This book engages with the topic of ethical consumption and applies a critical-realist approach to explore the process of becoming and being an ethical consumer. By integrating Margaret Archer’s theory of identity formation and Christian Coff’s work on food ethics, it develops a theoretical account explicating the generative mechanism that gives rise to ethical consumer practices and identities. The second part of the book presents the findings from a qualitative study with self-perceived ethical food consumers to demonstrate the fit between the proposed theoretical mechanism and the actual experiences of ethically committed consumers. Through integrating agency-focused and socio-centric perspectives on consumer behaviour, the book develops a more comprehensive and balanced approach to conceptualising and studying consumption processes and phenomena.

Presenting a contemporary reflection on ethical and sustainable consumption, this insightful Research Handbook offers discussions on the challenges and complexity of living an ethical and sustainable life, and for the researchers who study them. Featuring cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research from authors with unique perspectives and expert insights, this Research Handbook takes a deeper look at the past, present, and future of ethical and sustainable consumption.

Arising from foundations in green and eco-consumerism, ethical consumption is a multidisciplinary area of research. This shortform book presents an expert view of the empirical evidence on ethical consumption, incorporating perspectives from marketing, psychology and sociology. It takes both a historical and a thematic perspective, covering definitions of ethical consumption, typologies of ethical consumer practices, successes brought about from consumer actions and the current challenges. It also focuses on the emergence of contemporary perspectives on ethical consumer behaviour from three discrete perspectives: those focusing on consumer segmentation (the profiling of ethical consumers), those which take a psychological approach (the decision- making processes which underpin ethical consumption) and those which are sociological in nature (the identities and practices which underpin ethical consumption). The book finally synthesises these perspectives in the context of the ‘problems’ that are often claimed to exist, such as the existence of the ‘attitude– behaviour gap’, and provides conclusions which make recommendations for practice and further research. It will be of interest to academics and students of marketing, consumption and related fields, as well as to practitioners and policymakers who want to understand more about the evidence pertaining to ethical consumers, what motivates them, and how to encourage and educate them to consume more ethically.

The response of the international community to the pressing socio-ecological problems has been framed around the concept of ‘sustainable development’. The ecological pressure, however, has continued to rise and mainstream sustainability discourse has proven to be problematic. It contains an instrumental view of the world, a strong focus on technological solutions, and the premise that natural and human-made ‘capitals’ are substitutable. This trajectory, which is referred to as ‘weak sustainability’, reproduces inequalities, denies intrinsic values in nature, and jeopardises the wellbeing of humans as well as other beings. Based on the assumptions of strong sustainability, this edited book presents practical and theoretical alternatives to today’s unsustainable societies. It investigates and advances pathways for humanity that are ecologically realistic, ethically inclusive, and receptive to the task’s magnitude and urgency. The book challenges the traditional anthropocentric ethos and ontology, economic growth-dogma, and programmes of ecological modernisation. It discusses options with examples on different levels of analysis, from the individual to the global, addressing the economic system, key sectors of society, alternative lifestyles, and experiences of local communities. Examining key topics including human–nature relations and wealth and justice, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental and development studies, ecological economics, environmental governance and policy, sustainable business, and sustainability science.

Presenting case studies of well-known shows including Will and Grace, Birds of a Feather, Sex and the City and Absolutely Fabulous, as well as 'reality' television, this book examines the transformations that have occurred in consumer society since its appearance and the ways in which these have been constructed and represented in popular media imagery. With analyses of the ways in which consumerism has played out in society, Consumerism on TV highlights specific aspects of the changing nature of consumerism by way of considerations of gender, sexuality and class, as well as less definable changes such as those to do with the celebration of ostentatious greed or the righteousness of the ’ethical’ shopper. With attention to the highly delineated consumer field in which ’shopping’ as an embedded practice of everyday life is caught between escapism and politics, authors explore a variety of themes, such as the extent to which consumerism has become embedded in forging identity, the positing of consumerism as a form of activism, the visibility of the gay male consumer and invisibility of the lesbian consumer, and the (re)stratification of consumer types along class lines. An engaging invitation to consider whether the positioning of consumerism through on-screen depictions is indicative of a new type of non-philosophical politics of 'choice' - a form of marketised, (a)political pragmatism - this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology and cultural and media studies, with interests in class, consumption and gender.

This book contains the full proceedings of the 2015 Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress held in Bari, Italy. The current worldwide business environment is leading marketing scholars and practitioners to reconsider a number of historical and current views of the marketplace and how it functions. Further, determining new marketing theories and practical methods whose effectiveness can be truly measured must be added to the list of current challenges for today and tomorrow. In such a period in marketing history, achieving and managing efficient and effective marketing actions is a necessity. Determining such actions is based on practical experience, solid theory and appropriate research methodology. The enclosed papers focus on new research ideas on vibrant topics that can help academics and practitioners gain new perspectives and insights into today’s turbulent marketplace. Founded in 1971, the Academy of Marketing Science is an international organization dedicated to promoting timely explorations of phenomena related to the science of marketing in theory, research, and practice. Among its services to members and the community at large, the Academy offers conferences, congresses and symposia that attract delegates from around the world. Presentations from these events are published in this Proceedings series, which offers a comprehensive archive of volumes reflecting the evolution of the field. Volumes deliver cutting-edge research and insights, complimenting the Academy’s flagship journals, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) and AMS Review. Volumes are edited by leading scholars and practitioners across a wide range of subject areas in marketing science.

Winner of the 2020 British Sociological Association Philip Abrams Prize Providing a theory of moral practice for a contemporary sociological audience, Owen Abbott shows that morality is a relational practice achieved by people in their everyday lives. He moves beyond old dualisms—society versus the individual, social structure versus agency, body versus mind—to offer a sociologically rigorous and coherent theory of the relational constitution of the self and moral practice, which is both shared and yet enacted from an individualized perspective. In so doing, The Self, Relational Sociology, and Morality in Practice not only offers an urgently needed account of moral practice and its integral role in the emergence of the self, but also examines morality itself within and through social relations and practices. Abbott’s conclusions will be of interest to social scientists and philosophers of morality, those working with pragmatic and interactionist approaches, and those involved with relational sociology and social theory.

Food security will exist when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (as stated in the Rome Declaration in 1996). Given the dimension of the current global food crisis, food security means adopting effective and specific actions at individual, household, national, regional and global levels. Food security invites us to reflect upon ethical principles like human equity, justice between current and future generations, respect for human dignity and sustainable food production. We strive to maintain our basic ethical convictions and engage in societal debates about other important values. While we do this, we may have to change our ways of life and learn to create new priorities in the face of global responsibility. Science and technology are key tools to reach the Millenium Goals, providing both society and decision makers alike with relevant information and new options within an ethical framework. The contributions found in this publication bring together the perspectives of a diverse group of authors. Coming from the academic world, the public sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), they provide the latest views on ‘Global food security: ethical and legal challenges’.

Since the popularization of Internet technologies in the mid-1990s, human identity and collective culture has been dramatically shaped by our continued use of digital communication platforms and engagement with the digital world. Despite a plethora of scholarship on digital technology, questions remain regarding how these technologies impact personal identity and perceptions of global culture. Defining Identity and the Changing Scope of Culture in the Digital Age explores a multitude of topics pertaining to self-hood, self-expression, human interaction, and perceptions of civilization and culture in an age where technology has become integrated into every facet of our everyday lives. Highlighting issues of race, ethnicity, and gender in digital culture, interpersonal and computer-mediated communication, pop culture, social media, and the digitization of knowledge, this pivotal reference publication is designed for use by scholars, psychologists, sociologists, and graduate-level students interested in the fluid and rapidly evolving norms of identity and culture through digital media.