosen target market of the ethical consumer which have ethical element, which may affect the purchasing behaviours (Carrigan, 2017). The investors, in this case, questioned the decision made by the company to target the ethical consumers, as they are deeply concerned over the existence of ethical consumer within the market and want to know, whether the ethical aspect really affects the purchasing intention of consumer or not. The literature review will also be focusing on analysis of ethical consumerism and its existence within a particular market. Description of the search process The approach or the search process which has been included in the review of literature is discussed in this section. It is important to consider that an effective and systematic approach is undertaken for developing a systematic review of the literature. Hence, the research here has used a certain systematic approach known as the mixed approach to undertaking the current review of the literature process. Under the mixed research method, both qualitative and quantitative data has been used to ensure a wide range of data over ethical consumer and ethical consumerism (Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, 2014). It is important to consider that this will help the researcher in gaining a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data from the secondary source which is via prior research paper, studies and journals. It can be said that through the use of the wide range of database available through both qualitative and quantitative research the researcher will be able to carry out a descriptive literature review which will give out a high amount of information and in detail analysis over the subject topic (Jansen, 2017)
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT6 The data collected from the current research is gained through the use of online search engines through pressing keywords in relation to the current research. Search Engines such as Proquest and google scholar has been used to find journals, articles and research papers for the current research process (Pecoraro &Uusitalo, 2014). Inclusion and exclusion criteria As it has been evident that through the use of previous research study and articles the following review of literature will be performed it is important to shed the light of the exclusion and inclusion criteria of the research paper and articles which will be used in the current review of the literature and the inclusion criteria are as follows: 1.The journals or research paper should be made in the English language suitable for academic purposes 2.The journals will be included only when they are written after 2013 to gain a present source of knowledge and recent journals 3.The journals should be on standards for the use of graduate or postgraduate education 4.The journals should be relevant to the subjected topic of ethical consumer and ethical consumerism The exclusion criteria of the journals and research papers are as follows: 1.The journals or research papers are in some other language than English 2.The journals have been written before the year 2013 3.The journals are for a standard such as secondary or lower education 4.The journal or research paper is not relevant to the subjected topic of ethical consumer and ethical consumerism Result and discussion
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT7 After spending time on collecting data for the current research there were 5 articles which matched the current criteria of the data as stated above. All of these articles matched the criteria which helped in the determination of the range of keywords which can be used to search for such aspects of marketing. The keywords which have been used in search of such data were ethical consumers, ethical consumerism and purchasing intention of ethical consumer. Using the stated keywords 5 articles were taken out which hugely connect to the criteria and were suitable for the review under the current systematic literature review. The table of which is given as follows: NoAuthorArticle TitleResearch designContent 1Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, (2014) Lost in translation: Exploring the ethical consumer intention- behaviour gap MixedEthical consumerism and purchasing intention 2Yeow Dean & Tucker, (2014) Bags for life: The embedding of ethical consumerism QualitativeEthical consumerism
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CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT8 3Carrington, Zwick&Neville, (2016) The ideology of the ethical consumption gap.Marketing Theory MixedEthical consumer and ethical consumerism 4Bidmon, (2017)Segmenting consumers’ reasons for and against ethical consumption. QualitativeTargeting ethical consumer and ethical consumerism segmentation 5Pecoraro & Uusitalo, (2014) Conflicting values of ethical consumption in diverse worlds– A cultural approach MixedPurchasing intention of ethical consumers Table 1: Source of data (Source: Self-generated) Critical analysis of the literature Themes around ethical consumers The major themes in respect to the said topic of interest were developed after a thorough and detailed reading of a number of articles which eventually helped in including interpretive
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT9 synthesis of the varying content. The following section illustrates the themes in a significant manner (Botha, 2018). The rise of Ethical Consumers With a rising emphasis on the ethical aspects, the consumers of the 21st century have become highly aware of the ethical issues. In the opinion ofKhan, Rodrigues &Balasubramanian (2016) the consumers of today are ready to put their money on definite moral values and ethical trade aspects. Over the years the concept of ethical trade has enforced into companies to carry out their business operations that are based on grounds of ethical decision making. There are consumers who strongly care about the company's policies and records of social responsibility. According to Kang &Namkung (2018), ethical consumers have developed with the new age target customers in the time period of ethical trade and innovation. Ethical consumerism The process of alteration of purchasing patterns in order to promote a certain set of moral values is determined to be ethical consumerism. In accordance to the viewpoint ofBurgoon & Fransen (2017), ethical consumerism often involves boycotting products that are unethical and intend to create a negative impact on the humans, animals or the environment. In the front of ethics; consumer seems to be portraying the ethical buying aspects. Such shoppers are increasingly showing interest to know if their preferred choice of the meet the worldwide and ethical standards or not (Pecoraro & Uusitalo, 2014).Bennett, (2018)stated that there has been the development of a new ethical segmentation which reveals five clusters of buying characteristics which are based upon consumer's perspective regarding ethical values, morals, attitudes to and action on ethical issues. Ethical consumer market
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT10 There have been some previous researchers which exemplify the fact that almost one in five consumers ready to buy or boycott the products on ethical grounds. Although the market share of ethical consumers is found to be approximately 3% the statistics are growing at a moderate rate gradually. However in the perspective ofJansen, (2017)although the concept of ethical purchasing and ethical consumers have been prevalent in the current market scenario the actual sales and investments into such products and its related sales have not turned out to be as it was expected. The growth of such ethical sourced products has not attained such a hike in comparison to other products which is highly reflective in its market share percentage as well (Yeow Dean & Tucker, 2014). The business imperative A significantly lower market share for the business is required to acknowledge this ethical market segmentation and its relation to ethical consumers. In the viewpoint ofCarrigan (2017), the business is required to understand both opportunities as well as the threats that are related to this ethical market. Since, it has been observed that most of the consumers tend to observe the ethical factors as the niche issues (Burke, Eckert & Davis, 2014). The corporate reputation in relation to ethical standards has been a major influential factor for the purchasing decision of consumers. With the growing rise of ethical consumers, the firm is required to understand the potential this target market of ethical consumers have in the near future (Carrington, Zwick & Neville, 2016). Implications andConclusion The aim of the systematic literature review was to comprehend the diverse aspects that are related to ethical consumers and the extent to which this new target segment could turn out to be effective for the businesses like Shop here in the near future for making ethical trading. In the
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CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT11 current stage, the market share of ethical consumerism is small but it could serve as a significant market opportunity for the companies like Shop here if it tries to imply into strategies such developing more ethically sourced products and understanding the needs of such ethical markets would eventually help them to increase their profitability at a considerable rate.
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT12 References Bennett, E. A. (2018). Extending ethical consumerism theory to semi-legal sectors: insights from recreational cannabis.Agriculture and human values, 1-23. Bidmon, S. (2017). How does attachment style influence the brand attachment–brand trust and brand loyalty chain in adolescents?.International Journal of Advertising,36(1), 164-189. Botha, S. (2018). Towards Ethical Consumerism: Bridging the Gap between the Obstacles and Drivers of Ethical Consumerism. Burgoon, B., &Fransen, L. (2017). Support for Ethical Consumerism and the Welfare States in the Global Economy: Complements or Substitutes?.Global Policy,8, 42-55. Carrigan, M. (2017). Revisiting The Myth of the Ethical Consumer: why are we still not ethical shoppers.Journal of Consumer Ethics,1(1), 11-21. Carrington, M. J., Neville, B. A., & Whitwell, G. J. (2014).Lost in translation: Exploring the ethical consumer intention-behaviour gap.Journal of Business Research,67(1), 2759- 2767. Carrington, M. J., Zwick, D., & Neville, B. (2016).The ideology of the ethical consumption gap.Marketing Theory,16(1), 21-38. Jansen, S. (2017). Ethical Consumerism in the Emerging EU Digital Contract Legislation. In Consumer Identities & Digital Culture Symposium, Date: 2017/03/28-2017/03/28, Location: St. John's University, Queens, New York. Kang, J. W., &Namkung, Y. (2018). The effect of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and the moderating role of ethical consumerism: The case of Starbucks.Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research,42(7), 1130-1151.
CONSULTANCY RESEARCH PROJECT13 Khan, Z. R., Rodrigues, G., &Balasubramanian, S. (2016). Ethical consumerism and apparel industry-towards a new factor model. Pecoraro, M. G., &Uusitalo, O. (2014).Conflicting values of ethical consumption in diverse worlds–A cultural approach.Journal of Consumer Culture,14(1), 45-65. Yeow, P., Dean, A., & Tucker, D. (2014). Bags for life: The embedding of ethical consumerism. Journal of Business Ethics,125(1), 87-99.