Case Of Nike Research Articles

Application Research of Brand Story in Marketing

Brand stories play a vital role in modern marketing. It can not only enhance the brand awareness, but also enhance the brand loyalty of consumers through emotional resonance. The construction of a brand story usually consists of four parts: beginning, development, climax, and ending. The beginning part introduces the origin and original intention of the brand, the development stage describes the growth and challenges of the brand, the climax part shows the success and brilliance of the brand, and the ending part looks forward to the future of the brand. This paper will explore the elements of the brand story and its application strategy in marketing, and analyze its practical effects through the Nike case.

Gender Marginalization in Sports Participation through Advertising: The Case of Nike

The sport sector functions as a site of health-promotion by encouraging and enabling individuals to invest in their health and giving them tools to do so. This investment is often initiated by, or altered by, role modeling, or seeing other individuals engaging in sport. This could include family or peers but could also include depictions of sport in popular media. Inclusive role-modeling could subsequently encourage more sport participation, thus expanding access to health benefits that arise from sport. However, stereotypical depictions of sports role models could make sports seem like a more exclusive space and discourage participation. We examine a case study of a prominent athletic brand and their advertising to examine the ways they expand or reify stereotypes of gender in sport. Through a qualitative content analysis of 131 commercials released by Nike in the past decade, we explore whether their stated goals of being a socially progressive company extend to genuinely diverse and inclusive portrayals of gender in their commercials. Our results indicate that Nike commercials continue to treat sports as a predominantly and stereotypically masculine realm, therefore marginalizing athletes who are female, who do not fit traditional gender binaries, or who do not display traditionally masculine qualities. We also find that the bulk of athletes portrayed by Nike are those who adhere to gender stereotypes. Despite their purported goal of encouraging individuals to participate in sports, Nike’s promotion of gendered sport behaviors may be having an opposite effect for some consumers by discouraging sports participation for those who do not align with the gendered behavior Nike promotes. The stereotyped role modeling of the sport sector portrayed in a majority of Nike commercials could dissuade already marginalized individuals from participating in the health-promoting behaviors available through sport.

Exploring the role of issue involvement and brand attachment in shaping consumer response toward corporate social advocacy (CSA) initiatives: the case of Nike’s Colin Kaepernick campaign

This study adopts the consumer-centric perspective, through the lens of the consumer involvement theory and stakeholder theory, to examine the role of consumer involvement in shaping individuals’ attitudinal and behavioural responses toward Nike’s 30th Anniversary ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. Specifically, a survey (N = 345) was conducted to examine how consumers’ cognitive and affective involvement regarding the issue of NFL national anthem protests, their brand attachment, and brand attitude guide their attitudes and word-of-mouth intentions in response to Nike’s corporate social advocacy practices. The findings of this study suggested that consumers’ support for a company’s CSA efforts could depend on their involvement in the social issue that a brand chose as well as their involvement in the brand. Moreover, the interaction of issue involvement and brand attachment factors can serve as a segmentation strategy to cement brand loyalty and strengthen the relationship with the existing stakeholders whose issue attitude was congruent with the corporation’s stances. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

A Pragmatic Approach to Resolving Technological Unfairness: the Case of Nike\u2019s Vaporfly and Alphafly Running Footwear

BackgroundTechnology is often introduced into sport to facilitate it or to improve human performance within it. On occasion, some forms of novel technology require regulation or prevention entirely to ensure that a sport remains fair and accessible. Recently, the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly shoes have received some concerns over their appropriateness for use in competitive distance running.MethodsThis paper evaluates the use of these shoes against an existing framework for sports technology discourse and adopts a pragmatic approach to attempt to resolve them.ResultsIt is proposed that the three concerns regarding cost, access and coercion cannot be ruled out but likely remain short-term issues. As a result, it is proposed that these running shoes are acceptable forms of technology but that ongoing vigilance will be required as such technologies develop further in the future.ConclusionsThe Nike Vaporfly/Alphafly shoes do push the perceived acceptability of running shoes to the limits of the current sports regulations. However, the alleged gains have not manifested themselves to a level that could be considered excessive when reviewing historical performances or when evaluated against a set of well-cited criteria. The sport will need to adopt a stance of ongoing vigilance as such technologies continue to develop or be optimised in the future.

Stakeholders’ Pressure and CSR Engagement. A Case in the Apparel Sector

This paper, drawing on stakeholder and legitimacy theory, addresses the issue of stakeholders’ pressure effect on a firm’s CSR behavior. It focuses on the apparel sector as these companies, characterized by consumer proximity, are under the lens of stakeholders for their direct social performance as well as for their suppliers’ actions. We analyze the Nike case in order to study how stakeholders’ pressure shapes a firm’s engagement in CSR issues. Our study points out the dynamic nature of stakeholders and legitimacy, and it underlines the influence of two actors which are rarely considered as primary and most important stakeholders, namely media and social activist groups.

Searching for Adolescent Girls in Brazil: The Transnational Politics of Poverty in “The Girl Effect”

Feminist Studies 40, no. 3. © 2014 by Feminist Studies, Inc. 575 Kathryn Moeller Searching for Adolescent Girls in Brazil: The Transnational Politics of Poverty in “The Girl Effect” The Girl Effect, n. The unique potential of 250 million adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world.1 In the early 1990s, Nike, Inc., the world’s largest sporting goods and apparel manufacturer, became the global target of antisweatshop and antiglobalization movements.2 Their criticism focused on the corporation ’s well-documented abusive practices against its predominantly young, uneducated, poor, female labor force in the Global South.3 Responding to tarnishing accusations, including media exposés on child labor, 1. Nike Foundation, “The Girl Effect Media Kit” (2008), 2008, available online at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/125801062/Girl_Effect_Media_Kit. 2. For a chronicle of events surrounding Nike, Inc., between 1988 and 2000, see the website of the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, “Nike Chronology,” http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/polcommcampaigns/NikeChronology .htm (accessed October 6, 2014). See also Richard Locke, “The Promise and Perils of Globalization: The Case of Nike,” in Management: Inventing and Delivering Its Future, ed. Richard Schmalensee and Thomas A. Kochan (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003). 3. In its fiscal year 05/06 Corporate Responsibility Report, Nike, Inc., estimated that 80 percent of its workers were women ages eighteen to twentyfour who were “typically poorly educated, living against a precarious backdrop of poverty and insecurity, within emerging economies.” Nike, Inc., “Workers in Contract Factories,” Nike FY 05–06 Corporate Responsibility 576 Kathryn Moeller cofounder and then CEO Phil H. Knight publically stated at the National PressClubinWashington,DC,inMay 1998that “Nike product has become synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime, and arbitrary abuse.”4 Despite Knight’s promises to transform the corporation’s practices more than a decade ago, accusations of abusive labor problems persist in Nike’s contract factories, as reflected in well-publicized worker strikes in Indonesia in 2007, in Honduras in 2010, and in Cambodia in 2013. Nevertheless , since its moment of crisis, the corporation has focused on remaking itself as a socially responsible entity. On March 8, 2005—International Women’s Day—Nike, Inc., recast its corporate foundation to focus exclusively on “improving the lives and well-being of adolescent girls.” As Knight wrote in the press release, the Nike Foundation’s investments in the “human capital” of adolescent girls “complements Nike, Inc.’s efforts around improvements in our fundamental business practices.”5 The company linked its new efforts to United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals on poverty alleviation and gender equality.6 The Nike Foundation officially launched “The Girl Effect,” its corporate philanthropic brand, approximately three years later on May 27, 2008. The campaign confers on adolescent girls who are poor, of color, and live in the Global South the potential to end poverty in the new millennium . The Nike Foundation argues that investing in them will yield the “greatest untapped” return in development.7 When adolescent girls are educated and empowered, the campaign argues, the ripple effect is reduced fertility, less poverty, greater economic growth, lower population growth, slower spread of HIV/AIDS, and greater conservation of environmental resources. From this perspective, adolescent girls are Report (2006), 16, http://nikeinc.com/system/assets/1837/Nike_FY05_06_ CR_Report_C_original.pdf?1316461852. 4. Phil Knight’s speech to the National Press Club is quoted in part in John H. Cushman Jr., “Nike Pledges to End Child Labor and Apply U.S. Rules Abroad,” New York Times, May 13, 1998. 5. Nike, Inc., “Nike Foundation Steps on to New Field,” press release, March 8, 2005, http://nikeinc.com/news/nike-foundation-steps-on-to-new-field. 6. See United Nations, “Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015” (accessed March 13, 2012), http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals. 7. Nike Foundation, “The Girl Effect Media Kit.” Kathryn Moeller 577 human capital investments akin to natural, physical, technological, or other kinds of resource investments. The corporation and its foundation invest together in the Girl Effect through institutional partnerships with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as CARE and Grameen Bank; bilateral and multilateral agencies, such as the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development or the World Bank; and global forums, such...

Corporate social responsibility and labour agency: the case of Nike in Pakistan

This article examines the circumstances under which corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives facilitate and/or constrain labour agency in global production networks (GPNs). Using a case study of Nike’s CSR approach in the football manufacturing industry of Pakistan, we explore the extent to which the measures advocated in a new, emerging policy paradigm on CSR in GPNs enabled labour agency at Nike’s main football supplier factory in Pakistan. We argue that while such CSR policies can create enhanced space for labour agency, that potential agency is also shaped (i) by wider economic forces within the global economy and (ii) relationships with local/national actors and regulatory frameworks. Understanding the intersection of these dimensions becomes vital to interpreting the potential for, and activation of, labour agency within CSR-influenced GPNs.

Historical Analysis of Apparel Marketer’s Strategies: Evidence from a Nike Case

Abstract In the decades previous to 2010, many firms in consumer product industries, including the apparel industry, have experienced changes both in the structure of the industries (e.g., ownership, control and location of production) and the functions of the firms (e.g., production- or product oriented vs. marketing-oriented) within the industries (Su et al., 2009). One force in this change was the economic globalization that brought about shifts of production and trade from domestic production to off-shore sourcing of production and then of fabrication and design (Ha-Brookshire and Dyer, 2009). Gereffi (1994) argued that the continued interest in this dynamic of globalization in the apparel industry may remain because global restructuring of the economy is historical in shifts of power across commodity chains. As a major industry in the global market, this argument emphasizes the importance of historical analysis for the apparel industry. However, a review of literature revealed that only a few academi...

How digital brands can succeed and thrive in the engaged era – An interview with Igor Beuker, founder of Grupo LaComunidad

Innovative brand engagement architectures, smart communication and messaging platforms, CRM-driven systems, technologies and infrastructures are now part of marketing. Michael Moon interviews Igor Beucker of Grupo LaComunidad on how a new type of digital agency addresses these changes, including a Nike case study.

Co‐creating value through customers' experiences: the Nike case

Purpose – This case aims to demonstrate how leading firms are learning how to sustain competitive advantage by co‐creating experiences of value with customers.Design/methodology/approach – The shoe company Nike provides a glimpse of the next “best practices” of value co‐creation with customers. By engaging with informed, connected, and networked customers around the globe, Nike has found their shared experiences to be a new source of value.Findings – The paper finds that customers are now informed, connected, networked, and empowered on a scale as never before, thanks to search engines, engagement platforms, the growth of internet‐based interest groups, and widespread high‐bandwidth communication and social interaction technologies. Customers have learned how to use these new tools to make their opinions and ideas heard.Practical implications – A few leading companies like Nike are involving customers in the value creation process by offering Internet sites where they can share their interactions and expe...

Global standards, global governance and the organization of global value chains

Compliance with international standards is now a sine qua non for entry into globalized production networks. Developing country firms and farms are confronted by an array of distinct product and process standards that they must meet. This has heightened the competitive challenges they face. Non-compliance can result in exclusion from profitable markets. This article uses the recent case of Nike’s termination of sourcing of soccer balls from its lead supplier in Pakistan as a lens to analyse the relationship between standards and governance. The article addresses first the global governance implications associated with how standards are being shaped and implemented. Second, it considers how global standards affect the governance of value chain ties. Finally, in terms of questions for further research, it suggests the need to explore the relationship between standards and ‘intra-firm’ governance, in particular to assess outcomes for those engaged within the chains—namely local firms and their workers, and the social contexts in which global standards are imposed from the outside.

Introduction to the Special Section on Commercial Speech

ABSTRACT:In 1998, activist Marc Kasky sued Nike for alleged false advertising and unfair competition under California law. Kasky alleged that Nike made false statements in a variety of what we would usually consider non-advertising forums, including interviews and letters to the press. The Supreme Court of California permitted Kasky's suit to go forward, even though the statements were not a part of traditional paid commercial advertisements. The Supreme Court of the United States, which initially granted certiorari to review the case, dismissed the writ on June 26, 2003, leaving intact California's broad interpretation of its statute and narrow construction of the Constitutional speech protections that constrain that statute. What is typically referred to as “the Nike case” or “the Kasky case” can mean either Kasky v. Nike (as the case was originally filed) or Nike v. Kasky (when Nike appealed the lower court's judgment).

The Kasky-Nike Threat to Corporate Social Reporting: Implementing a Standard of Optimal Truthful Disclosure as a Solution

ABSTRACT:In the recent case of Nike v. Kasky both sides argued that their standard for distinguishing commercial speech from political speech would create the better policy for ensuring accurate and complete disclosure of social information by corporations. Using insights from information economics, we argue that neither standard will achieve the policy goal of optimal truthful disclosure. Instead, we argue that the appropriate standard is one of optimal truthful disclosure—balancing the value of speech against the costs of misinformation. Specifically, we argue that an SEC-sanctioned safe harbor available under a closely supervised system for social reporting will bring about optimal truthful disclosure. The scheme is intended to enhance stakeholder confidence in corporate social and political commentary, while at the same time encouraging corporations to provide accurate information in a fair playing field of public debate.

The Pragmatic and Ethical Barriers to Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: The Nike Case

Numerous studies have documented the demand for information regarding corporations’ relationships to society. Much recent research has demonstrated why stakeholders need this information, and how it benefits both companies and the public. These studies suggest numerous methods by which companies can effectively disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information to the public, but in practice, reporting this type of information is fraught with legal and ethical uncertainty often unexplored in most literature. This article represents a fresh analysis of the numerous pragmatic consequences and legal and ethical complications inherent in CSR reporting, using Nike Corporation as a case example. The article discusses the theoretical viewpoints surrounding the ethics of CSR disclosure, and presents the case of Nike and the complications it encountered while advertising CSR information. The article ends with an analysis of CSR auditing as a possible solution to companies seeking to improve the method and transparency of social responsibility reporting.

From Sullivan to Nike: Will the Noble Purpose of the Landmark Free Speech Case Be Subverted to Immunize False Advertising?

In deciding not to rule in Nike, Inc. v. Kasky, the Supreme Court of the United States passed up an ideal opportunity to answer an urgent question that derives from two legacies of New York Times v. Sullivan: When speech implicates both the commercial speech doctrine and the political speech doctrine, how should that speech be assessed in terms of First Amendment protection? This analysis focuses upon the essential principles emphasized in Sullivan's landmark assessment of the societal value in protecting some false speech in the discussion of public issues. Concerns over the Nike case's implications for corporate expression must be weighed against the societal interest in preventing false commercial speech from being immunized by attaching it to a public issue.

Nike v. Kasky: reconsideration of noncommercial v. commercial speech

This study examines the case of Nike v. Kasky. The primary discussion in this paper is about a public relations campaign by Nike that responded to allegations of poor working conditions for employees in their foreign factories. Whether false or misleading statements should be categorized as commercial or noncommercial speech, and therefore unprotected or protected, is the most important issue in the case. The main discussion is about the distinction between commercial and noncommercial speech, in terms of judicial scrutiny and the degree of protection afforded by each type of speech. The author suggests that speech such as that used by Nike should be protected under the First Amendment and proposes ways to prevent corporations from making false or misleading speech.