Social food enterprises seek to positively impact global social and environmental grievances within the food industry. In their marketing, they rely on cost-effective channels such as social media, which is equally popular with consumers as a source of information about sustainability and food. The thesis examines the share of social media posts addressing impact topics in social food enterprises’ total posts and which key characteristics these possess. Impact-posts' effect on concern for the environment/society and environmentally/socially responsible consumer intentions is tested.
Both qualitative and quantitative content analysis were used to empirically identify the content characteristics of social media impact-posts from social food enterprises and their share in total posts. For this, a purpose-built category system was developed based on existing content analyses. Subsequently, a randomized between-subjects online experiment was used to assess the influence of impact-posts on the dependent variables. Results were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.
Base for the content analysis was a sample of 454 Instagram posts of real-life social food enterprises including 121 impact-posts. The experimental study data were collected via an online survey with German-speaking participants (N = 234).
Findings: The content analysis revealed that impact topics are addressed slightly less frequently than product topics by social food enterprises on Instagram. Within impact-posts, social and environmental topics are generally focused on separately and with similar frequency. Enablement, support, and philanthropy just as environmental concerns represent the most common themes. Moreover, photos depicting people and supplemented with text are primarily used with both text and imagery being kept neutral to positive. Only one third of the impact-posts simultaneously address a product of the brand. The experimental study revealed no statistically significant influence of the impact-post opposed to its non-impact counterpart on concern for the environment/society and environmentally/socially responsible consumer intentions.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Background and Relevance
1.2 Research Problem and Objectives
1.3 Research Method
1.4 Structure
2 Literature Review and Research Problem
2.1 Responsible Consumer Behavior
2.1.1 Definition of Responsible Consumer Behavior
2.1.2 Drivers and Antecedents of Responsible Consumer Behavior
2.2 Marketing in Social Enterprises
2.2.1 Definition of Social Enterprises
2.2.2 Marketing Challenges for Social Enterprises
2.2.3 Marketing Practices of Social Enterprises
2.3 Priming Effect
2.4 Objectives and Research Questions
3 Study 1: Content Analysis
3.1 Research Method
3.1.1 Research Design
3.1.2 Sampling Decisions
3.1.3 Coding Procedure
3.1.4 Intercoder Reliability
3.2 Analysis and Results
3.2.1 Category System
3.2.2 Quantitative Analysis of Categories
3.3 Discussion of Findings
4 Study 2: Online Experiment
4.1 Research Method
4.1.1 Research Design
4.1.2 Experimental Stimuli
4.1.3 Questionnaire Design and Measures
4.1.4 Procedure and Data Collection
4.2 Analysis and Results
4.2.1 Descriptive Statistics
4.2.2 Reliability and Validity Check of Measures
4.2.3 Verification of Premises
4.2.4 Test for Effects
4.3 Discussion of Findings
5 Conclusion
5.1 Summary and General Discussion of Findings
5.2 Theoretical Implications
5.3 Managerial Implications
5.4 Limitations and Future Research Avenues
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis investigates how social food enterprises (SFEs) can utilize social media, specifically Instagram, to effectively encourage responsible consumption behavior among their target audience. Through a multi-method approach, the research aims to uncover how impact-oriented posts are designed and whether they exert a measurable influence on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions.
- Content design and characteristics of SFE-generated impact posts on Instagram.
- The proportion of impact-addressing posts within the total social media communication of SFEs.
- The influence of social media impact-primes on environmentally and socially responsible consumer intentions.
- Analysis of consumer perceptions regarding impact topics versus product-focused communication.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2.1 Definition of Social Enterprises
Social enterprises emerged as a response to government and market failures in meeting social needs (Singh, Saini, and Majumdar 2015). They integrate the entire triple bottom line into their activities by identifying opportunities in social and/or environmental problems and taking entrepreneurial steps to address them (Bandyopadhyay and Ray 2019). Social entrepreneurs can be described as change agents adopting a mission to create and sustain social value while continuously engaging in innovation, learning and adaptation and not being limited by currently available resources (Dees 1998). The term social enterprise therefore seems misleading as these companies in fact aspire an impact not only on social but also environmental issues (Kiefl et al. 2022).
Although a uniform definition for SEs is still missing (Bandyopadhyay and Ray 2019; Singh, Saini, and Majumdar 2015), they can be distinguished from related constructs (Davies, Haugh, and Chambers 2019). Unlike non-profit organizations, SEs are not dependent on external sources of funding to achieve their impact goals but strive for economic independence through sustainable entrepreneurship. Consequently, profit generation for SEs is an equally important goal to finding solutions to neglected problems, while traditional companies tend to focus on the former only. (Matei and Sandu 2013) Though corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of traditional companies also address social and environmental issues, these are not part of their mission, but often fulfil economic purposes, which cannot produce the social change SEs seek (Rahdari, Sepasi, and Moradi 2016).
To achieve social change, SEs focus on increasing awareness for the issues, empowering stakeholders, and changing their perception, attitude, and consumer behavior (Singh, Saini, and Majumdar 2015). These positive changes require the integration of the commercial and social mission (Davies, Haugh, and Chambers 2019). However, this dual mission carries additional barriers to those faced by commercial enterprises whose central goal is profit maximization (Costanzo et al. 2014).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter outlines the global challenges regarding sustainability, the growing importance of social enterprises in the food sector, and introduces the research objectives and methodology.
2 Literature Review and Research Problem: This section defines responsible consumer behavior, analyzes the role of social enterprises, discusses the priming effect, and establishes the foundation for the research questions.
3 Study 1: Content Analysis: This chapter details the methodology and results of the qualitative and quantitative content analysis performed on Instagram posts from selected social food enterprises.
4 Study 2: Online Experiment: This chapter describes the experimental design, data collection, and statistical analysis conducted to test the effects of impact-posts on consumer intentions.
5 Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the empirical findings, discusses theoretical and managerial implications, and addresses the study's limitations while suggesting future research directions.
Keywords
Social Enterprises, Responsible Consumer Behavior, Instagram, Content Analysis, Priming Effect, Sustainable Consumption, Social Marketing, Food Industry, Consumer Intentions, Impact Communication, Environmental Awareness, Social Responsibility, Digital Marketing, Experimental Research.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines the effectiveness of social media communication by social food enterprises in promoting responsible consumption patterns.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The study revolves around responsible consumer behavior, the marketing strategies of social enterprises, and the application of priming theory in social media environments.
What is the central research question?
The central objective is to determine whether impact-focused content on social media helps social food enterprises foster more sustainable consumption behavior among their audiences.
What methodology is utilized?
The study employs a multi-method design, combining a quantitative content analysis of Instagram posts with a randomized between-subjects online experiment.
What is analyzed in the main part of the thesis?
The main part covers a comprehensive literature review followed by two empirical studies: a detailed coding analysis of Instagram content and a behavioral experiment assessing consumer response to SFE messaging.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Key terms include Social Enterprises, Responsible Consumer Behavior, Content Analysis, Priming Effect, and Sustainable Consumption.
How does the priming experiment work?
Participants were randomly assigned to view either an impact-focused or a non-impact Instagram stimulus to measure its subsequent influence on their intentions and concerns.
Why is the SFE sector uniquely positioned?
Social food enterprises face the challenge of balancing economic goals with social and environmental missions, making their communication strategies particularly critical for behavioral change.
What were the major conclusions regarding impact-posts?
The analysis found that while social enterprises use impact-posts, these are less frequent than general product posts, and the experimental results showed no statistically significant influence of the stimulus on the selected consumer variables.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2022, Responsible Consumption Through Social Media. An Empirical Study of Responsible Posting on Social Media and Its Impact, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1379489
