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This study aims to examine the effects of pathos in sustainable brand stories featuring masculinity on brand masculinity and men’s sustainable brand attitude using Aristotle’s rhetoric theory.

Three independent online experiments (N = 398; N = 216; N = 247) were conducted to observe how participants responded to a sustainable brand story. Data collected through a post-experimental survey were used to test the proposed model. Research hypotheses were inspected using SPSS.

The authors reveal brand masculinity is influenced by varying degrees of pathos: participants who read stories with all three pathos elements (metaphor, humor and empathy) demonstrated the highest level of perceived brand masculinity. Male consumers showed more positive attitudes toward masculine sustainable brand stories than feminine ones. The authors also identify the moderating effect of consumer generation: Gen Z (versus Gen Y) consumers demonstrated stronger character identification with hybrid masculinity (versus hegemonic masculinity) sustainable brand stories, resulting in more favorable sustainable brand attitudes.

The study provides a new angle for exploring the relationship between gendered sustainable brand stories and sustainable brand attitudes. It is the first (to the authors’ knowledge) that links Aristotle’s rhetoric theory to brand gender research, and it empirically demonstrates how male consumers from different generational cohorts respond to different masculinity strategies used by sustainable brands.

Corporations in all industries recognize the demand for responsible business behavior and have developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs accordingly. This paper examines to which extent sustainability practices – unrelated to the actual ingredients of a consumable product – affect brand equity, taste perceptions, and perceived emotional value. In an experimental setting, effects were determined of the presence or lack of a sustainability-marketing message within a beer brand’s promotional material. The constructs were measured in a survey, and a PLS-SEM was used to analyze the results. In the factor model, all constructs proved to be sufficiently reliable and valid. The experiment’s results indicate that taste perception is positively influenced by the presence of a sustainability message.

This article critically synthesizes the literature on sustainable fashion, the movement behind it and plausible fashion adoption theories. Then, to build on those studies, developing a new theory about adopting sustainable fashion – mainly among millennials and Generation Z who are behind forwarding and adopting this fashion trend – is sought after.

This is a theory-synthesized conceptual article that presents a literature-informed new theoretical structure pronouncing sustainable fashion adoption and its rise as a new luxury trend. That included explicating and unraveling the conceptual foundations and construction elements that different viewpoints use to articulate the trend under investigation and the searches for a common basis to construct a new and improved conceptual framework.

This study introduces the triple-trickle theory that incorporates the role of media and technology to organize and understand the diffusion of sustainable fashion and identify paths for future trickle-effects on fashion research.

Even though this has the benefit of offering a vast array of views and evidence that offers an adequate problem inspection, further studies providing empirical evidence are needed to establish the external validity of the theory derived from this research.

This theory can be applied to develop targeted practices to understand the diffusion and adoption of sustainable fashion and further practitioners’ understanding of product positioning, target marketing, marketing strategy and luxury opportunities in general.

Though interest in sustainable fashion has increased among consumers, no theory or model exists to explain its adoption. Therefore, the triple-trickle theory is proposed and aimed to be a more relevant framework to offer a theoretical premise for future empirical investigations of sustainable fashion adoption.

The present study aimed to investigate whether male consumers report weaker green consumption values than their female counterparts, and whether such a presumed sex difference, at least in part, can be explained by different levels of intrasexual competition. In other words, the study tested the notion that intrasexual competition acts as a psychological mechanism explaining why male (vs female) consumers are sometimes less prone to prefer and purchase sustainable goods, with their higher tendency to compete with same-sex rivals making them less likely to engage in green consumption.

The study was based on a large cross-sectional survey, in which a final sample of 1,382 participants (823 female and 559 male) provided complete responses on well-validated scales measuring intrasexual competition and green consumption values. The large sample size implies that even small effect sizes could be detected with high statistical power. The data were analyzed using a series of Mann–Whitney U tests to compare the responses made by male and female participants. Subsequently, multiple linear regressions as well as regression-based mediation and moderation analyses were performed with control variables added to show robustness of the results, test the proposed chain of events, and demonstrate generalizability.

Male (vs female) participants expressed significantly higher levels of intrasexual competition both generally and on the two subdimensions corresponding to superiority striving and inferiority irritation. Further, they were slightly less inclined to express green consumption values. Importantly, the sex difference in green consumption values was mediated by inferiority irritation as well as the entire intrasexual competition scale but not by superiority striving. Thus, men's inferiority irritation, in particular, and their more pronounced propensity to compete with same-sex rivals, in general, drove them away from green consumption, whereas women's weaker willingness to compete with same-sex rivals instead increased their inclination of “going green.”

Drawing on findings from the domains of competitiveness and gender stereotypes, the current research demonstrates a novel mechanism through which green consumption responses can be understood. Specifically, this study provides empirical evidence for the mediating role of intrasexual competition, especially regarding the more negatively charged subdimension of inferiority irritation, in explaining why male and female consumers may differ in terms of their green consumption values. The present research also contributes to the literature by questioning the unidimensional structure of the intrasexual competition scale and showing that the negative (vs positive) subdimension of this scale is more influential in explaining sex-differentiated patterns in consumers' green consumption values, thereby supporting the notion that “bad is stronger than good.”

The purpose of this paper is to progress research towards a model of the sustainable corporate brand by conducting a critical review of the research literature on sustainability, including theories and typologies that impact on and/or are relevant to the development of a sustainable corporate brand, that is a corporate brand that has sustainability embedded in its covenant or brand promise.

A critical review of the research literature is undertaken to investigate the drivers, factors and features that need to be included when developing the sustainable corporate brand.

The development process for a sustainable corporate brand was examined by reference to the available literature on sustainability in relation to corporate branding. The drivers and factors involved in the development and maintenance of a sustainable corporate brand discussed included the link between corporate identity and corporate brand using Balmer's typology, corporate rebranding, developing a consistent sustainable brand promise, supply chain challenges, signalling and communication issues including the application of discourse theory, the sustainable corporate brand as an innovation credibility, and reputational issues. Finally, the factors to be considered in developing a sustainable corporate brand were presented.

Case study research is needed to confirm which processes and theories offer the most effective way of implementing the sustainable corporate brand in particular industries and countries.

The paper provides a framework for organizations considering implementing a sustainable corporate brand.

The paper provides several insights which emerged from an examination of how an organization might implement a sustainable corporate brand.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in supply chains, particularly in those that function in highly competitive industries. The purpose of this paper is to understand more deeply the role sustainability plays within supply chains based on a qualitative study conducted in the New Zealand wine industry.

This research followed a grounded theory methodology which used in‐depth interviews with managers from wineries, retailers, and restaurants; observations of operations; and interpretation of field documents/artifacts.

The findings show that managers within the New Zealand wine supply chains are trying to find ways to leverage sustainability‐related competencies for competitive advantage in what is now a highly competitive industry. Within this context, the emergent theme of searching for advantage through sustainability involves: pursuing and leveraging sustainability; telling a story that involves sustainability; managing supply chain relationships around sustainability; and experimenting with sustainability initiatives.

The research is limited to the context and participants of the study. As a qualitative inquiry, findings are exploratory. The research implications, however, involve deeper studies into how wine industry firms in other nations and regions of the world are treating sustainability and searching for competitive advantages. Further validation of the models that emerge can be accomplished through future research, which would draw on aggregate data.

The approach and context within which sustainability is explored is unique. By seeking deep insights from managers on the cutting edge of sustainability initiatives, we are able to get close to strategic thinking and explore the impact on distribution relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to validate that young American experiencers perceive cashmere as the most luxurious animal fiber, to investigate if because expensive it is perceived as more luxurious (Veblen theory), to learn how they know about its intrinsic values, lastly to explore if articulating the story behind luxury goods can enhance shopping experience, thus building a sustainable competitive advantage for retailers.

This research was conducted using a survey to gather quantitative data followed by focus group. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a group of almost 200 young American experiencers.

The results show that the subjects had a significant lack of knowledge about the provenance of cashmere (the fibre) and its intrinsic attributes. Once the subjects were told about the characteristics, the provenance and the whole process of the supply chain starting with the farmers combing the goats to the delivery of the end goods, it seems obvious that articulating the story behind luxury goods would enhance the shopping experience and provide a sustainable competitive advantage for retailers.

This survey was conducted on a sample of 196 respondents, from one specific geographic area. It would benefit from being extended to a wider scope of demographic and geographic including Europe and Asia.

This study supports that time has come for retailers to shift from marketing visual images to the story telling.