How marketers become change agents: Integrating sustainability into marketing education and practice

This dissertation examines how marketers can become active change-agents for sustainable development by integrating insights from marketing education, social-marketing practice, and sustainable-marketing theory. Anchored in the global challenges articulated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it argues that marketers must move beyond traditional profit-oriented roles and embed sustainability into strategies and activities. Four objectives guide the research: highlighting the importance of marketing and higher education for sustainable development; mapping the existing research landscape; understanding how students can act as change-agents; and identifying conditions that enable sustainable marketing in practice.

A bibliometric analysis reveals a sustainability gap in marketing education: although sustainability emerges as an important theme, discussions are dominated by digital transformation, and limited attention is given to the SDGs or key competencies for sustainable development. To address this, the dissertation proposes a Marketing Education for Sustainable Development (MESD) framework that outlines purpose, content, and pedagogical tools for training sustainability-oriented marketers. A case study of a real-life study programme demonstrates that students can effect change at individual, organisational, and institutional levels, positioning higher education institutions as key audiences for social-marketing interventions.

For marketing practice, a mixed-methods study develops and validates the Sustainability Acceptance Model (SAM), which explains marketers’ intention to adopt sustainable marketing based on sustainability opportunities and threats, organisational culture and formalization, resources, and self-efficacy.

The dissertation advances research across marketing, education, and sustainability, offering practical guidance: universities should adopt MESD, companies can use SAM to foster sustainable marketing, and policymakers can incentivise sustainability-aligned curricula and collaborations.