Sustainability and Social Impact in Platform-Based Marketing and Communication

Dear Colleagues,

The growing importance of sustainability and social impact has transformed how businesses interact with consumers, innovate, and communicate their values. Digital platforms, as central hubs of modern marketing and communication, play a critical role in shaping these interactions. This Special Issue explores the intersection of sustainability and social responsibility within platform-based ecosystems, highlighting their transformative potential for fostering ethical business practices and driving societal change.

Platforms such as social media, e-commerce sites, and crowdfunding tools have become vital spaces for brands to showcase their sustainability initiatives and connect with socially conscious consumers. At the same time, platforms themselves are innovating the ways in which they integrate and promote sustainable practices, from transparent data sharing to green logistics and operations. The interplay between these trends and innovative marketing and communication strategies creates an exciting field for scholarly investigation.

This Special Issue will examine how sustainability and social impact influence platform-based marketing strategies and how platforms themselves act as agents of change in fostering environmentally and socially responsible behaviours. Through this lens, this issue will provide a comprehensive understanding of the strategies, challenges, and opportunities for businesses leveraging platforms to address global sustainability challenges. Therefore, it will contribute to the academic discourse by showcasing innovative research at the platforms, marketing, and sustainability nexus and offering actionable insights for practitioners and policymakers aiming to align with the evolving demands of socially conscious consumers.

Topics for the Special Issue

1. Green Marketing on Digital Platforms: exploring how brands communicate environmental values and sustainability initiatives through social media and e-commerce platforms.
2. The Role of Platforms in Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): investigating how platforms support brands in developing and communicating CSR campaigns.
3. Crowdsourcing Innovation for Sustainability: analysing the use of platforms to engage users in sustainable product and service development.
4. Sustainability Claims and Consumer Trust: examining the role of transparency and platform verification tools in building trust around sustainability narratives.
5. Influencer Marketing for Social Impact: exploring how influencers leverage their platform presence to promote sustainable and ethical practices.
6. Data-Driven Sustainability: analysing how platforms use data to inform sustainable decision making and measure the impact of campaigns.
7. Cross-Cultural Communication in Sustainability Marketing: investigating how global platforms navigate cultural differences in sustainability-focused marketing strategies.
8. Communicating Societal Challenges on Platforms: examining case studies of successful platform campaigns addressing issues such as climate change, inequality, and social justice.

Dr. Teresa Paiva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Platforms is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.