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Department of Business Administration International Business Program Degree Project, 30 Credits, Spring 2020

Supervisor: Galina Biedenbach

How CSR is marketed and

optimized in the Swedish

fashion industry

A qualitative study on digital

marketing and web analytics

when marketing CSR

Filip Mattsson Minna Åberg

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[THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

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ABSTRACT

The fashion industry is commonly known for being responsible for large amounts of environmental damage as well as having poor working conditions. This is why many

companies operating within the Swedish fashion industry are working with Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to become more sustainable. CSR is a well-known concept that has been researched in many studies as well as implemented by many companies. While there are many ways to incorporate CSR activities, the main goal is to take responsibility for the actions of the company, address stakeholder interests and work towards more sustainable operations.

Besides CSR, this study also investigates the use of digital marketing and web analytics in the Swedish fashion industry. While most companies actively use digital marketing, a large number of companies fail at utilizing the full potential of web analytics when evaluating digital marketing strategies. Furthermore, this study investigates how companies in the Swedish fashion industry use digital marketing and web analytics when marketing their CSR initiatives.

The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding about the role that digital marketing and web analytics have in marketing CSR initiatives in the Swedish fashion industry. The Swedish fashion industry was the context investigated in this study as the fashion industry is at front edge with implementing CSR initiatives, and is developing into becoming a less environmentally damaging industry with stricter regulations and more knowledgeable consumers.

This study was conducted through a qualitative method with semi structured interviews. The respondents consisted of CEOs, sustainability experts as well as business developers working within the Swedish fashion industry. Through a thematic analysis, we have found themes which in turn were analyzed regarding CSR activities, digital marketing and web analytics. The findings showed that there was an existing controversy with the marketing of CSR, which might have been due to the lack of clear guidelines and regulations restricting what can be considered as sustainable products. This situation led to some marketing within the

industry being considered as misleading marketing, while some companies did not dare to market their CSR initiatives due to the fear of being criticized for green washing or not doing enough. Furthermore, the findings showed that digital marketing has a large role in the Swedish fashion industry. While some companies worked extensively with web analytics to improve their marketing campaigns and social channels, other companies failed at utilizing the full potential of web analytics.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, we would like to thank our supervisor Galina Biedenbach for her valuable support throughout the process of writing this thesis. Her feedback and guidance have been very valuable and has facilitated the process of completing this research.

Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude towards our respondents who, despite the ongoing pandemic, took a moment of their valuable time to participate in our study. Through their knowledge and experience, they contributed to making this thesis possible. Lastly, we would like to thank all of our wonderful student colleagues for their support throughout the semester.

2020-05-24

Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics

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Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION ... 3

1.1 Choice of Subject ... 1

1.2 Problem background ... 2

1.3 Theoretical background and knowledge gaps ... 3

1.4 Research question ... 4 1.5 Purpose ... 4 2. SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY ... 6 2.1 Ontology ... 6 2.2 Epistemology ... 7 2.4 Research Design ... 9 2.6 Literature search ... 10 2.7 Choice of theories ... 11 3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 13

3.1 Corporate Social Responsibility ... 13

3.1.1 The pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility ... 13

3.1.2 CSR in corporate settings and risks involved ... 14

3.1.3 The rise of CSR within the fashion industry... 16

3.1.4 Implementation and integration of CSR activities ... 17

3.1.5 Integrating CSR into business operations ... 18

3.2 Digital Marketing ... 20

3.2.1 How companies use digital marketing ... 22

3.2.2 Web Analytics ... 23

3.3 Summary of theories ... 26

4. PRACTICAL METHOD ... 28

4.1 Primary and Secondary data ... 28

4.2 Qualitative Data Collection ... 28

4.3 Qualitative Sampling Techniques and Access ... 29

4.4 Conducting the Interviews ... 32

4.5 Transcribing... 32 4.6 Data Analysis ... 33 4.7 Ethical Considerations ... 33 5. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ... 36 5.1 Profiles of respondents ... 36 5.2 CSR related activities ... 37 5.2.1 CSR initiatives ... 37

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5.2.2 Profitability of CSR ... 39

5.2.3 The production process ... 40

5.2.4 Important aspects and difficulties when marketing CSR ... 42

5.3 Digital Marketing ... 43

5.3.1 The use of digital marketing ... 43

5.3.2 Tools and channels of digital marketing... 44

5.3.3 Controversy with marketing CSR ... 44

5.4 Web analytics ... 46

5.4.1 The use of Web analytics ... 46

5.4.2 The tools in use ... 47

5.4.3 Optimization of digital marketing campaigns... 47

6. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ... 49

6.1 CSR related activities ... 49

6.1.1 CSR initiatives ... 49

6.1.3 The production process ... 52

6.1.4 Important aspects and difficulties when marketing CSR ... 54

6.2 Digital marketing ... 55

6.2.1 The use of digital marketing ... 55

6.2.2 Tools & Channels of digital marketing ... 56

6.2.3 Controversy with marketing CSR ... 57

6.3 Web analytics ... 58

6.3.1 The use of web analytics... 58

6.3.2 The tools in use ... 60

6.3.3 Optimization of digital marketing campaigns... 60

7. CONCLUSION... 62

7.1 General Conclusion... 62

7.2 Theoretical Contribution ... 63

7.3 Practical Contribution ... 65

7.4 Societal Implications ... 66

7.5 Limitations & Future research ... 67

7.6 Truth criteria ... 68

8. REFERENCE LIST ... 70

Appendix 1 ... 73

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List of figures

Figure 1. Deductive and Inductive approach ... 9

Figure 2. Pyramid of corporate social responsibility ... 14

Figure 3. Seven patterns of CSR initiative adoption ... 20

Figure 4. Digital engagement matrix ... 23

Figure 5. Steel's digital marketing performance measurement process and tools in use ... 25

Figure 6. Key capabilities required for analytics-driven performance improvements ... 26

List of tables

Table 1. Challenges in the research area of sustainability and digital marketing... 21

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1. INTRODUCTION

This thesis begins with an introductory chapter where we start by describing and presenting our choice of topic as well as provide a practical and theoretical background for this thesis. Furthermore, a presentation of the theories we have used and how we have identified our research gaps follows. Finally, a presentation of our research question and an explanation of the purpose for this thesis and how we have progressed and managed to find answers for the identified issues will follow.

1.1 Choice of Subject

We are two Business Students studying at the International Business Program with a major in marketing at Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics (USBE). When trying to come up with a subject, we went with the decision to base our thesis upon what we believed to be the most interesting topics within the field of marketing. In addition, we wanted to investigate a topic that would be beneficial for our future careers. We agreed that the topics of interest would be connected to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), digital marketing and web analytics as these were all trending subjects that have caught our interest during our studies. In order to gain a deeper understanding of these topics, we realized that they needed to be put into context and moreover to a specific industry. Due to our background of working many years within the fashion industry as well as having a lifelong interest in fashion, we quickly agreed upon the fact that we wanted to investigate these topics in relation to the Swedish fashion industry.

A trending issue widely discussed is the negative environmental impact caused by large industries such as the fashion industry. Even if many companies within the industry have adopted their operations and are working towards becoming more sustainable, they still have a long way to go (Choi & Li, 2015). Due to these issues, another logical connection to make was to include CSR with a main focus on environmental damage. Our opinion was that sustainability efforts should be considered and implemented to a greater extent within companies operating in the fashion industry due to its high negative environmental impact. Furthermore, this is a topic that is becoming more and more central within the minds of consumers, which is putting further pressure on companies to adapt CSR activities

(Öberseder et al., 2011). Due to the fact that most courses during our four years of studying have included some kind of focus on CSR, this sparked an interest within this subject and has led us to not only having a large knowledge base regarding CSR, but also a genuine interest. Digital marketing has changed the way companies interact with consumers and has become a large part of marketing within organizations today (Diez-Martin et al., 2019). In connection to the rise of digital marketing, the discussion regarding how to measure its success when it comes to marketing campaigns has been raised due to the fact that the results can be

challenging to measure and prove to managers (Diez-Martin et al., 2019). In other words, when it comes to marketing CSR initiatives digitally, there is a lack of suitable measurement methods that can analytically prove how important CSR implementation actually is (Diez-Martin et al., 2019). Previous research suggests CSR initiatives can be beneficial in terms of customer loyalty and branding (Bao et al., 2011; Pohl and Tolhurst, 2010; Tai and Chuang, 2011). However, we wanted to investigate how these initiatives can be proven to be

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2 As mentioned briefly above, the field we wanted to research further is the fashion industry, and more specifically the fashion industry in Sweden with a focus on both small and large companies within the fashion industry. Furthermore, we want to investigate how these companies work with CSR in various ways and how their digital marketing is formed based upon benefits of CSR activities, and finally how these outcomes are measured through analytics. Since we both have many years of work experience within the fashion industry, as well as a lifelong genuine interest in the topic, we believe that our pre-understandings of the industry were beneficial in conducting this thesis.

Besides the challenges brought by the rise of the concept of CSR, another issue that is facing marketers is the fact that marketing departments have an increased amount of stress to show their value for the companies (Hanssen & Pauwels, 2016). This makes marketing, and in this case particularly the importance of marketing CSR initiatives, difficult for marketers to motivate for upper management (Hanssen & Pauwels, 2016). This issue got us interested to further investigate how companies use web analytics and if it increases the performance and credibility of the marketing activities.

By combining the three subjects of CSR, digital marketing, and web analytics, we aim to provide both theoretical implications and practical implications. The practical implications found will help companies who are implementing or considering implementing CSR

initiatives. Furthermore, we want to discuss how this should be measured in the most efficient way possible. In other words, the focus is to investigate how companies operating within the fashion industry of Sweden are using digital marketing in order to market their sustainability and measure their success using analytics.

1.2 Problem background

Many companies within the fashion industry are facing some challenges related to the growth and rise of a higher CSR focus, digital marketing, and the lack of web analytics in order to measure success brought on by running marketing campaigns digitally. According to Bick et al. (2018) the fashion industry is one of the worst polluting industries, as well as an industry that is at front edge when it comes to digital marketing and CSR implementation, which made these issues highly important and interesting to investigate from a practitioner perspective, as well as a scientific perspective.

The fashion industry and the concept of fast fashion has changed the consumption process of clothes in modern time and has caused it to become one of the worst environmental thieves of modern time (Bick et al., 2018). Due to its excessive outsourcing of labor and the use of cheap, environmentally damaging materials, fast fashion has enabled many people to consume more due to the possibility of a lower price and higher supply (Bick et al., 2018). Naturally, this has taken its toll on the environment due to for instance the increase of

production, transportation and use of water which is constantly causing severe environmental damage. While some companies might have adopted CSR into their organization or at least aims to become more sustainable, the fashion industry still stands as one of the most polluting industries in the world (Bick et al., 2018). Therefore, for practitioners in this industry, it is critical to acquire more insights about how to further make their operations more sustainable in the long run.

Companies today can identify many benefits with implementing and marketing CSR initiatives, such as economic profit through added stakeholder value (Bao et al., 2011). We have investigated this field further through researching the different types of CSR initiatives that occurs within the fashion industry. Tai & Chuang (2011) states that companies need to

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3 consider many factors in order to succeed with their CSR initiatives, such as matching the initiative with the core business and understanding their stakeholders.

The next topic of interest is digital marketing. Due to new innovation and how people are connected to each other through social platforms as well as how companies interact with consumers through these platforms, it allows companies to address emerging topics such as CSR (Dumitriu et al., 2019). Previous research many different aspect on how consumers use digital channels such as reading reviews before purchasing a product (Leeflang et al., 2014; Smith, 2012), or connecting in other ways with people online (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014) which stresses the importance of understanding how to market in digital marketing platforms. Since digital marketing is the channel used by the consumers, companies in the Swedish fashion industry therefore need to understand how to market themselves and the CSR initiatives they are conducting. In the fashion industry in particular there are many articles regarding the environmental damage (Bick et al., 2018) which therefore proves that companies need to show how they are making a difference towards the better.

As mentioned by Hanssen & Pauwels (2016), the marketing industry is having a hard time proving its relevance and profitability. Because of this, we wanted to investigate the problem further and see if web analytics can aid companies to further understand the importance of marketing. Chaffey & Patron (2012) states that companies are failing at utilizing web analytics to further improve their online marketing which we wanted to investigate this further. If the marketing of CSR initiatives are not measured through web analytics, it might be difficult to prove the relevance of not only the marketing, but also the CSR initiatives, as the company will not know the public response to such actions. Kent et al. (2011) suggests that learning web analytics and implementing it is not a difficult process which further puts emphasize on the importance of investigating why companies are failing at utilizing it.

1.3 Theoretical background and knowledge gaps

The negative environmental impact caused by humans is a topic that is discussed frequently by the public, politicians and the news. Prior research made by Bick et al. (2018) and Pal and Gander (2018) demonstrates the effects that the fashion industry has on both the environment and society. Bick et al. (2018) states that the fashion industry can deliver constant supply of novel clothing collections by combining high water usage along with harmful disposal process to later sell these clothes for a low price at the cost of the environment. Besides the environmental damage, Pal and Gander (2018) discusses the negative social implications such as child labor and low wages that are being used in this industry. As a result of public stakeholders and legislation demanding companies to be more responsible, there has been an increase in CSR efforts made by companies (Bao et al., 2011). Pedersen and Gwozdz (2013) states that the Scandinavian fashion industry can be considered to be a role model for

companies in other parts of the world. Bao et al. (2011) investigates how to incorporate the CSR into the business and explains it as a difficult process. Pedersen and Gwozdz (2013) states that many companies implement CSR, not for the common good but for the benefits that investing in CSR provides the company with.

Digital marketing emerged as a consequence of innovation on web-based platforms where people nowadays interact with each other on social platforms (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014). Previous research suggests that digital marketing can be divided into two typical channels with corresponding characteristics (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). Channels such as emails and website are one-way channels where the company promotes themselves and also has large controls of these mediums (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). While other channels, social

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4 media, are two-way channels that the company exist on but does not have as much of control (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). The WEB 2.0, or as it is more commonly known as, social media, can be defined as “applications allowing users to build personal websites accessible

to other users for exchange of personal content and communication” (Constantinides &

Fountain, 2007, p. 233).

Prior research by Dumitriu et al. (2019); Tiago and Veríssimo (2014) investigates how

companies use digital marketing as well as to what extent. Which has led to companies seeing the importance of being there as well, creating digital relationships with consumers Kannan & Li, 2017)

Web analytics has in previous research been defined as ”Monitoring and reporting of web

site usage so that enterprises can better understand the complex interactions between web site visitors action and web site offers, as well as leverage insight to optimize the site for increase customer loyalty and sales (Aberdeen Group, Cited in Phippen, 2004, p. 286). While

this is a good definition it does not capture the analytics used in social media which is why we will define web analytics as: Web analytics collects meaningful information which can be used to understand online customers and design actions accordingly that is beneficial to the business (Nakatani & Chuang, 2011).

Previous research suggests that by using web analytics, companies can better measure the outcomes of their marketing while also learning more about the consumers. Furthermore, web analytics can also be used to further plan, improve or optimize their digital marketing

campaigns (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015). This was also stated by Diez-Martin et al (2019), who claims that digital marketing can be used to reduce the gap between consumers and companies. Chaffey & Patron (2012) states that many companies are failing at utilizing web analytics today, which was interesting for us to investigate it further.

While previous research show that companies are working with CSR, digital marketing and web analytics there is a research gap. This research gap refers to how companies work with CSR, market it and also optimize it through web analytics. This is also strengthened by Diez-Martin et al. (2019) who states that the research in the interaction between CSR and digital marketing is not dense. Furthermore, since marketing departments are struggling with showing their value to managers (Hanssen & Pauwels, 2016) web analytics might aid companies in strengthening credibility of the marketing (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015) but need to be investigated further. Moreover, previous research in the fashion industry

investigates the societal and environmental damage caused by the fashion industry but does not explicitly investigate what initiatives that are existing in this industry and how these are marketed.

1.4 Research question

What role do digital marketing and web analytics have in marketing CSR initiatives in the Swedish fashion industry?

1.5 Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding about the role that digital marketing and web analytics have in marketing CSR initiatives in the Swedish fashion industry. Firstly, when we investigated these topics as well as conducted the interviews, we wanted to find the best ways of marketing CSR initiatives through digital marketing within

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5 the fashion industry in Sweden. Secondly, how analytics can be used in order to determine the outcomes of these campaigns. In doing so, companies can receive information regarding how to maximize their outcomes based upon marketing CSR through digital means.

In order to find the answer to our research question we conducted extensive review of former literature addressing these topics as well as performed a qualitative study. We interviewed Swedish companies involved in the fashion industry and digital marketing in order to gain knowledge of how they work with CSR and digital marketing as well as how they are measuring their outcomes with analytics. By investigating how companies work with digital marketing campaigns and if they have analytics to prove their relevance this helped us answer our research question. By then taking these results and credible sources, we hope to have provided practical and theoretical contributions for the field of CSR and Digital Marketing.

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2. SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY

In the following chapter, we clarify our philosophical viewpoint, describe our scientific method as well as present our research design and approach. Furthermore, this chapter presents an explanation of our pre-understandings as well as a literature search. Lastly, we present our choice of theories and source criticism.

2.1 Ontology

When conducting any type of research, it is important to be aware of the set of beliefs and philosophical assumptions that are constantly present within a researcher and may affect research viewpoints and perspectives (Duberley et al., 2012). In undertaking this research, we had to identify a research paradigm in order to facilitate the establishment of what knowledge and reality is and how this research should be conducted (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

In terms of philosophical assumptions, there are four main assumptions that are involved, however the most well-known ones are ontology and epistemology and is thereby further discussed and described in the following chapter. The first assumption concerns the nature of reality and is known as ontology (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Secondly, there is the

epistemological assumption which is concerning the researchers and the background of their knowledge (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012).

In addition to what was previously stated above, ontology is the philosophical view

concerned with the nature of reality and all that exists (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). The word itself has its heritage within Greek, where “onto” means existence and reality, and “logia”, which means science and study (Bryman & Bell, 2011). According to Bryman and Bell (2011) ontology as a philosophical stance is about dealing with reality and what things in our surroundings that exists and can be measured, as well as how these can be categorized based upon similarities and differences (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). Typical issues regarding ontology are questions such as what the fundamental parts of the world entails of as well as how these parts are related to each other (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Furthermore, when trying to describe and categorize reality, other issues appear such as the distinction between physical objects and concepts and their relationship to one another (Collis & Hussey, 2014). When speaking about ontology, there are two main branches that has developed over time - ontological materialism and ontological idealism (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). Just as the name suggests, ontological materialism is concerned with the belief that material things are more real than concepts due to the fact that they would exist without the observation of a human mind (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). On the contrary, ontological idealism suggests that the human mind and the observed reality is more real than materialism (Bryman & Bell 2011).

Two main positions within ontology is objectivism and constructionism (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Objectivism is the belief that there is one true reality and that the world can be identified by structures and patterns, and then represented by using theory and models (Vrasidas, 2000). Furthermore, the objectivist viewpoint is often rejected by researchers as the view of constructivism is more open to the idea of the world being too complex to define into one perception of reality (Vrasidas, 2000). Constructivism is the belief that everyone creates their own perception of reality based upon for instance interactions and observations (Vrasidas, 2000). Due to the purpose of this study, which is to gain a deeper understanding of marketing CSR digitally within the Swedish fashion industry and measure the outcomes with analytics, the constructivist viewpoint is more suitable for this study. Due to the complex

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7 topics that are investigated in this study, it is important that we, as researchers, understand and respect the belief that each of us perceive reality differently in line with the constructivist viewpoint. In other words, as we do not view reality as something that can be generalized into one reality that is perceived similarly by everyone, the objectivist viewpoint is excluded from this study.

2.2 Epistemology

In addition to ontology, epistemology is the philosophical standpoint that concerns the reality of knowledge and what that entails (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). Furthermore, it concerns the issue of what knowledge is, how we obtain it and how it should be approached (Bryman & Bell 2011). Capturing and analyzing knowledge is something that is constantly present in our everyday life, however what is less certain is the nature of knowledge and what knowledge truly is and what is only considered as knowledge (Bryman & Bell 2011).

Furthermore, in order to identify which paradigm and philosophical frameworks that would guide us through this thesis, a distinction between research paradigms was made. According to Collis and Hussey (2014) and Duberley et al. (2012), two of many research paradigms are positivism and interpretivism. Positivism can be described as the paradigm more related to natural phenomenon and beliefs that knowledge is derived from sensory experiences. In a positivist viewpoint, the researcher aims to find similarities and patterns in what is being researched in comparison to previous experiences (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Through

identifying patterns and experiences, the researcher may draw conclusions and expectations, which in its turn can be viewed as knowledge (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). A positivist viewpoint is in other words interested in means and results that can be measured and is thereby often associated with quantitative studies (Duberley et al., 2012), and is in other words not as relevant for this thesis due to the choice of an qualitative research approach and our belief that reality and knowledge should not be measured and put into assumptions but rather analyzed and understood from a distant perspective.

Another paradigm, interpretivism, is on the other hand more focused on the idea that assumptions are subjective and multiple and thereby a reality that exists within our minds (Duberley et al., 2012). Another expression for interpretivism is anti-positivism, which speaks for the fact that interpretivism emerged after positivism and provided criticism

towards that viewpoint (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Furthermore, this theoretical stance suggests that reality cannot be measured and researched by scientific means, and that other methods are demanded in order to understand our social reality and surroundings (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The aim for the interpretivist researcher is to describe and explore reality instead of trying to measure it (Collis & Hussey, 2014), which makes this approach more suitable for a qualitative research and will serve as the paradigm for this thesis.

Interpretivism in connection to epistemology is as the name suggests focused on the interpretation process and understanding of knowledge (Bryman & Bell 2011). In other words, this paradigm is focused on understanding the reality of knowledge and all that it entails rather than trying to develop new ideas about what knowledge is (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). According to interpretivism in epistemology, all participants existing in reality

influence each other, including us as researchers (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). The reality of knowledge is something that is under constant development, change and effected of each other and is thereby nothing that can be fully understood through measurements and metrics (Bryman & Bell 2011). Epistemology from a positivist viewpoint suggests that the researcher should stay distant from the research object, in order for the researcher and the object to exist

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8 independently (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This belief is in line with how we will approach our interviews as we believe that it is important to reduce the chances of influencing the results and answers of the respondents. In other words, according to the positivist viewpoint of epistemology, the researcher should aim to distance themselves as much as possible in order to avoid affecting the research object in any way (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

As mentioned briefly above, due to the chosen qualitative research method, it was natural for this thesis to focus on the interpretivist research. When conducting this thesis and research, we were considering the viewpoint that both reality and knowledge is something that is under constant change and that all participants are always affecting each other and can thereby not be measured and interpreted by for instance metrics (Bryman & Bell 2011). In other words, it was significant for us to maintain a somewhat distanced approach to participants and avoid asking leading questions to not affect the nature of the results (Bryman & Bell 2011).

2.3 Research Approach

When choosing a research approach, the two options considered were either a deductive or inductive approach. In accordance with Saunders et al. (2012), researchers can choose

different methods in terms of connecting theories. A deductive approach is frequently used in quantitative studies where the researcher deduces theories, create hypotheses then test these hypotheses (Bryman, 2018). Since this type of research approach is most commonly used in quantitative research by studying a theory and testing it, we decided that deductive approach is not of relevance for this study. Furthermore, the since this study does not intend to create an own theory prior to conducting this research and test its relevant at a later stage, a deductive approach was not relevant.

In addition to using a deductive approach, the inductive approach was seen as more suitable to this study and was thereby the approach that this study followed. An inductive approach can be explained as making observations and then creating theory and is most commonly used in qualitative research (see figure 1) (Bryman, 2018). We chose to have an inductive approach as we aimed to present results and patterns in the fashion industry rather than testing previous research. Since the previous research is not that vast in the context of the integration of all three topic, we drew the conclusion that it was more fruitful for this research to present our findings rather than testing previous research.

While these approaches are categorized as different approaches, the distinction between them is not that clear since usually an inductive approach has some elements from a deductive approach such as a theoretical base (Bryman, 2018). In our case, this is highly relevant since we have used theories as a basis for our research but will also conduct interviews to create our own theory. While there might be some similarities between deductive and inductive approach, we found that the inductive approach was more of relevant for this study.

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Figure 1. Deductive and Inductive approach Source: (Bryman, 2018, pp. 49)

2.4 Research Design

There are two main research designs that can be used when conducting research in order to find a solution to a particular issue and collect- and interpret data, which is: a quantitative and qualitative design (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

A qualitative research design aims to gain understanding at a more analytical and humanistic matter and will thereby focus on human behavior, beliefs and attitudes rather than focusing on finding patterns and conclusions with the help of for instance numerical data and analytics (Vibha et al., 2013). The qualitative research design was originally intended for studies relating to human behavior such as psychology and philosophy studies (Vibha et al., 2013). Furthermore, qualitative research has grown into becoming more commonly used in other areas as well (Vibha et al., 2013). Qualitative research often consists of a process where interviews and observations are conducted with active participants rather than classical quantitative data collection through for instance anonymous surveys (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The observations and responses are then carefully analyzed and interpreted into conclusions with as little involvement and personal opinions as possible from the researchers in order to avoid biased results (Davis & Hughes, 2014). We chose a qualitative approach since the aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the three broad and complex topics of: CSR, digital marketing and marketing analytics in the social setting of the Swedish fashion industry. A quantitative research can be viewed as a more reliable method due to its nature of providing results based upon clear data and numerical evidence rather than observations, thoughts and analysis (Vibha et al., 2013). In terms of studies within business administration, a quantitative approach is more frequently used. (Bryman, 2018) In addition to a qualitative study, a quantitative study often includes larger samples, testing of hypothesis and less deep and analytical questions (Bryman & Bell, 2011). However, due to the nature of this thesis the aim was to reach a deeper understanding of human behavior and responses to certain types of marketing and responses to CSR initiatives, we believed that the quantitative design would not succeed in providing the type of evidence that this thesis aimed to collect.

2.5 Pre-understandings

Pre-understandings is the knowledge that a researcher has within the area of chosen research and is an important part of the background for the thesis (Bryman, 2018) What this implies is that if the researcher wants to investigate an certain area they have to be familiar with the

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10 existing literature within the field (Bryman, 2018). Due to our many years of studying

business administration as well as reading literature and contemporary theories and concepts, this contributed to an overall view of the particular issues such as the subject of digital

marketing, CSR and web analytics. Furthermore, the high involvement of CSR and marketing under our years of studying and the many reports that has been written, we already had an idea of where to begin when starting our search for relevant literature. In other words, we had a good background-knowledge for conducting a literature review due to our high level of pre-understanding of these topics.

Besides the various courses taken in CSR and digital marketing, we have also spent time abroad on exchange studies which has provided us with a wider perspective of how other universities discusses these types of issues. Except the experience of attending a foreign university, we gained insight in how the host country educated their students in CSR and how the culture of sustainability was integrated in those countries. Even if we both studied in countries that are located quite close to Sweden and members of the European Union, we saw that both countries had very different values and focuses in terms of sustainability. This observation leads us to become even more interested in the topic of CSR efforts since we are in the belief that Swedish culture might set a good example for many other EU-member countries in terms of integrating CSR.

Another factor that affects the chosen topic is the education and values of the researchers. The experiences and interests have an impact on the chosen area (Bryman, 2018). Since our preunderstandings came from experience in the fashion industry and also through studying at a CSR focused university our preunderstanding serves as a overall determinant of the chosen research area. Not only does the experience reside from having worked in the fashion

industry but another experience is the time spent on social media. Since we have grown up in a highly digital era the digital marketing, we have been exposed to all types of digital

marketing campaigns. Furthermore, we have seen it evolve through the years, starting with simplistic websites where one could post pictures towards Instagram and other contemporary platforms that are used today for conducting digital marketing.

Our many years of working within the fashion industry has not only led to a genuine interest in the industry but also provided us with an insider perspective, a hint of what drives its success as well as a deeper understanding of the industry as a whole. During the last couple of years, we have seen many different brands being sold in stores to change towards

becoming more sustainable while many stores are also marketing their CSR efforts through collecting clothes, changing fabrics, sorting out the trash from unpacked clothes or charging more for an plastic shopping bag. Furthermore, due to the constant appearance of CSR within nearly every course we have studied at university, this has naturally contributed to a high amount of pre-understandings of all that CSR activities entails. Due to the fact that we are both majoring in marketing and is currently working as consultants within digital marketing, this has also contributed to a high level of pre-understanding of underlying factors and benefits concerning the topic of digital marketing. Our academic background in marketing with a high CSR focus in combination with our professional experience within the fashion industry was beneficial for conducting a qualitative study and writing this thesis.

2.6 Literature search

Our theoretical framework is based on previous research within the fields of CSR, digital marketing and web analytics. Besides being relevant and critically examined in order to increase credibility of the thesis, the sources should serve as a support when making own

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11 arguments through interpretation of the theories (Bryman, 2018). We considered this to be highly important. We included arguments and interpretations in our theoretical framework in order to increase credibility through both showing how the source supports us, also by showing that we understand the context and meaning of the theories.

During the literature search we focused on finding sources related to our topic of interest. Although many sources were critically accepted, they did not fit into in the context of our report. One is not supposed to use all sources found in the literature search but instead focus on the ones that support the research gap and questions. Choosing to include all articles may lead to a less credible thesis (Bryman, 2018). We have used the Umeå University library and Google scholar to find our articles and many of them have not made it to the final draft of this thesis due to them being irrelevant for this context. Bryman (2018) suggests that the

electronic databases are great sources for finding research and that keywords can be used to better find the research needed. We searched mainly for articles and read introductory parts and conclusions before further reading the articles in order to find out its relevance for us. This saved us time which was very important since we did not want to read excessive

amounts of articles if the researched showed that it was not beneficial or fitting for our thesis. We always made sure that the articles were peer-reviewed to further increase the credibility of this thesis.

2.7 Choice of theories

Theories are important for researchers as they serve as a base for the research that is to be conducted (Bryman, 2018). By using previous theories, it gave us a better understanding of the context while also giving the readers a scope of the context. The following theoretical chapter starts by introducing the fashion industry and the rise of a higher CSR focus within the industry. Furthermore, the theoretical chapter was divided into our three different main themes; CSR, digital marketing and web analytics.

CSR is a wide concept that can be defined as activities in a firm that aims to improve for instance environmental or societal damage caused by the business or entire industry, the main goal of these activities is to in various ways benefit social, cultural or environmental causes in their operations (Tai & Chuang, 2014). CSR is a widely discussed subject and consists of many different aspects regarding the causes of social, cultural and environmental as

mentioned. We have focused on environmental aspects in this thesis since it is highly related to the fashion industry that is commonly known for being toxic to the environment. When conducting the literature review, we discovered many relevant concepts that would fit greatly and serve good purpose for our thesis considering the topic of CSR. Furthermore, we chose to include a few descriptive models in order to gain a deeper understanding. For instance, the

“Pyramid of Corporate social responsibility” presented by Archie B. Carroll in 1991, and “Seven patterns of integrating CSR” by Bao et al. (2011).

The topic of digital marketing has a quite extensive amount of research, however our aim was to find research on the topic that is related to sustainability, which was unfortunately not that common (Diez-Martin et al., 2019). While there might not be vast amounts of research

regarding CSR and digital marketing intertwined, the topics have been investigated separately for many years and we have found great sources investigating these topics. Digital marketing has seen a growth through innovation where individuals now interact with one another through the digital platforms, communicating and also sharing opinions about products (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014). Dumitriu et al. (2019) also discusses the fact that people are

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12 interacting with companies as well and companies are actively addressing emergent problems such as sustainability on their social media platforms.

In order for the marketing departments to be more credible when doing digital marketing they can be aided by web analytics (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015). Web analytics have been used since the 1990s but still many companies struggle with actually using web analytics to further improve their digital marketing (Chaffey & Patron, 2012). Research conducted by Hanssens & Pauwels (2018) show that marketing departments struggle to show their value because of the lack of data to prove the success. This might be helped with the use of web analytics (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015).

We have found models that are relevant for this thesis in terms of how companies work with digital marketing by Tiago and Verrísimo (2014), how companies should work with digital marketing and web analytics by Järvinen and Karjaluoto (2015), Chaffey and Patron (2012). While we collected data in the form of qualitative semi structured interviews, the research and articles read served as valuable information in order to investigate the research topics.

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13

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The following chapter presents the theoretical framework and consists of previous research and existing theory regarding the three main topics involved in this thesis. Firstly, this chapter begins by a presentation of CSR. Secondly, the concept of digital marketing is presented. Lastly, a section

regarding web analytics in order to measure outcomes as a result of CSR efforts follow.

3.1 Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a field that has developed and grown into becoming a well-researched area that holds a large focus within the minds of businesses and consumers (Garigga & Melé, 2004). According to previous research, the somewhat recent rise of CSR has resulted in the fact that all industries and businesses has to address the interests of various stakeholders (Crane et al., 2014). CSR was initially a field that mainly concerned the most polluting and scandalous industries such as the oil and chemical industry (Crane, Matten & Spence (2014). However, the knowledge and focus on CSR have grown rapidly and has turned into a central part of most businesses and industries (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). Previous research suggests that what CSR entails can be difficult to define due to the broadness of the field as well as how the meaning of it can differ depending on the situation and industry (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).). CSR is widely discussed in both the public and private sectors and have a lot of different meanings for different organizations and people (Crane et al., 2014). For instance, some view CSR investments as a way of increasing profits for shareholders, while others identify it as an opportunity to fight poverty or environmental damage (Crane et al., 2014). Another explanation of why CSR is hard to define is due to its close relation and involvement in complex areas such as economic- and societal issues (Sheehy, 2014). Prior research demonstrates that the complexity of CSR also comes from the fact that it is hard to prioritize and define for instance which societal-, environmental-, and economical-, issues to take into consideration (Sheehy, 2014).

Furthermore, Garigga and Melé (2004) discusses that despite the amount of discussions and attempts over the years to define and explain CSR as a concept, it remains somewhat poorly understood. However, as briefly mentioned, the research field has developed rapidly over the last years which has resulted in the fact that companies in most industries today are more or less expected to invest in CSR to some extent (Crane et al., 2014).

3.1.1 The pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility

In terms of previous research on CSR, one of the most influential theoretical models is the

“Pyramid of Corporate social responsibility” (see figure 2), presented by Archie B. Carroll

(1991). In this model, he argues for the importance of prioritizing economic profit before moving on to the legal responsibilities of the firm, ethical responsibilities and lastly

philanthropic options (Carroll, 1991). This model was constructed in a similar matter as the Maslow hierarchy of needs, where the author is claiming that a company needs to fulfill the necessary steps at the “bottom” of the pyramid before continuing to the next one (Carroll, 1991). In other words, this research argues that in order for a company to reach the stage of becoming a good corporate citizen, they first need to address profitability, the law and ethical aspects (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).

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14

Figure 2. Pyramid of corporate social responsibility

Source: Carroll (1991, p. 42.)

This model has been revised and re-discussed by other researchers since it was presented in 1991, for instance by Balden (2016). Her theory agrees with the core foundations of the model, however, points out the importance of the model being upgraded due to the increase of corporate power in today’s society as well as changes in consumer behavior and

expectations (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).Her research suggests that due to the fact that many larger corporations today possess a high amount of power, it has resulted in a lot of influence in for instance the environment, societal issues, the labor market and even governments (Balden, 2016). In other words, according to Balden (2016), the increase in power and influence also results in the fact that the original pyramid is no longer fully accurate as companies today are not able to focus fully on creating economic profit before addressing for instance ethical issues and societal damage but needs to implement this

socially- and environmentally responsible mindset at an early stage of operating regardless of their level of economic profit (Balden, 2016).

Balden (2016) along with other researchers on the topic of CSR such as Crane et al. (2014) and Sheehy (2014), demonstrates through their researches that CSR has grown and developed into becoming a central field that companies needs to address.

3.1.2 CSR in corporate settings and risks involved

Prior research by Tai and Chuang (2013) suggests that CSR activities within corporations is growing at a rapid pace and is today something that is more or less expected from most companies. Furthermore, the aim for companies when implementing CSR is to create stakeholder value through implementing activities that are beneficial to for instance social, cultural and environmental causes in business operations (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).The most common ways of integrating CSR activities tends to be focused on contributing with capital to help solve social issues and decrease environmental damage as well as supporting the interests of the primary stakeholders such as a company's own employees, suppliers and

Philanthropic

Responsibilities

Ethical Responsibilities

Be ethical

Legal Responsibilities

Obey the law

Economic

Responsibilities

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15 customers (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).When investing in CSR activities in various ways, positive outcomes apart from a long-term economic growth tends to be an increase in

customer loyalty and a more appealing brand image and reputation (Tai & Chuang, 2014). On the same note, investing in suitable and successful CSR activities can in the long run result in operational cost savings and organizational growth due to an increase in sales and profits (Tai & Chuang, 2011).

Previous research demonstrates that due the increased pressure from stakeholders, integrating CSR activities successfully is one of the main challenges’ firms are faced with today (Tai & Chuang, 2014). While focusing on growth, economic profitability and survival at highly competitive markets, companies are thereby today also pressured into addressing societal and environmental issues in order to create stakeholder value (Bao et al., 2011). Enterprises today should thereby aim to become “responsible citizenships” and invest in sustainable growth and development rather than focusing primarily on economic profit and shareholder value (Tai & Chuang, 2014).

Research suggests that even if companies tend to create long-term value by prioritizing their stakeholders, this implementation also results in a lot of dilemmas (Tai & Chuang, 2014). In accordance with Tai and Chuang (2014), Pohl and Tolhurst (2010) discusses that due to legal, economic and ethical factors, companies simply cannot ignore stakeholders but are forced to address their interests (Pohl & Tolhurst, 2010). However, the dilemmas arise due to the difficulties in categorizing and prioritizing the different stakeholders such as employees, suppliers and consumers meanwhile also juggling their own interests and still manage to create profits (Pohl & Tolhurst, 2010). In most cases, managing the interests of stakeholders and shareholders can be very complex as no company can succeed in satisfying everyone (Pohl & Tolhurst, 2010). Other dilemmas arising with managing stakeholders is the

discussion of how much responsibility as well as, commitment companies are expected to and should take in regard to their internal and external stakeholders (Pohl & Tolhurst, 2010). The research by Pohl and Tolhurst (2010) further demonstrates that many companies are tackling dilemmas of to what extent they should address issues that concerns external stakeholders as well as issues that arises outside the borders of their own industry.

Even if integrating CSR activities are proven to contribute with stakeholder value and often result in economic profit, there are many risks to take into consideration (Bao et al., 2011). First of all, there are external risks related to choosing the right type of CSR initiative that is sufficiently matching the business as a whole in regard to for instance its industry and target consumers (Bao et al., 2011). Poorly chosen CSR initiatives that is not credible and suits the target consumer segments can contribute to more damage than benefits as it will be likely to harm the brand image and thereby result in poor outcomes (Taiminen & Karjaluoto,

2014).Prior research suggests that integrating CSR activities into business operations does not automatically result in positive outcomes but also contributes with a lot of risks that needs to be taken into consideration (Frynas, 2005). Besides the external risks related to integrating CSR activities, there are a lot of managerial risks and obstacles to face related to the internal processes and structure as organizational change always is demanding (Bao et al., 2011). In adapting business operations and production in a sustainable matter, companies are forced to re-negotiate their processes which can demand a lot of extra effort from both employees and managers and lead to an inefficient period of adaptation, however is also likely to in the end benefit the organization as it may lead to a higher satisfaction level amongst employees and primary stakeholders (Bao et al., 2011).

Furthermore, in terms of risks involved with investing in CSR, a concept that is often discussed is greenwashing (Dahl, 2010). Even if the recognition of greenwashing as a

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16 concept has grown over the last years, greenwashing is no recent phenomenon (Dahl, 2010). Greenwashing occurs when companies provide false, exaggerated or in any way misleading information regarding their CSR initiatives (Dahl, 2010). In accordance with Frynas (2005), greenwashing is often a result of companies trying to hide bad behavior in one field by communicating excellent behavior in another. Even if greenwashing has been discussed for nearly 40 years, the concept has gained wide recognition the past years as companies have strived to fulfill consumer needs in terms of their increased interest for green products (Dahl, 2010). On the same note, Frynas (2005) discusses how it initially was the oil industry that was heavily accused of greenwashing, however that focus has changed into affecting majority of industries. Due to the lack of regulations in terms of marketing of CSR initiatives,

companies often get away with benefiting from greenwashing tendencies without getting questioned (Dahl, 2010). However, as knowledge about the concept is growing and the patterns of greenwashing is getting easier to identify, this is a large risk that companies needs to address when investing in CSR (Dahl, 2010). In accordance with Frynas (2005),

companies that have been accused for greenwashing will severely harm their brand image and reputation amongst consumers and will not be likely to regain it easily.

3.1.3 The rise of CSR within the fashion industry

Previous research by Bick et al. (2018) demonstrates that the fashion industry is highly damaging for the environment. Due to a combination of high-water usage, a common use of poisonous chemicals as well as the lack of a sufficient disposal process, the fashion industry is one of our most polluting industries (Bick et al., 2018). These factors combined with societal damage such as child labor and poor labor conditions has turned the fashion industry into a heavily criticized industry (Pal & Gander, 2018). Other environmentally damaging factors within this industry is the rapid increase in demand during the past years, which has resulted in constant increase of production, transportation and pollution (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).

According to previous research, the shift in consumer behavior and the rise of a higher CSR focus globally has led to the fashion industry has slowly but surely starting to adapt its operations and business models in order to reduce the environmental damage meanwhile maintaining high profits and meeting the demands of consumers (Pal & Gander, 2018). Previous researchers discuss how this is a complicated and long process with many stakeholders to consider (Bao et al., 2011). However, the trend is still moving towards an improvement in terms of both awareness and adaptation and is thereby moving towards becoming an industry with a higher CSR (Pal & Gander, 2018; Bick et al., 2018). In order to incorporate sustainable CSR initiatives into the business model, a lot of planning and action needs to be considered which is a process that can be highly demanding for companies (Bao et al., 2011). However, as previous research demonstrates, it is also likely to result in positive outcomes in terms of for instance a higher customer satisfaction and a better reputation as well as a contribution to help improve the environment (Tai & Chuang, 2011).

On another note, previous research demonstrates that a lot of CSR initiatives within the fashion industry seem to be a result from institutional- and consumer pressure and the aim to increase profits (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). Furthermore, rather than the genuine will to do good, serve the needs of stakeholders and the environment, institutional and stakeholder pressure plays a massive role in the rise of CSR within the fashion industry according to Pedersen and Gwozdz (2013). Other researchers discuss that the recent high CSR focus is a result of an increased awareness amongst for instance suppliers, consumers and governments which are all powerful actors that affect both each other and companies operating within the

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17 industry (Crane et al., 2014). In line with the increased awareness and shift towards a higher CSR involvement amongst stakeholders, new institutional regulations have also contributed into forcing companies to revise their business models and operations in order to reduce societal- and environmental damage (Pedersen & Gwozdz, 2013).

Previous research suggests that the fashion industry in Scandinavia and Sweden in particular, is at front edge when it comes to integrating CSR and maintaining a high environmental focus (Pedersen & Gwozdz, 2013). Furthermore, according to Pedersen and Gwozdz (2013), high contributors to these initiatives is the high educational level amongst companies and consumers which are increasing the pressure of change, as well as governmental regulations and highly developed societal institutions. Western countries, and Scandinavia in particular, can be viewed as a role model for other parts of the world when it comes to being at fore front with implementing and communicating CSR initiatives (Pedersen & Gwozdz, 2013).

3.1.4 Implementation and integration of CSR activities

Previous research suggests that the benefits intertwined with integrating CSR activities and the constant changes in consumer behavior are resulting in the fact that business are today often implementing CSR as a strategy in order to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction (Tai & Chuang, 2011). In other words, the societal- and environmental benefits of the increased focus on CSR efforts, companies also choose their CSR activities based upon strategic incentives in order to attract a larger consumer base and gain market share

((Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).). Even if CSR focus and implementation is likely to lead to both share- and stakeholder value, there are strategic incentives that tends to be more

successful than others when it comes to implementing CSR (Tharp & Chadhury, 2008). For instance, other researchers suggests that companies integrating their CSR activities- and focus into their core business are more probable to succeed in capturing the additional value and consumer satisfaction rather than business that integrates mediocre attempts to capture a part of that extra value (Bao et al., 2011).

In addition to Bao et al. (2011), there are more previous research that discusses the

implementation process of CSR. For instance, Ludema and Johnson (2018) who states that there are many ways for companies to integrate CSR activities as a profitable strategic incentive, however that there are some guidelines to follow that will increase the chances for a successful implementation(Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).. For instance, Ludema and Johnson (2018) demonstrates that an important factor to consider is to align the chosen CSR initiative to the core business. That is, to make sure that the CSR initiatives has a natural connection to the business as a whole and thereby makes sense to stakeholders, which reduces the risk of being viewed as non-credible (Tharp & Chadhury, 2008). In which case, in accordance with their research, the corporate reputation risk to be more damaged rather than resulting as a positive strategic outcome (Ludema & Johnson, 2018). Previous researchers such as Öberseder and Schlegelmilch (2011) demonstrates that the increased awareness and constant changes in their behavior has resulted in the fact that companies are no longer likely to succeed in capturing market share by implementing CSR efforts that are half-hearted. Furthermore, another issue faced with strategic CSR is the fact that the actual benefits and the increase in market share and profit are often hard to measure and thereby difficult to motivate for managers (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014).This research suggests that due to the fact that many of the major benefits such as an improved brand image-, reputation and customer loyalty are intangible assets, it becomes difficult to measure the added value from the CSR activities (Öberseder & Schlegelmilch 2011).

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18 In addition to the research mentioned above, Pohl and Tolhurst (2010) presents an argument that it is significant that the entire organization and management is aligned with the chosen CSR activities and are all on board to work towards that common goal. If there are

underlying internal uncertainties to how- and why the corporation has chosen to work with a certain type of CSR, they are likely to miss out on strategic benefits (Pohl & Tolhurst, 2010). Another important aspect to consider according to Pohl & Tolhurst (2010) is the long-term profitability that CSR initiatives results in such as improved reputation and customer loyalty which may lead to future employments and a continuous growth of the consumer base. Over and above the business itself, previous research suggests that engaging in partnerships with companies that are heavily invested in CSR can also prove to be a profitable strategic incentive as it allows corporations to share knowledge and networks in order to make the implementation process more efficient and increases the chances of positive outcomes (Ludema & Johnson, 2018). Over and above the guidelines and research mentioned above, there are many ways to strategically integrate CSR and create stakeholder value, however the real challenge is to determine which way will result in the highest level of benefits (Ludema & Johnson, 2018).

3.1.5 Integrating CSR into business operations

Another influential model that regards CSR implementation is presented by the Bao et al. (2011) and consists of different ways of integrating CSR into businesses. Figure 3 symbolizes different methods on how companies can implement CSR routines and investments into their business operations (Bao et al., 2011). In order to gain a deeper understanding of the

implementation process as well as realize the benefits and risks involved with certain types of CSR-strategies, this model has proven to be of great assistance for our thesis.

According to this model, there are three different dimensions with corresponding patterns (Bao et al., 2011). In figure 3, the first dimension focuses on the core business, the second dimension focuses on core extending or independent entities and the third dimension discusses the internal development or cooperation with external entities (Bao et al., 2011). The model presents seven patterns which suggests different paths that companies can choose in terms of CSR (Bao et al., 2011). The first pattern, born CSR oriented, refers to CSR as incorporated in the organization from day one, and may have come as a consequence of the founders of the firm or from strong external pressure such as from public stakeholders (Bao et al., 2011). Furthermore, Bao et al (2011) discusses the fact that these types of organizations are indistinguishable when looking at the core business and CSR routines.

The second pattern, patching, refers to companies that create new core routines, hence changing processes and mind set towards being more sustainable (Bao et al., 2011). The way this pattern differs from the first pattern is the way that born CSR oriented companies are focused on CSR from day one, while patching can occur at a later state (Bao et al., 2011). Thickening refers to the third pattern which functions as a complement to the core business, which gets built on to add CSR practices on top of the core routines, which then strengthens the core business as well (Bao et al., 2011). This research suggests that in this way,

companies do not have to make fundamental changes to their core business, but rather add an element of CSR practices on top of their core business activities (Bao et al., 2011). Bao et al. (2011) mentions an example where Walmart contacted a toy supplier of theirs to reduce packaging which was beneficial from a CSR perspective but also from a logistical perspective where the company saved space and therefore also capital.

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19 The fourth pattern, positioning, is quite uncommon today but occurs when a company

implement independent routines with CSR efforts that are not in the core business of the firm and do therefore not have much of an impact on the core business (Bao et al., 2011).

Relabeling, the fifth pattern, is when a company recognizes certain activities as CSR related without the activity’s intention was being CSR oriented which does not require a lot of investments for companies to integrate these initiatives into their marketing activities (Bao et al., 2011). The name of this pattern is quite self-explanatory, that a company chooses to market their previous CSR initiatives which is yet to be recognized by the firm (Bao et al., 2011). One example of this was when the fashion shoe brand, New Balance, has kept a portion of their production domestically but did not recognize it as a CSR activity until later when they started categorizing it as CSR, without having to change anything in their

operations (Bao et al., 2011).

Trimming refers to when companies try to reduce activities that might inflict harmful perception of the company by reducing the amount of activities that are damaging the CSR and then implement practices related to the other patterns (Bao et al., 2011). It might not be that uncommon that companies are lacking in sustainability in their supply chain but want to move towards becoming more sustainable which is when trimming comes into play.

The last pattern, cooperating, is when companies do not have the capacity for instance to address social issues and choose to cooperate with other organizations such as nonprofit organizations (Bao et al., 2011).

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20

Figure 3. Seven patterns of CSR initiative adoption

Source: Bao et al. (2011, p. 42)

3.2 Digital Marketing

Prior research in field of digital marketing started in the 2000s and the research can be characterized by the focus on digital interactions (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016). Research regarding the interactive aspects of marketing, customization, high responsiveness and strategies based on data gathering were topics discussed during this period (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016).

Secondly, between 2005-2010 consumers started to communicate more on the internet and also spreading Word of mouth (WOM), furthermore, user generated content (UGC) took form as reviews and research started investigating how to best take advantage of online WOM and the social networks such as Facebook (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016).

Between 2011-2014 the research focused on how to use UGC in companies marketing and also studies regarding the online consumer behavior on social media platforms (Lamberton & Stephen, 2016).

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21 Prior research focusing on digital marketing in combination with CSR is limited. Due to this, Diez-Martin et al. (2019) have presented core challenges for future research in the research area of digital marketing and sustainability. The authors continue to explain the gap between companies' belief about the consumer and their actual behavior due to internet and ongoing change of sustainability trends that companies have problems to keep up with. One way of reducing this gap is through the use of digital marketing (Diez-Martin et al., 2019). There are many existing tools online today that can help companies monitor their social channels and websites, such as, google analytics for instance which is commonly known for its analytical tools serving companies a great benefit of investigating the consumers behavior online. According to previous research made by Diez-Martin et al. (2019) there are six big challenges in the research area of sustainability and digital marketing. (see table 1)

Table 1. Challenges in the research area of sustainability and digital marketing Consumer orientation and value

proposition Knowing what the consumer value in sustainable companies. Digital marketing tools can be used to find suiting metrics and gain insight on this issue

Digital consumer behavior What affects the purchase intentions of the consumer and what values explain the purchase intentions

Digital green marketing Investigating how companies work with green marketing on the digital landscape, running CSR campaigns on social networks for instance

Competitive advantage Which tools of digital marketing can be used to further strengthen the company’s competitive advantage using CSR efforts?

Supply chain How can the whole supply chain become more sustainable using digital marketing? How can modern tech help improve the sustainability of the people of society

Capabilities How digital innovation influences environmental commitment

Adapted from: (Diez-Martin, et al., 2019, p. 9)

Digital marketing has various characteristics and can be viewed as either one way or two-way communication channels which imbedded has different amounts of company control

(Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014). Typical channels that have high company control and can be classified as one-way channels are websites or emails which has also been found to be the most used in Swedish small-medium sized companies when promoting themselves (Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2014) although companies have to attract consumers instead of pushing them

References

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