Abstract
This paper explores the concept of ethical branding and its link to corporate goodwill. Brands have traditionally been studied only as an economic construct. Brands, as a social construct have not yet been fully understood due to the lackof research. A corporate brand is a vital part of the corporate goodwill management. An ethical brand enhances the firms goodwill; such goodwill reinforces the brand in turn. On the other hand, any unethical behaviour will severely damage or even destroy the total intangible asset as evidenced by the recent high profile corporate scandals. Ethical branding could provide thecompany with a differential advantage as agrowing number of consumers become more ethically conscious.
Highlights
There has been a growing research interest in the area of business and marketing ethics
Not a single academic study has been found on branding ethics after an extensive literature search covering the following sources: three online database (ABI Inform Global, Ebsco and Infotrac), three journals (Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Brand Management and Journal of Product and Brand Management), dozens of books and websites
Never has any society before seen the power of branding as is witnessed today: Brands are prevalent in every aspect of human life: production and consumption, food and clothing, personality and lifestyle; and from pop culture to politics
Summary
There has been a growing research interest in the area of business and marketing ethics. Ethics has been studied in almost all business issues except branding. The impact of brands and branding is far beyond the field of marketing and advertising. Branding is a social construct as well as an economic construct. Brands have been studied from both marketing and financial perspectives. Brands have not yet been fully understood owing to the dearth of academic research in this area. Little is known about the impact of branding (not advertising) on the stakeholders other than brand owners and users, and about the link between branding and corporate goodwill. This paper aims to raise the awareness of ethical issues in corporate branding
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