Achieving Sustainability via Marketing Communication in the Era of Social and Technological Changes

Abstract

The plurality that characterises postmodern society calls for a much more coherent reflection on socio-economic trends and challenges than was the case in the past. It has become necessary in all fields to take account of individual facts against the background of broad socio-scientific overlaps. This also applies to the achievement of the objectives of sustainable development of society. Thus, the aim of the chapter becomes the conceptualisation of the postulates of social responsibility in the context of the current trends and challenges of the use of social media in marketing communication framed by the specificities of contemporary digital society. Methodologically, the paper is based on the implementation of basic methods of formal logic and the method of scientific excerption. It has been found out that the potential of incorporation of new trends in scope of communicating in favour of achieving sustainable goals is high not only on B2C but also on B2B markets. Also, the phenomenon of green influencers and the importance of authentic pro-socially responsible content in marketing communication of socially responsible companies have been identified.

1. Introduction

The issue of social responsibility in the form of individual overlaps of moral and ethical motives of an individual towards the surrounding environment has been appearing in society since time immemorial. Altruism or philanthropy are naturally understood as human-quality manifestations of fulfilling the highest levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with the status of virtues. However, the evolution of society—both its basic characteristics and the problems it faces as a whole—has gradually made social responsibility socio-economic in nature and fully embedded it into existing and emerging market structures. This trend is becoming increasingly important, in particular thanks to the empowerment of civil society and NGOs. While in its original form, corporate social responsibility was established as a tool for achieving competitive advantage, businesses are now increasingly aware of the fact that the implementation of socially responsible activities is becoming a conditio sine qua non in terms of the need to ensure the sustainable development of the society of which the company is an immanent part. The concept of corporate social responsibility is no longer a meaningless phrase, and in response to the current development of society, companies are beginning to actually fulfil the principles of valid corporate citizenship. This is happening against the backdrop of their individual as well as global market realities in the full breadth of interactions with other actors and interest groups that occur in the context of their business activities [1]. And it is precisely the intensity of the linkage to the market and interest groups that also changes many traditional business and management concepts and models. The market orientation of enterprises significantly strengthens the role of marketing, which is moving from the functional to the strategic level of corporate management. All this is happening at a time when society is strongly resonating with themes marked by ethical and moral-economic conflict with a strong socially responsible overlay.

Marketing communication is currently the fastest growing area of marketing management due to the dynamic development of information and communication technologies. Marketing managers are confronted with the need to keep pace with technological developments in the macro-environment and the associated changes in customer communication standards [2]. In addition to the original tools of marketing communication, which have not remained unchanged and are flexibly modified with regard to the development of the environment, a significant group of modern tools of marketing communication has emerged, both those that have been on the market for a long time and are demonstrably functional and those that have been on the market for only a short period of time in reflection of current trends and the communicative possibilities of information and communication technologies.

At the same time, the development of information and communication technologies also influences the dynamics of metamorphosis of the content and tools of marketing communication. Not only does it provide more space for effective communication of socially responsible corporate action, but at the same time social responsibility represents a content concept for the functional implementation of marketing communication in oversaturated communication spaces [3]. Marketing communication as a whole is faced with the need to present a real value orientation of enterprises and to move away from the implementation of business activities with exclusively sales targets. At the same time, against the background of these processes, the consumer is becoming resistant to marketing communication under the influence of the increasing penetration of marketing communication into all spheres of his or her life. It is therefore necessary to create communication concepts that present the enterprise and its business activity represented by the product portfolio in a socio-economically effective way in the context of instrumental, media and content changes in marketing communication. Social responsibility is one such communication concept. Not only does it enter significantly into the content component of marketing communication due to the requirement of value orientation and authenticity, but at the same time, thanks to these parameters, it facilitates the establishment of new forms and media [4]. Thus, social responsibility gives a new dimension to the traditional communication tool of PR, expands the possibilities of effective use of already established modern forms of marketing communication and increases the likelihood of the establishment of those modern forms of marketing communication that are yet to be given a place for marketing use in the context of the development of information and communication technologies.

2. Methodology

The present study employs a systematic literature review approach developed using basic methodological platform of formal logic (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) and scientific excerption. This literature review adopted a systematic approach to examine existing research. A rigorous analysis of selected studies was conducted. Key findings were synthesised to identify commonalities, discrepancies, and emerging patterns. Inductive reasoning was employed to derive broader theoretical concepts from specific observations, while deductive reasoning tested existing theories against the compiled data. Scientific excerpting involved meticulous extraction of relevant information to construct a comprehensive thematic framework. This process facilitated the identification of knowledge gaps and opportunities for further research. The sequential approach to the methodology used can be summarised as follows: (1) the research question guided the selection of relevant scholarly articles; (2) comprehensive database search was conducted using predefined keywords; (3) inclusion and exclusion criteria were rigorously applied to filter studies; (4) retrieved articles underwent a thorough screening process; (5) selected studies were subjected to a detailed analysis of their methodologies and findings; (6) analysis involved a critical examination of research designs, data collection methods, and statistical analyses; (7) key findings from individual studies were synthesised to identify commonalities and discrepancies; (8) inductive reasoning was utilised to derive broader patterns and themes from specific findings; (9) deductive reasoning was applied to test existing theories against the collected data; (10) scientific excerpting involved carefully selecting and extracting relevant information from the text; (11) hematic analysis was conducted to identify recurrent concepts and patterns; (12) framework was developed to organise and categorise the extracted information; (13) the synthesised knowledge contributed to the development of new insights and understandings; (14) the research adhered to ethical guidelines for conducting literature reviews; (15) the findings were presented in a clear and structured manner; (16) implications of the research for theory and practice were discussed. The overall aim was to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field.

3. Social responsibility communicated by established modern marketing communication tools

The dynamics of ICT development is one of the reasons why the traditional construct of the communication mix has expanded to include a large number of communication tools and platforms in a short period of time. In an equally short time, these tools have fully established themselves in the practice of marketing management and have significantly expanded the original marketing communication scheme. However, this resultant state of affairs has not only been due to the impact of digitalisation. The psychographic changes on the part of the addressees of marketing communication have been equally significant. Changes in value schemes and communication interaction mechanisms have also accelerated changes in marketing communication outside the online space. The influence of reference marketing on customers’ purchasing decisions has increased significantly, irrespective of the type of market in which the company conducts its business. This change has manifested itself in the context of marketing communication by profiling a robust communication strategy based on word-of-mouth marketing (WoM) and the organic dissemination of communicated content. Generically, the original WoM marketing has developed into a strong parallel allocated to the virtual media space. Noting the emergence of the concept of WoM marketing does not mean denying the long-term existence of the communicative potential of reference marketing. The changes outlined at the beginning of this chapter have only created the conditions for the emergence of WoM marketing as one of the categories of the so-called modern marketing communication tools and at the same time created the space for the coordination of activities carried out within this communication tool on the side of the enterprise. In the previous existence of the communication potential of reference marketing, it was primarily about its acceptance as a secondary communication tool, which is able to support other traditional communication activities if the company manages them effectively. Today, however, WoM marketing represents a fully fledged primary sphere of management interest in the marketing communication department, whose positive effect on the market performance of the enterprise is supported by managers through schemes and structures of appropriately chosen activities. As a parallel to WoM marketing, buzz marketing has thus emerged specifically for the online space, and viral marketing is also characterised by a significant overlap towards these two concepts. There has also been an increased emphasis on the aspects of acceptability and credibility of the source as basic attributes of the effectiveness of marketing communication, which has resulted in the phenomenon of greenfluencers. These are situated in the social media environment, which is an important communication platform for socially responsible enterprises. This is also supported by the fact that the marketing communication of companies conducting their business activities in the organised buyers’ markets (B2B) is also moving to the environment of selected social media in this area.

Traditionally, WoM marketing is defined as an unpaid form of marketing communication, the essence of which is the off-media dissemination of communicated content on a word-of-mouth basis among existing and potential customers [5]. The essence of the matter implies that the content communicated in this way is a concomitant phenomenon of the existence of the enterprise in the society and the content of WoM marketing is not necessarily always in favour of the enterprise. It is precisely because of this fact that it is in the interest of the enterprise, even though it does not have a direct influence on the individual WoM processes, to exert as much entrepreneurial and communicative effort as possible towards both ensuring the positive effect of the communication activities undertaken by the enterprise on the subsequent word-of-mouth dissemination among customers and guiding such word-of-mouth dissemination in a way that is desirable for the enterprise [6]. Indeed, the fact that it is an unpaid form of marketing communication does not mean that it is a communication activity in the final form of which the enterprise does not have the opportunity to actively participate. At the same time, the absence of financial involvement of the enterprise in this communication activity increases its credibility from the perspective of customers. It is these two facts that are substantial arguments in favour of incorporating WoM marketing into effective marketing management of socially responsible enterprises [7]. The aforementioned is also noted by Fatma and Khan who highlight the importance of the traditional offline nature of WoM marketing [8]. In addition, they state that WoM is a suitable tool for showcasing socially responsible activities and subsequently building and managing brand equity and at the same time that social responsibility itself is a suitable accelerator for spreading positive word of mouth. By returning to the offline concept of WoM marketing, they appeal to the need to achieve authenticity of communicated content and realistic fulfilment of objectives at the level of working with stakeholders in the context of the social pillar of corporate social responsibility. Meanwhile, the trend towards a preference for the online form of WoM marketing has been evident in the literature in this area to date. Dalla-Pria and Rodriguez de Dios have also argued in its favour, but at the same time, they have pointed out the need to apply a consistent approach to the type of source and framing of the message on social media, given the impact of these factors on the credibility of the message [9]. In doing so, they built on the research conducted by Cheng et al. with the intention of analysing the relationship between socially responsible communication on social media, purchasing behaviour and WoM marketing in the online space in the specific context of the banking sector of an emerging economy [10].

Viral marketing is a tool for the geometric dissemination of communicated content within a target group. The virality of content dissemination is fully ensured by situating this communication tool in the social media environment. From a content point of view, it is characterised by the complexity of the creative side and, from a process point of view, by the reduced degree of control by the initiator. The issue of using viral marketing in the communication strategies of socially responsible enterprises has been addressed by Hartmann et al. [11]. They found that social pressure is an important supportive element in the dissemination of viral content. Thus, they contributed to changing the perception of the applicability of this communication activity by socially responsible enterprises. Indeed, the original assumption was towards its overlap towards the pull concept, while their findings create a prerequisite for the application of the push concept. This means that the virality of dissemination is supportable by enterprises, provided that appropriate complementary mass marketing communication tools are applied, and the reach of dissemination is significantly higher. The tendency to disseminate socially responsible content within their online social group is not due to intrinsic motivation. Thus, under the influence of social pressure, content disseminators have the potential to become even entities that are not intrinsically convergent with the issue in terms of values but are important communication nodes for dissemination.

4. Social networks in marketing communication for the sustainable development goals

The development of social networks and their social assimilation, combined with the practice of involving media celebrities in marketing communication, together with the potential of exploiting the aspect of credibility and attractiveness of the source, has caused the phenomenon of influencers to enter the field of socially responsible marketing communication [10]. These are specific proxy sources of communicated content that implement a specific form of reference marketing in the social networking environment. Influencer marketing, by its nature, is a communication concept using a consumer trusted and socially attractive personality to provide information about a product and its parameters [12]. It is particularly functional with the Z and alpha generational segments. For other customer generations, it is particularly effective when there is no person in their immediate environment who is a source of such information about the selected product or consumer solution. The importance of influencer marketing in the context of corporate social responsibility marketing communication is particularly high in the area of achieving educational and awareness objectives [13]. Thus, a specific group of so-called green influencers has emerged, who fulfil these objectives in the environmental pillar of corporate social responsibility. The importance of greenfluencers in adopting sustainable lifestyles has been noted by Cavazos-Arroyo and Melchor-Ascencio [14].

The use of social networking in the digitised revision of marketing communications is increasing not only in consumer markets but also in organised buyer markets. However, due to the specificities of each market, individual social networks are not used to the same extent in both markets. In consumer markets, it is already standard, whereas in organised buyer markets, the concept has been much more recently established. The heterogeneity of social networks and consumer preferences and characteristics, despite the long-standing existence of this concept in the functional corporate practice of consumer markets, poses a greater challenge to marketing management than is the case in organised buyer markets, where, on the contrary, there is a concentration of these communication activities in the environment of the dominant social network, which is LinkedIn. The importance of integrating this social network into the communication strategies of socially responsible enterprises has not yet been directly established. Moehl and Friedman consider the social network LinkedIn in a broader context when examining the issue of consumer perceptions of the authenticity of socially responsible marketing communications [15]. However, applying basic methods of formal logic, the convergence of two scientifically established facts can be interpreted in a correlation in favour of stating the importance of social networks in corporate social responsibility marketing communication. These are the importance of the overlap of social responsibility towards the supply chain and the effectiveness of communication through the selected social network in the markets of organised buyers. The need for communication support to expand the circle of cooperating socially responsible actors and the need to develop activities towards socially responsible transformation of suppliers were stated by Klosa and Kisperska Moron [16]. The potential for content impact of marketing communications on LinkedIn in the context of orchestrated buyer markets is highlighted by Sundstrom et al. [17]. The need to develop a specific functional content strategy is subsequently identified by Cortez et al. [18].

The real content of socially responsible activities and their impact on the functioning of society is also essential in terms of considering the adequacy of individual tools and platforms of marketing communication. This fact is pointed out by Seele and Lock, who elaborate a typology of communication tools in the context of the specific category of so-called corporate political responsibility [19]. The latter is stated by Scherer and Palazzo and further elaborated by Persson, Tang et al. and Maier and Gilbert [20, 21, 22, 23]. Political responsibility extends the traditional trinitarian concept of economic, environmental and social corporate responsibility. At its core, it involves businesses engaging in deliberative processes and structures that address governance gaps where national and local governments fail to do so—either due to lack of willingness or lack of capacity. This brings to the fore the issue of the moral legitimacy of businesses, whose place in their communication with a marketing overlay in order to fulfil their commitments to political accountability is unquestionable.

5. Conclusions and discussion

The evolution of corporate social responsibility from a philanthropic gesture to a strategic imperative is evident. It has become an indispensable component of sustainable business operations, driven by societal expectations, regulatory pressures, and competitive dynamics. Marketing, as a strategic function, plays a pivotal role in translating these complex societal demands into effective communication strategies.

The intersection of technology, particularly the rise of social media, has reshaped the landscape of marketing communication. The emergence of influencers, especially green influencers, has provided new avenues for disseminating socially responsible messages. However, while influencer marketing is effective in reaching younger demographics, its impact on other segments requires further exploration.

The digital realm has also witnessed the growing importance of social networks in both consumer and business-to-business markets. LinkedIn, in particular, emerges as a potential platform for fostering socially responsible business relationships. However, the specific content strategies required to maximise its impact within the context of corporate social responsibility remain under-explored.

Furthermore, the concept of corporate political responsibility expands the scope of social responsibility beyond the traditional economic, environmental and social dimensions. This necessitates a broader range of communication tools and platforms to effectively address the complex challenges associated with governance and societal issues.

In conclusion, the integration of social responsibility into marketing communication is a dynamic and evolving process. While significant progress has been made, there is a clear need for further research to understand the nuances of different target audiences, platforms, and content strategies. Moreover, the evolving concept of corporate political responsibility offers new opportunities and challenges for communication professionals. By addressing these areas, organisations can more effectively leverage social responsibility as a strategic asset to build trust, enhance reputation, and contribute to a sustainable future.

Key areas for future research include: (1) the comparative effectiveness of influencer marketing across different demographic segments and product categories, (2) the development of tailored content strategies for social networks like LinkedIn to promote corporate social responsibility in business-to-business markets, (3) the measurement of the impact of corporate political responsibility initiatives on organisational reputation and stakeholder engagement and (4) the exploration of emerging communication technologies and their potential to enhance social responsibility messaging.

Acknowledgments

The chapter was elaborated within a national research project supported by the Grant Agency of the The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (VEGA) No.1/0489/23, titled “Innovative Model of Monetization of Digital Games in the Sphere of Creative Industries”.