Sustainably superior versus greenwasher: A scale measure of B2B sustainability positioning

Brands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?

“…As brand activism becomes more anticipated and even demanded (Barton et al 2018; Edelman 2018; Larcker and Tayan 2018; Sprout Social 2017), brands in the absent-activism quadrant may begin seeking ways to adopt prosocial brand purpose, values, corporate practices, and related marketing messaging, especially as emerging markets like the ones Caterpillar courts offer potential for growth. This is akin to how sustainable purpose and stances have come to be expected of not only consumer-facing brands, but also the manufacturing and client-facing industries that supply such consumer brands (Kapitan, Kennedy, and Berth 2019). Key to growth for such brands, consumers are also tolerant of first steps to grow activist values and practices, so long as brands are transparent (Du, Bhattacharya, and Sen 2010).…”

“…The stakes are high for these brands; they tend to be consumer facing and are attempting to respond quickly to the rising tide of consumer expectations that brands take a stand on issues of political and social import (i.e., Barton et al 2018). However, not only does inauthentic brand activism have negative brand equity implications via unfavorable brand associations and false signaling; it is also unethical as it can involve making misleading and unsubstantiated claims that engender consumer distrust (similar to greenwashing; i.e., Kapitan, Kennedy, and Berth 2019), which further limits the potential for social change.…”

“…Therefore, brand activism goes beyond mere advocacy/messaging (i.e., Dodd and Supa 2014; Nalick et al 2016; Wettstein and Baur 2016) and involves alignment with corporate practices that uphold brand purpose and values. Messages are backed up by tangible changes within the organization to support employees, customers, and stakeholders through, for example, modifications to corporate practice and organizational policies (Kapitan, Kennedy, and Berth 2019), monetary donations (Crimmins and Horn 1996), and partnerships (Duane and Domegan 2019) aimed at facilitating social change. Yet, prosocial corporate practices vary considerably in terms of how deeply they are embedded in the business.…”

Role of big data and social media analytics for business to business sustainability: A participatory web context

“…Moreover, it is argued that effective stakeholder engagement is the 'most influential source of competitive advantage' for corporate sustainability (Rodriguez-Melo and Mansouri, 2011, p. 548). This focus has led to a shift in how organisations engage with their stakeholders for corporate sustainability, with much emphasis placed on stakeholder engagement, which can be positively enhanced by B2B (Youssef, Johnston, AbdelHamid, Dakrory, & Seddick, 2018), particularly given that the way in which an organisation's sustainable practices and operations are managed and articulated has become an integral part of B2B marketing and communications strategy (Kapitan, Kennedy, & Berth, 2019).…”

Green marketing as an environmental practice: The impact on green satisfaction and green loyalty in a business‐to‐business context

“…Cheema, Durrani, Khokhar, & Pasha, 2015;Rakhsha & Majidazar, 2011;Ranaei Kordshouli, Ebrahimi, & Allahyari Bouzanjani, 2015;Suki, 2016). The focus on consumer goods seems odd considering that most of the environmental resources are used in the production and manufacturing of goods for B2B markets (Kapitan, Kennedy, & Berth, 2019).…”