Brand, Identity and Reputation: Exploring, Creating New Realities ...

Fierman, (1991) found that 47% of consumers dismiss environmental claims as gimmicks. This is supported by a survey
conducted by Mintel (2007) who found that 63% of respondents asked are cynical about the efforts of companies to
prove their green credentials, agreeing that ‗companies are just using these issues to try to make themselves look good‘.
3. Methodology
3.1. Research Design and Data Collection
The design of the research was defined through a six stage process. The first stage research objectives were formed. The
review of the secondary archived material determined that both the Co-operative and Marks and Spencer have an
invested interest in environmental management and their corporate social responsibilities. This interlinked with
consumer cynicism established the main objective of the study which was to explore consumer perceptions regarding
organisations and their efforts to behave in a socially responsible way. This was supplemented by stage two. A small
exploratory sample utilising an online forum of public comments in response to questions placed on the website in order
to gain consumer insights and perspectives. Stage three outlines the estimations of budget and project time of
completion. The online forum was appropriate as it reached a wider audience for no cost. Stages four and five consist of
research design and data collection, general questions were posted on the forum to yield insights, questions such as,‘ do
favour brands or organisations that incorporate environmental issues within the business?‘ Further postings were made
on the forum to ensure consumers did not diverge from the question initially posted, and also to yield further insights.
Finally stage six allows decisions and directions to be made in further research on the basis of the research outcomes.
3.2. Analysis
Netnography as a methodology for consumer research has been utilised and explored since the late 1990s. It is used as
an interpretive method specifically designed to investigate consumer behaviour of culture and communities present on
the internet (Beckmann and Langer, 2005). Kozinets (1998) suggests that online communication between consumers
has been studied by using Netnography in order to understand consumer attitudes, perception, imagery and
participation. Therefore information was collated and all findings were then analysed using thematic coding.
4. Results
Throughout the discussion several significant findings were identified. The initial post on the forum was to gain general
insights on consumer views regarding organisations and its green practices. Respondent one stated;
―I‘m a fairly unconscious shopper in my personal life....if it‘s the cheapest price ill have it.‖
Respondent one further stated,
―I think they are possibly of even more importance to the big companies who face much more stringent criticism from the media about their
every action.‖
Throughout the discussion it became apparent that respondents would happily help the environment. However other factors such as cost and
convenience play a crucial role in preventing purchase rather than intent. Respondent two states;
―To me, price is king‖
Respondent five states,
―Despite what multinationals might claim in "Corporate Social Responsibility" guff. In the free market, price and profit are always going to
be the primary concern.‖
Respondent seven states,
―. I wouldn‘t care if a company was trying additional environmental practices - it‘s where the prices are lowest.‖
The next post on the forum was to distinguish whether consumers felt that organisations were favoured because of its environmental
practices.
Respondent three stated,
―They are certainly favoured by local authorities and other such large clients‖
Respondent one stated;
―I‘d like to say that they would be favoured....but ultimately I don‘t think that true. I think income and the consumer‘s active level of
environmental conscience are directly linked‖
Respondent four states:
―Ticking green boxes seems to work for some consumers so I guess that type of marketing will work to a degree‖
Respondent six stated,
―Recently my local supermarket became a Co-op; however, I know if it became Wal-mart tomorrow, despite resistance, I would still use it
out of convenience rather than any ethical/green hoo-hah.‖
Respondent seven states,
―Realistically, I don‘t think the big retailers really care about environment issues - they just want the public to think they do.‖
The next post on the forum was to distinguish whether consumers felt that there was a lack of trust between the organisation and the
consumer.
Respondent two states,
―They are about profit, nothing more.‖
Respondent seven states,
―Personally I think there is not much trust - why should there be? The only thing I trust is that "I trust they will make profit.‖
5. Limitations
Through managing and maintaining the forum several limitations became apparent. The first limitation is that the study
has been undertaken online with one forum, Stafford forum. Therefore it is fully acknowledged that the use of one
forum with a small sample is not a fair representation of consumer insights generally; and thus no generalisations have
been made. The use of a web forum meant that respondents tended to diverge away from the questions posted; therefore
further posts were posted in order to bring respondents back to the main discussion points. Future research should be
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