COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABLE SOURCING IN A DIGITAL CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT

Two forces exert significant effects on companies today and are bound to intensify in the future: sustainability and digitalization. Stakeholders are becoming increasingly sensitive to sustainable business practices, penalizing companies perceived as weak in pursuing sustainability. In the face of a global trust crisis, consumers expect companies and their CEOs to behave with integrity, rewarding these firms when they act to make the world a better place. Likewise, digitalization profoundly affects businesses, opening up unprecedented opportunities, but also posing existential threats to companies that fail to adapt, as the emblematic examples of Kodak and Blockbuster illustrate. While practitioners and scholars have studied the impact of these forces on business, they have scarcely been examined jointly. Our research project is positioned at the intersection of sustainability and digital communication. More precisely, the project examines the relationship between "communicating sustainability in a digital environment" and "sourcing for sustainability" (Figure 1). Communicating the sustainability of supplies in a digital consumer environment is a complex, relevant, and constantly evolving issue. Complex because it brings together distinct actors and contexts: companies, suppliers, consumers, and local, national, and international policymakers. Relevant in terms of the social, environmental, and economic impact on consumption, firms, policymakers, and local communities. Evolving because of global events, including the current pandemic, that have engendered and will continue to foster increasing sensitivity towards sustainability, not only in consumers and the business context, but also in society and institutions. Through the qualitative and quantitative study of sustainable sourcing and consumers, this ambitious research project aims to uncover (1) how sustainable sourcing practices affect digital communication, (2) which elements of sustainable sourcing consumers value most, (3) how digital communication of sustainable sourcing affects the performance of relevant actors. An innovative aspect of our research project is the analysis of the extended value chain, from suppliers to focal firms and their customers, and the joint consideration of sustainable sourcing, and digital communication channels and contents. Our research findings will benefit practitioners, managers, and entrepreneurs, as we aim to unveil if and how sustainable sourcing affects firm performance and customer perceptions. Our findings could thus potentially help businesses, especially small and medium-sized companies, to improve their competitiveness and performance by communicating specific elements of sustainable sourcing. For academics, the joint consideration of digital communication and sustainability will offer rich insights into the value creation pathways in the extended value chain.