Study
Innovation & MarketsRecentModerate effect

Retailers' Ambition to Foster Sustainable Consumption Outpaces Practical Implementation

While retail organizations express a strong desire to guide consumers towards more sustainable choices, internal organizational barriers significantly hinder the effective translation of these ambitions into actionable strategies.

The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research · 2023

01

Key Findings

  • 01Retailers demonstrate a clear ambition to support sustainable consumer behavior.
  • 02Significant internal organizational barriers impede the realization of these sustainability ambitions.
  • 03A gap exists between the intended sustainability actions and their actual execution within retail environments.
02

Application

Design takeaway

When designing sustainability initiatives for retail, thoroughly investigate and address internal organizational challenges that might prevent successful implementation.

How to apply

Before launching a new sustainable product or initiative in a retail setting, conduct an internal audit to identify potential operational, logistical, or cultural hurdles that could impede its success.

Project actions

  • 01When researching a company's sustainability claims, look beyond their public statements to understand their internal processes and challenges.
  • 02Consider how organizational structure, employee training, and resource allocation might affect the success of sustainability initiatives.
03

Method & Evidence

AimWhat are the key barriers within retail organizations that prevent the effective implementation of consumer-facing sustainability initiatives, and how can these gaps be addressed?
MethodQualitative research combining workshops, interviews, and secondary data analysis.
ProcedureResearchers engaged with retail organizations through workshops and interviews to understand their sustainability efforts, supplemented by analysis of existing organizational data.
ContextGrocery retail organizations.

Variables

IV["Internal organizational barriers (e.g., lack of resources, conflicting priorities, employee training, established processes)"]
DV["Effectiveness of consumer-facing sustainability initiatives","Degree of alignment between stated sustainability ambitions and actual practices"]
CV["Type of retail organization (grocery)","Ambition level of sustainability goals"]
04

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

  • +Bridges the gap between production-side and consumer-side sustainability research.
  • +Provides a model for understanding ambition-action gaps in retail sustainability.

Limitations

The specific barriers identified are context-dependent and may not apply universally to all retail environments. The study's scope is limited to grocery retail.

Reliability & validity

The use of multiple data sources (workshops, interviews, secondary data) enhances the validity of the findings. Reliability would depend on the consistency of responses across participants and the rigor of data analysis.

Think critically

To what extent are the identified internal barriers unique to the retail sector, and how might they manifest differently in other industries?

05

Design Principles

"Align consumer-facing sustainability goals with internal operational capabilities and stakeholder buy-in."

Understanding the gap between stated sustainability goals and actual in-store practices is crucial for designing effective interventions. Retailers are key intermediaries, and their ability to influence consumer behavior has a significant impact on broader sustainability efforts.

06

What This Means for Your Design

Companies say they want to be green and help customers be green too, but they have problems inside their own company that stop them from actually doing it.

How to use in your project

  • 1.Reference this study when discussing the challenges of implementing sustainability strategies in a business context, particularly when focusing on the disconnect between ambition and action.
07

Add to My Project

08

Quick Cite

(2023). Towards a better understanding of sustainability gaps in retail organizations . The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2023.2247588 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/54927bb0-e126-4e7f-882d-e484b93288a1/retailers-ambition-to-foster-sustainable-consumption-outpaces-practical-implementation

Paragraph starter

Research indicates that while retail organizations often express a strong commitment to promoting sustainable consumer behavior, significant internal organizational barriers can impede the effective implementation of these initiatives. This gap between ambition and action highlights the need to address internal operational, logistical, and cultural challenges to successfully integrate sustainability into retail practices.

09

Source

The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research

Towards a better understanding of sustainability gaps in retail organizations 

journal · 2023

View source

Questions about this research

What does the research say about retailers' ambition to foster sustainable consumption outpaces practical implementation?
When designing sustainability initiatives for retail, thoroughly investigate and address internal organizational challenges that might prevent successful implementation. Evidence: The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research (2023).
Why does "Retailers' Ambition to Foster Sustainable Consumption Outpaces Practical Implementation" matter for design?
Understanding the gap between stated sustainability goals and actual in-store practices is crucial for designing effective interventions. Retailers are key intermediaries, and their ability to influence consumer behavior has a significant impact on broader sustainability efforts.
How can designers apply this research?
When designing sustainability initiatives for retail, thoroughly investigate and address internal organizational challenges that might prevent successful implementation.
What were the main findings?
Retailers demonstrate a clear ambition to support sustainable consumer behavior.. Significant internal organizational barriers impede the realization of these sustainability ambitions.. A gap exists between the intended sustainability actions and their actual execution within retail environments.
What research method was used?
Qualitative research combining workshops, interviews, and secondary data analysis..
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2023 journal from The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research.
What should I do differently in my next project?
Before launching a new sustainable product or initiative in a retail setting, conduct an internal audit to identify potential operational, logistical, or cultural hurdles that could impede its success.
What are the limitations?
The study focuses on grocery retail, and findings may not be directly transferable to other retail sectors. The specific nature of internal barriers can vary greatly between organizations.
Is there evidence that sustainability affects design outcomes?
Retailers want to help customers be more sustainable, but internal issues within the company make it difficult to put these plans into practice. Understanding the gap between stated sustainability goals and actual in-store practices is crucial for designing effective interventions. Retailers are key intermediaries, and Source: The International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research (2023).
Where does this retailers research apply?
Grocery retail organizations. It sits within innovation & markets research on designdex.org.

Related research topics

sustainability design research · evidence on sustainability · does sustainability improve design outcomes · retailers studies for designers · sustainability and retailers findings · innovation & markets research evidence