Sustainability in marketing has gained some traction over the years, yet we still remain uncertain about exactly what ‘sustainability marketing’ means. Utilising the Scopus database, a discourse analysis was conducted on nearly 200 published journal articles. The analysis categorises multiple sustainability views and outlines three conceptualisations of sustainability marketing: Auxiliary Sustainability Marketing (which focusses on the production of sustainable products), Reformative Sustainability Marketing (which extends the auxiliary approach through the promotion of sustainable lifestyles and behavioural changes) and Transformative Sustainability Marketing (which further extends the auxiliary and reformative approaches through the need for transformation of current institutions and norms, and critical reflection). This paper then discusses how these three conceptualisations might be used by scholars and practitioners to interpret and implement sustainability marketing going forward.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of atmospherics in the creation of an hedonic retail experience by comparing the perceived differences between a retail environment attempting to provide an hedonic experience and one with a more utilitarian focus.Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative methodology was employed, using protocol analysis and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews that were conducted with ten participants.Findings: The paper highlights several atmospheric cues and their influence on the hedonic retail experience. The first category of cues – attractive stimuli – were those cues that attracted attention, exciting the participant and eliciting approach behaviours. The second category – facilitating stimuli – included those cues that were necessary in order to facilitate product engagement.Originality/value: The paper provides a broad categorisation of atmospheric cues, providing factors that shop designers can be aware of when creating a store with the hedonic experience in mind.

Social networks have become an increasingly common way for people to share information and seek emotional support for issues surrounding weight loss. This study aims to explore how users of a commercial social networking site who are focussed on weight loss give and/or receive social support to/from other users. The authors use quantitative data from 145 members of the Weight Watchers Facebook page to explore how social support is both given and received, and the communication style by which this is achieved. This study reveals three groups—Passive Recipients, Active Supporters and Casual Browsers. Passive Recipients receive a high level of informational and emotional support but do so by being passive communicators. Active Supporters also receive a high level of both informational and emotional support yet are more active in their communication style. Casual Browsers receive little social support and exhibit a passive communication style. Thus, the authors find evidence that even though members of a social network may share a common interest, the way members choose to participate and interact, and the benefits they accrue by doing so differ substantially. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose: This study aims to examine how two aspects of an online shopping environment can influence consumer satisfaction. The two independent variables examined in this study were the level of interactivity and the amount of information provided by an online shopping environment.Design/methodology/approach: A web‐based experiment (using a 3 × 3 between‐subjects factorial design) was conducted, where respondents were exposed to a simulated online retail store. A total of 360 responses were collected from web users.Findings: Results suggest that the level of interactivity and the amount of information provided by the web site had a significant effect on consumer satisfaction.Research limitations/implications: Limitations included the use of a fictitious retail web site, self‐selection bias, the use of a single type of online retailer, and the one‐shot nature of the experimental design. Future research should replicate this study to a fully functional or real‐world web site, extend this study to include other types of online retailers, and examine what other features found in a web site may elicit consumer satisfaction.Originality/value: The importance of consumer satisfaction in bricks‐and‐mortar retail stores has long been emphasised in the literature. This study provides guidance as to the role of two web‐specific variables on consumers’ assessments of satisfaction with the interface provided by an online retail store.

This study examines the nature of temporary disposition and acquisition in the context of online peer-to-peer (P2P) renting. Although renting is becoming increasingly popular, little is known about the phenomenon as practised between peers. P2P renting is a form of non-ownership access that enables renters to temporarily access goods, but also provides those that rent the ability to temporarily dispose of their possessions. Theoretically driven thematic analysis identifies that P2P renting is characterised as a self-service exchange with extensive co-creation and a balanced market-mediated exchange involving short-term intermittent transactions driven by a desire for community, inspired by political consumerism. However, fear of negative reciprocity, the high-involvement nature of the transaction, limited access to products and the inflexible nature of P2P rental sites impede the practice. Having a better understanding of current attitudes towards P2P renting may help with the design of future online P2P systems.