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Title Fostering Responsible Communities: A Community Social Marketing Approach to Sustainable Living
ID_Doc 70370
Authors Carrigan, M; Moraes, C; Leek, S
Title Fostering Responsible Communities: A Community Social Marketing Approach to Sustainable Living
Year 2011
Published Journal Of Business Ethics, 100, 3
DOI 10.1007/s10551-010-0694-8
Abstract Just as socially irresponsible organizational behavior leaves a punitive legacy on society, socially responsible organizations can foster curative change. This article examines whether small organizations can foster societal change toward more sustainable modes of living. We contend that consumption is deeply intertwined with social relations and norms, thus making individual behavioral change toward sustainability a matter of facilitating change in individual behavior, as well as in social norms and relations between organizations and consumers. We argue that it is in this facilitation process that small firms can play a major role, by adopting upstream and downstream approaches to diffuse behavioral change. By synthesizing four key strands of literature - small businesses and corporate social responsibility, ethical consumption, community social marketing, and the diffusion of innovation - and using the exemplar case of Modbury, the iconic "plastic bag-free'' town, we demonstrate how responsible small firms can influence communities, and the individuals therein, to encourage environmentally sustainable practice to diffuse and support change in society.
Author Keywords community; CSR; small business; social marketing; sustainability
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000291951100009
WoS Category Business; Ethics
Research Area Business & Economics; Social Sciences - Other Topics
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