Integrating Sustainability into Food Marketing - A Design-Based Extension of the Food Well-Being Paradigm
Yating Tian is a PhD student in the Department Product–Market Relations. (Co)Promotors are prof.dr.ir. J. Henseler from the Faculty of Engineering Technology and prof.dr. Q. Kamran from Weiden Business School, Germany.
This dissertation examines the integration of sustainability in food marketing from three core perspectives: food retailers, food manufacturers and producers, and consumers. It explores how these perspectives can shape consumer eating behaviors to promote contributions to society and the environment, ultimately advancing key indicators that promote food well-being towards sustainability. Although the importance of food well-being has grown in recent decades, its conceptualization remains hindered by a lack of coherent frameworks and standardized measures. This study proposes a consumer-centric, bottom-up approach to sustainability marketing, which underscores consumer benefits while aligning with broader sustainability goals. To advance this agenda, the research posits an expanded paradigm of food well-being, redefining it as a holistic concept that integrates individual, societal, environmental, and economic dimensions. This refined concept seeks to align consumer-driven preferences with broader societal and environmental contributions, creating a synergistic path toward sustainable food systems.
By validating and implementing the Food Well-Being Index (FWBI) through Composite-Based Structural Equation Modeling (cSEM), the dissertation makes significant contributions to both theoretical advancements and practical applications within food retailing, manufacturing, product design, food service, and consumer behavior domains. It demonstrates how researchers and food marketing practitioners can integrate sustainability into food marketing practices, establishing the FWBI as a composite measure encompassing individual, social, environmental, and economic dimensions of well-being. The research consists of five independent studies, each focusing on distinct facets of food well-being and sustainability in marketing, thereby providing a comprehensive framework for understanding and applying the FWBI across diverse food industry contexts.
Chapter 1 introduces the research problem, objectives, and importance of sustainability in marketing from a general perspective. It proposes the central research questions concerning the current state of sustainability integration in marketing and how existing theories can be applied specifically to food marketing. The chapter highlights the challenges of the current top-down approach to integrating sustainability into food marketing and consumer research and emphasizes the need for a more effective framework.
The first two integrated studies in Chapter 2 provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature on marketing practices, the primary theoretical foundations of sustainability in marketing, and the consumer needs and business values of food retailers and manufacturers. It also examines the introduction and development of sustainable products and their potential to improve environmental footprint reduction. This chapter combines two comprehensive literature reviews with qualitative and quantitative analysis to underscore the importance of consumer awareness, responsibility, and the role of environmental and social governance in business strategies. The research examines the effectiveness of green marketing, the influence of innovation and technology in enhancing consumer engagement, and the development of sustainable consumption patterns. In contrast to the top-down approach to integrating sustainability, this chapter advocates for a bottom-up method, emphasizing that consumer knowledge and sustainable consumption practices are crucial to linking sustainability and marketing within a holistic framework. Consequently, the proposed bottom-up framework incorporating social marketing elements provides researchers with a robust tool for the further efficient and practical development of research models.
The second study in Chapter 3 examines food retail marketing and product brand loyalty, highlighting emerging challenges in aligning consumers with sustainability marketing. It shows that sustainable products and organic foods increase consumer loyalty as awareness of environmental impact increases. The research analysis also explores how healthy foods branded and sold by retailers influence consumers' overall well-being. It also explores how these emerging factors can inform future research on food well-being, providing insights into how health-oriented products contribute to consumer loyalty and overall well-being. By addressing these areas, future research can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the interplay between sustainability and consumer loyalty in food retailing. This understanding will help guide retailers in fostering long-term, sustainable consumer relationships.
The third study in Chapter 4 disentangles three different understandings of the concept of food well-being and addresses the challenge of untestable conceptualization. It proposes a comprehensive framework - the Food Well-Being Triptych - to reconcile disparate research hypotheses and scholarly efforts and to accommodate food well-being as a paradigm, as a conceptual framework, and as a conceptual variable. It helps resolve the conceptual ambiguity surrounding FWB and proposes a practical solution through the FWB Triptych. It establishes a template model capable of accommodating the intricate relationship between consumers, food marketers, and policymakers and food well-being, which is influenced by political, societal, and environmental factors. This chapter unravels the theoretical confusion and guides empirical studies. It has important implications for understanding eating behavior, shaping public policy, refining marketing strategies, and improving food well-being. This encourages researchers to further develop related studies with sustainability by using the proposed triptych.
The fourth study in Chapter 5 conducts a qualitative study that contributes to the sustainability-based New Food Product Development (NFPD) literature and marketing research by improving the understanding of sustainability implementation through technological breakthroughs and innovations in the NFPD process. The contribution of this study is its novelty in the food industry and its value-added application in food marketing research. The design of the NFPD value creation framework integrates essences simultaneously, not in regular order sequence, but using core elements and combining them into an emerging practical NFPD: process, ingredients, specifications, and associations. To ensure value in any business activity, these elements are optimized and kneaded into the framework.
The fifth study in Chapter 6 presents an empirical study that constructs the Food Well-Being Index (FWBI) using partial least squares structural equation modeling, addresses measurement challenges, and identifies key indicators that promote food well-being. It uses composite-based structural equation modeling and importance-performance matrix analysis to capture important indicators and their performance, revealing individual and environmental well-being as significant drivers of food-related well-being. This chapter presents a comprehensive FWBI embedded in a possible model of formative indicators. It validates its relevance to overall well-being, thus contributing significantly to the theoretical and methodological foundations of sustainability marketing and food well-being research. The findings shed light on the complex relationships between food well-being, overall well-being, sustainable consumption, and consumer eating behavior. The FWBI addresses the second main research question by answering how to resolve the research tensions and integrate sustainability into marketing from a bottom-up perspective. It responds to the literature reviews in Chapter 2, mitigates the difficulties identified in Chapter 3, and establishes the link between the theoretical problems and practical difficulties of sustainability explored in Chapters 4 and 5.
Chapter 7 discusses theoretical and practical implications and provides actionable recommendations for companies to implement sustainable marketing strategies.
This dissertation provides a comprehensive theoretical and practical framework for integrating sustainability into marketing and consumer sustainable consumption behavior. The findings provide actionable insights for companies seeking to achieve sustainability goals while building strong, loyal customer relationships. The dissertation contributes to the academic discourse by presenting a detailed analysis of the mechanisms that drive sustainable consumer behavior and by providing practical recommendations for companies to effectively implement sustainable marketing strategies. It also highlights the interplay between consumer behavior and sustainable marketing.
In conclusion, this dissertation serves as a valuable resource for both academics and practitioners by providing a holistic approach to sustainable marketing that balances economic, environmental, and social considerations. By adopting the strategies outlined in this research, companies can not only improve their sustainability performance but also gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The practical implications of this study are far-reaching, providing a roadmap for companies to navigate the complexities of sustainable marketing and consumer behavior in an ever-evolving global landscape.
