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Dear colleagues,

We would like to inform you of a Special Issue on “Sustainable B2B Branding: Taking stock of our knowledge” in Industrial Marketing Management, guest edited by Poul Houmann Andersen and Andreea Bujac from Aalborg University, Denmark and Susanne Åberg from Uppsala University, Sweden.


Overview and purpose of the special issue

B2B sustainability is more crucial than ever, and sustainable branding is a strategic issue among B2B companies. Many embrace the concept of sustainability and seek to adjust their values, goals, and mission (Truong et al., 2021; Vesal et al., 2021). According to (Erdil, 2013)sustainability is fast becoming a viable ideology in business. Tara Luckman, advisor to the US Cotton Trust Protocol suggested: “The COVID-19 crisis, and resulting industry shutdown, seeks to reimagine and reinvent our business processes and services. This is the time for us all to re-examine how to source more responsibly and to integrate new data into sustainability strategies.” (Sustainable Brands, 2020). However, it is still unclear whether and how the B2B brand benefits from environmental sustainability investment and whether following environmental sustainability practices improves market performance (Czinkota et al., 2014; Vesal et al., 2021).

In recent years, the topics of sustainability and branding are broadened and increasingly linked (Czinkota et al., 2014; Grubor & Milovanov, 2017; Gupta et al., 2013). Sustainable B2B branding research addresses the actions and processes of business actors seeking a positive financial, social and, of course, environmental influence from their business operations (Kumar & Christodoulopoulou, 2014). Narrowly, sustainability in a B2B context can be perceived as diminishing the detrimental environmental consequences of firms’ activities (Vesal et al., 2021). Sustainability, however, does not only include environmental issues (Daniel, 2019; Duffett et al., 2018). A B2B brand image signals important product attributes and the relationship business customers expect to have with a supplier (Bendixen et al., 2004; Vesal et al., 2021). Furthermore, sustainable branding can support competitive advantage by positively influencing perceptions of product evaluations and customer satisfaction (Sheth & Sinha, 2015). Additionally, associating the B2B brand with desirable values such as responsibility, social and environmental stewardship, and morality supports workplace attraction (Sheth & Sinha, 2015). We must integrate efforts on research on sustainable B2B branding.

Branding in a B2B network is a complex phenomenon. Compared to B2C branding, it must often serve an additional purpose; to add to the buyer’s value creating processes. B2B markets have also been seen as driven by precise and technical specifications and by business buyers who are professional, active customers that carefully evaluate accordingly, indicating that emotional impact and impulse purchases are rare. B2B firms are interconnected and the contribution to sustainability of a B2B market offering crucially depends on the actions of other business network actors. The line between adding or detracting to the sustainable agenda is thin, and often out of sight or control of the B2B firm (Guo et al., 2018; Truong et al., 2021). Hence, there can be both positive and negative outcomes to system-wide sustainability from the actions of one business actor. Branding market offerings as less polluting may come at the expenses of suppliers making adjustments that have a negative environmental impact (Mol, 2015). Some B2B brands have be accused of greenwashing, partially on these accounts (Kapitan et al., 2019; Nyilasy et al., 2014). The buyers’ decision-making process also comes to the fore as a theme to fully understand the relevance of sustainable branding for B2B customers. Studies show that there is a disjunction between the attitudes towards sustainable or green products and the actual behavior of purchasing those products (Kumar & Christodoulopoulou, 2014; Olson, 2013; Vermeir & Verbeke, 2008). Recent research suggests that emotional factors and individual opinions in a B2B setting cannot be overlooked (Gomes et al., 2016). While the B2B buyers are focused on their company’s profit and finances, they also pride themselves of making good choices. Emotional factors also influence individuals involved in B2B buying and individual brand experiences are important also in B2B purchasing. Additionally, B2B buyers can feel emotionally secure when purchasing brands that have a positive and strong image (Davis et al., 2008; Truong et al., 2021). Providing ethical services and products, as well as companies showing environmental and social concerns, are factors that can change customer behavior. This supports the need for B2B companies to provide their customers with transparent information on their environmental effort and sustainable products (Martin & Schouten, 2012). The motivation for this call is to establish a fruitful dialogue about these topics. We provide a list of topical issues, but we encourage researchers to add to this list and provide contributions of relevance for the Sustainable B2B branding research agenda. In addition to the themes presented, we welcome submissions integrating various methodologies and encourage interdisciplinary work.

We seek both conceptual and empirical papers:

  *   From black to green: challenges related to the organizational and managerial transition towards a sustainable B2B brand identity
     *   Managing the transition of the supply network/ecosystem in building B2B brand identity
     *   Salespersons as communicators of sustainable brand values in buyer-seller relationships
     *   Internal branding toward employees to communicate shared corporate values and create internal commitment
     *   Sustainability-based brand image and its effect on market performance
  *   Brand identity co-creation strategies in business networks
     *   The role of legitimacy and reputation in sustainable branding
     *   Value and impact of sustainable branding efforts
     *   Sustainable branding as strategic positioning
     *   Involving new partners to foster sustainable brand identity
     *   Stakeholder strategies for sustainable branding efforts
  *   Communicating Sustainability in B2B branding
     *   Storytelling in relation to B2B sustainability branding
     *   Brand values and brand equity in B2B sustainable branding
     *   Sustainable brand image dynamics
     *   Buyer and supplier risk perceptions and B2B branding
  *   B2B sustainability branding in specific business contexts: challenges and issues
     *   Research results on B2B branding from specific industries, which have interest for a general audience

Please read the full Call at the journal's website:https://www.journals.elsevier.com/industrial-marketing-management/call-for-papers/sustainable-b2b-branding-taking-stock-of-our-knowledge

Submission opens March 1st 2022 and deadline for submission is June 1st 2022.

We hope that you will consider submitting your work to us. We would also very much appreciate it if you could inform your network about this call.

Many thanks and best regards,
The issue editors,
Poul Houmann Andersen, Andreea Bujac, Susanne Åberg



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