Linking retailer corporate brand and environmental sustainability practices

Abstract

Purpose

The research aims to investigate the nexus between retailer corporate brand and sustainability practices. The literature linking these areas is relatively sparse. The point of departure is an existing conceptual model, to which another antecedent, customer perception of retailer environmental management practices, is added.

Design/methodology/approach

The quantitative research design strategy incorporates the development of a survey instrument, administered in telephone interviews, by trained interviewers. The context was Canadian discount department store retailing and a sample of 473 consumers.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that sustainability is a link, a brand association, between customers' perceptions of retailer sustainability practices, and their brand attitudes towards the retailer corporate brand.

Research limitations/implications

The theoretical contribution is the development and testing of the extended model, affirming its validity.

Practical implications

The managerial implications can guide retailers in enhancing their brand reputation through better environmental management practices.

Originality/value

The study is pioneering in terms of conceptualising and empirically testing sustainability as a component of a corporate brand. This approach is able to control for other influences on the corporate brand.

Citation

Miller, D. and Merrilees, B. (2013), "Linking retailer corporate brand and environmental sustainability practices", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 22 No. 7, pp. 437-443. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-09-2013-0379