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Sustainable and Ethical Marketing - MAN00020I

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• Department: The York Management School
• Credit value: 20 credits
• Credit level: I
• Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
  • See module specification for other years: 2022-23 2023-24

Module summary

This module looks at ethical marketing in a range of organisational types from a global perspective.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

This module looks at ethical and sustainability marketing in a range of organisational types from a global perspective. It aims to develop student’s’ critical understanding of:

• The need to build up long-term, trusting relationships with customers and various stakeholder groups in an age of increasing media specialisation and increasing criticisms of marketing from a range of stakeholders.

• The role of ethical and sustainability marketing strategies in the legitimacy and credibility of the organisation.

• The role of marketing in society, the various tools of ethical and sustainability marketing and how they can be used to change consumer behaviour, enhance sustainability and social good.

• The opportunities and challenges of implementing ethical and sustainability marketing across national, linguistic and cultural borders.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content

• Demonstrate critical awareness of the changing ethical context of global marketing.

• Develop an understanding of ethical theory and its relationship to ethical and sustainability marketing

• Acquire a systematic understanding and knowledge of ethical and sustainability marketing theories and concepts.

• Synthesise a range of ethical and sustainability marketing theories.

• Apply research methods appropriate to the academic study of marketing, business and management

Academic and graduate skills

Students will develop the skills to: Apply ethical and sustainability marketing concepts to a range of real-life organisational types to enhance marketing decision making. Demonstrate critical awareness of the implementation of different ethical and sustainability marketing approaches in a global context. Demonstrate ability to conduct research into marketing, business and management issues Present and discuss ideas in public and to work in groups.

Other learning outcomes (if applicable)

• Write a concise fully referenced consultancy report using both relevant library resources and company sources.

• Demonstrate ability to work both independently and in teams, set goals, and complete tasks within deadlines.

• Produce logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence.

Module content

Indicative lecture Topics:

The changing nature of the ethical issues in the global marketing environment.

Foundations of ethical and sustainability marketing including; sustainable development and corporate social responsibility.

Branches of ethical marketing e.g. green marketing, social marketing, sustainability marketing.

Ethical theories and decision making.

An ethical basis for marketing (e.g. service and relationship marketing, digital marketing).

Cause related marketing.

Marketing and policy

Ethical consumerism, segmentation of markets and new consumption communities.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

Students will receive written feedback on the formative assessment. They will also receive a feedback sheet with detailed comments on their summative assessment.. At the end of term the module leader will develop a report on the module which, once approved by the Board of Exams, will be uploaded onto VLE and made accessible to the students.

Indicative reading

Eagle, L. & Dahl, S. (2015), Marketing Ethics & Society, Sage.

Belz, F. M. and Peattie, K. (2010) Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective (Second Edition). Chichester: Wiley.

Brenkert, G. G. (2008) Marketing Ethics (Foundations of Business Ethics). Wiley-Blackwell.

Murphy, P. E., Laczniak, G. R. and Protheroe, A. (2012) Ethics in Marketing - International Cases and Perspectives. Routledge.

Crane. A & Matten. D (2016), Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization (4th ed.), Oxford University Press.

Harrison, R, Newholm, T and Shaw, D. (2005), The Ethical Consumer. London: Sage Publications UK.

Indicative Journals:

Journal of Business Ethics

Journal of Marketing and Public Policy

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Strategic Marketing

Journal of Macromarketing

European Journal of Marketing

Journal of Consumer Studies