Anne-Sophie Binninger

Brand Narratives, Sustainability, and Gender A Socio-semiotic Approach

This research, based on the French macro-context, explains sustainable discourses in advertising from 2007 to 2012, during which time the concept of sustainability developed significantly and became institutionalized at a national level. This article defines sustainability broadly and explains the issue of inequality, particularly gender inequality, as originating in various forms of ascendancy over nature. Next, using a socio-semiotic reading, it identifies and deciphers five types of brand narratives on sustainability – Prometheus, Gaia, the Labyrinth, an automated world, and a sublimated nature – and their corresponding gender ideologies. Finally, the article discusses how feminist thought helps interpret major issues within sustainable communication, which reproduces both the dominant sustainable paradigm and conservative gender representations despite the national institutionalization of sustainability and a rich tradition of French feminist thought.

Perception of Naturalness of Food Packaging and Its Role in Consumer Product Evaluation

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to understand the concept of food “naturalness,” as it is perceived by the consumer via the packaging. The research is based on a qualitative study from which three types of experimental packaging were constructed (emotional, functional, and mixed) and a quantitative study carried out on 163 French consumers. The research identified two dimensions of food naturalness and related them to credibility, attractiveness, quality, and purchase intention, with differences according to the three types of packaging tested. The highlighting of their role in the perception of the naturalness of a food product should help managers to avoid overexposure of the concept.

Demateriality: A key factor in the embedding of society within commodification and financialization

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to analyze the symbolic and practical impacts of demateriality in two areas that are emblematic of the way the modern world operates. Firstly, finance via currency, and secondly, trade via the relationship between trading firms and their customers. The article also addresses the current role played by so-called “information” technologies, exploring the double embedding of society within trade and trade within finance. Design/methodology/approach – A multidisciplinary approach which mobilizes available knowledge in finance, technology, marketing and sociology. Findings – The overall social power of the state of demateriality is that it reinforces the double-embedding. Originality/value – A multidisciplinary approach which mobilizes available knowledge in finance, technology, marketing and sociology to comprehend the role of a state, beyond the process creating that state.