Integrating and Communicating Sustainability Case Study: A global brand’s integration of sustainability in its corporate brand identity & external brand communication; a globalized & standardized vs. localized approach

Abstract: This thesis has the purpose to research how a global brand integrates sustainability as part of its corporate brand identity and how the brand communicates sustainability to the local market, using a standardized or localized communication approach. The theoretical perspective is to incorporate the Corporate Brand Identity Matrix & Integration for sustainability — implementation model to analyze a global brand’s approach to integrate and communicate sustainability to the local market. The study is a qualitative case study focusing on IKEA’s integration and communication of sustainable initiatives through an abductive approach, viewing the data through a research philosophy of relativistic and social constructivism. The empirical data is gathered from semi-structured interviews with various managers at IKEA internationally to analyze their integration of sustainability in their corporate brand identity and external brand communication in the global and local markets. Additional data was collected from IKEA’s Sustainability report;- strategy & their global and local websites. The conclusion shows that IKEA demonstrates an aligned and standardized brand identity in the four paths, where the essence mainstreams the rest of the elements. However, the approach to communicating sustainability varies depending on the market due to current sustainability challenges and priorities for the local consumers; therefore, adopting a localized communication approach.