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There is a growing urgent concern in involving higher education institutions (HEIs) towards an international effort in implementing a more suitable role as conductors of sustainable development. This paper/study aims to present the application of light emiting diode (LED) technology in an HEI assuming technology innovation as part of a larger institutional innovation management strategy addressing multiple dimensions in sustainability.

Investments in LED technology are analyzed for their impact on consumption results and quantitative comparisons between 2008 and 2022 are impaired with detailed information on the types of luminaires and the amount of installed energy.

The collected data shows a clear economic advantage of using LED technology, and the results subsidize institutional planning, considering not only ongoing technological innovation, but also educational components and community involvement in the organization sustainability strategy.

The study is limited to a specific HEI and further comparative research should be carried out.

A holistic approach on sustainability objectives encourages further investment in environmental-friendly technology, example to other HEIs.

The strategic vision of innovation is confirmed with the involvement of the community, at various levels, such as the academic community, local community, scientific international community.

This study addresses the lack of examples in the literature of structural planning and management systems that see sustainability as a strategy built in HEIs. The elaboration of an environmental sustainability plan places environmental sustainability at the confluence of themes such as education, investigation, use of natural resources, waste separation. For each topic are listed measures, actions, environment improvements, institution improvements and their results.

In the years following the publication of A Theory of Consumption (1923), Hazel Kyrk’s book became the flagship of the field that would later be known as the economics of consumption. It stimulated theoretical and empirical work on consumption. Some of the existing literature on Kyrk (e.g., Kiss & Beller, 2000; Le Tollec, 2020; Tadajewski, 2013) depicted her theory as the starting point of the economics of consumption. Nevertheless, how and why it emerged the way it did remain largely unexplored. This chapter examines Kyrk’s intellectual background, which, we argue, can be traced back to two main movements in the United States: the home economics and the institutionalist. Both movements conveyed specific endeavors as responses to the US material and social transformations that occurred at the turn of the 20th century, notably the perceived changing role of consumption and that of women in US society. On the one hand, Kyrk pursued first-generation home economists’ efforts to make sense of and put into action the shifting of women’s role from domestic producer to consumer. On the other hand, she reinterpreted Veblen’s (1899) account of consumption in order to reveal its operational value for a normative agenda focused on “wise” and “rational” consumption. This chapter studies how Kyrk carried on first-generation home economists’ progressive agenda and how she adapted Veblen’s fin-de-siècle critical account of consumption to the context of the household goods developed in 1900–1920. Our account of Kyrk’s intellectual roots offers a novel narrative to better understand the role of gender and epistemological questions in her theory.

This paper aims to explore the market dynamics that led to a shift in Swedish consumers' alcohol preferences from schnapps to wine. Specifically, the study investigates how the Swedish state influenced consumers' alcohol habits and highlights the role of governance units in shaping consumer culture.

The study reconstructs the historical memory of the “Operation Vin”, a strategic marketing campaign implemented by Systembolaget from 1957 to 1985, to conceptualize the past and to uncover the structures and change dynamics of the Swedish alcohol market system. Following this approach, the research contrasts historical data from multiple sources with market-oriented ethnographical data and traces the trajectory of how the consumption of alcohol has changed as a consequence of the Swedish state’s initiatives.

The study offers two contributions to the literature in marketing and consumption history. Firstly, it uncovers the lines of actions (framing and settlement) involved in creating marketing systems and shaping consumer culture. Secondly, it explores how the state strategically leveraged its social skills to promote a specific type of alcohol consumption (wine) and to induce the Swedish consumer to cooperate in the refashioning of the alcohol field.

The authors aspire for this paper to offer valuable insights into how a state, as a governance entity, can shape consumer culture through a strategic blend of various regulatory measures, both gentle and forceful. The authors emphasize the pivotal role of social skills in fostering cooperation during the implementation of a new alcohol policy.

This paper provides valuable insights into the role of the Swedish state in shaping consumer culture and explores the strategic actions and marketing systems involved, contributing to marketing and consumption history literature.

Hazel Kyrk’s contribution is the most advanced formulation of the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon, an approach to the analysis of consumption that, originated from Veblen’s theory, was developed in the US in the early 20th century. This approach was part of a wider stream of empirical analyses of consumption expenditure that had begun more than a century earlier.

Along with elements that can be traced back to the neoclassical tradition, in Keynes’ analysis of consumption, we find original elements. The dependence of consumption expenditure on the level of income, which is essential for asserting the principle of effective demand, can also be found in a long tradition of empirical studies. In qualifying this relationship, Keynes uses theoretical elements echoing key insights of the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon. There is no documentary evidence that Kyrk or the economics of the social relevance of consumption came to Keynes’ attention. It is possible, however, to develop reasonable speculative considerations to argue a link between Keynes’ elaboration and both the empirical literature on the determinants of consumption and the economics of consumption as a social phenomenon.

Luxury consumption has evolved, and two important reasons behind the change include globalization and the COVID-19 crisis. These factors have led to the rise of new luxury consumption, which is different from traditional luxury consumption. This study examines how consumers’ identities shape their intentions to consume traditional luxury and new luxury brands.

The theoretical underpinnings of the schema congruity theory and heuristic systematic framework were applied to understand the role of identities in determining consumers’ regulatory focus, price luxuriousness inference and preference for traditional and new luxury brands.

Findings suggest that the global identity of consumers shapes their promotion focus and price luxuriousness inferences. However, their local identities induce a prevention goal. Consumers with such a goal are unlikely to make price luxuriousness inferences. Further, these inferences lead to the choice of traditional luxury over new luxury brands. The results also establish the moderating effects of consumer flexibility.

The extant literature is inconclusive on the role of globalization in luxury consumption and ignores new luxury brands. The current study shows the impact of identities and regulatory focus on traditional and new luxury consumption. The findings also indicate consumers’ regulatory focus and price luxuriousness inference as the reasons behind the influence. The paper also implies that consumers open to renting, sharing or buying second-hand goods will prefer new luxury over traditional luxury brands.

Online food delivery has been prevalent in recent years worldwide, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and people's consumption behaviors have changed significantly. This study aims to investigate the consumption behavior of young adults using online food delivery platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the dominant factors influencing their decision to use online food delivery platforms.

Semi-structured interviews including 14 young adults aged 18–25 living in Hong Kong were conducted to collect data about their perspectives on online food delivery platforms in five areas. This research adopted the stimulus-organism-response model (S-O-R model) to analyze how the factors influence young adult users' loyalty and satisfaction with online food delivery platforms.

Thematic analyses revealed that young adults were attracted to online food delivery platforms for their numerous benefits. They had a high frequency of usage and significant spending. Usability, usefulness, satisfaction and loyalty influenced young adults' behaviors on online food delivery platforms. Participants were overall satisfied with their experiences, but platforms still had room for improvement.

Few prior studies investigated the factors affecting the consumer experience and behavioral intention of online food delivery for young adults in Asia. This study contributes to understanding young adults' experiences and problems with online food delivery platforms. It provides practical insights for system engineers and designers to improve the current services and for the governments to enhance the existing regulatory loopholes.

The slow food movement has become increasingly widespread globally in recent years. This paper focuses on explaining how Turkish cuisine, which has a deep-rooted history, meshes with the slow food movement and how this movement affects consumer behavior.

Based on expert opinion analysis with academics knowledgeable about the food industry and gastronomy, this paper explores how the slow food movement in Turkiye is evolving and how consumers perceive it. Content analysis was applied to the data obtained from the personal interviews.

The authors find that the slow food movement creates a strong brand image for businesses that rely on emphasizing the responsibility to the ecological system while appealing to the five senses of consumers. It already shows great potential even in emerging markets where typical household discretionary income is modest.

Based on key theories regarding all sales activism cases, the authors have offered insights into the dynamics, motivations and techniques of the case. Ensuring the preservation of the slow food movement, framing and creating associations need to be examined.

Slow food is a movement that emerged against the standard, fast, tasty, but unhealthy products of the fast-food industry. It entails product variety, local flavors and preference for the single-flavor focus embedded in the fast-food movement. The movement started with considerations of gastronomy and later was institutionalized as a social movement phenomenon. Later, it expanded its base to activism, targeting various social issues.

After working on the assignment questions, the learners can achieve the following learning outcomes: understand the buying behavior towards sustainable products in the context of mindful consumption and product characteristics, appraise the market segmentation and positioning strategy of a sustainable business, understand the application of 5C’s framework for a sustainable business and critically evaluate a new sustainable business’s challenges in the emerging business environment.

Dr Joe Fenn, founder and director of PFoods, with extensive experience in the pharma industry overseas, observed a decline in the consumption of traditional dairy foods. Alternative plant foods come as a savior to people who are lactose intolerant and offer a host of health benefits with low environmental impact. Riding on the waves of veganism and sustainable foods, he saw an opportunity in India. PFoods developed and launched two products, namely, Just Plants (plant-based milk alternative) and Plotein (plant-based protein alternative), in collaboration with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, a premier scientific institution in India, and PMEDS (PreEmptive Meds), a US-based nutraceutical Company. PFoods launched and pilot-tested Just Plant, a dairy alternative substitute for milk in select reputed organizations in Bangalore. The upcoming challenges for Fenn would be to select the right segment, educate the market and position the product that would resonate well with the target customers.

The case study suits undergraduate and graduate courses such as marketing management, sustainable marketing and sustainable business. The case study can also be used in entrepreneurship management and entrepreneurial marketing courses to introduce the challenges of a sustainable startup. The case study highlights the marketing challenges faced by the disruptive and growing plant-based foods or alternative dairy industry in emerging markets.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) digital technologies on promoting sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within developing economies such as Brazil. Additionally, we present a comprehensive framework that consolidates this correlation.

Qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with leaders of SMEs to identify the specific challenges in achieving sustainability. Additionally, interviews were conducted with technology provider firms to evaluate the existing solutions available to SMEs. The interview results were analyzed, and technological solutions were proposed through a focus group session involving four experts in I4.0. These proposed solutions were then compared with the offerings provided by the technology providers. Based on this, a second round of meetings was conducted to gather feedback from the SMEs.

The findings of this study confirm the feasibility of implementing I4.0 and sustainable practices in SMEs. However, it is crucial to tailor the technologies to the specific circumstances of SMEs. The study presents propositions on how specific applications of technology can address the economic, environmental and social demands of SMEs. Furthermore, a framework is proposed, emphasizing the integration of smart technologies as essential components across sustainability dimensions.

This study makes a significant contribution to the current body of literature as it pioneers the examination of the relationship between I4.0 technologies and sustainability, focusing specifically on SMEs in a developing country context.

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar el potential impacto de las tecnologías digitales de la Industria 4.0 en la promoción de la sostenibilidad en las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) en economías en desarrollo, como Brasil.

Realizamos una investigación cualitativa mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas a líderes de PYMES para identificar los desafíos que enfrentan en la búsqueda de la sostenibilidad. También llevamos a cabo entrevistas con empresas proveedoras de tecnología para evaluar las soluciones existentes. Los resultados de las entrevistas se analizaron y se propusieron soluciones tecnológicas a través de una sesión de grupo focal con cuatro expertos en la Industria 4.0. Estas soluciones se compararon con las ofertas proporcionadas por los proveedores de tecnología. Posteriormente, se realizaron una segunda reunión para recopilar comentarios de las PYMES.

Los hallazgos de este estudio confirman la viabilidad de implementar la Industria 4.0 y prácticas sostenibles en las PYMES. Sin embargo, es crucial adaptar las tecnologías a las circunstancias de las PYMES. Presentamos propuestas sobre cómo las aplicaciones de la tecnología pueden abordar las demandas económicas, ambientales y sociales de las PYMES. Además, proponemos un marco que destaca la integración de tecnologías como componentes esenciales de la sostenibilidad.

Este estudio es pionero en examinar la relación entre las tecnologías de la Industria 4.0 y la sostenibilidad, centrándose específicamente en las PYMES en un contexto de país en desarrollo.