Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Employee Satisfaction

Corporate sustainability has emerged as an important area of study recently [...]

The Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behavior in the Luxury Industry

The following paper is aimed at understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumers’ attitude towards consumption of luxury and discretionary goods, what are the consequences of these disruptions, and what strategies brand can employ in order to survive in a post-pandemic future. This situation served as a catalyst to accelerate some of the True Luxury Consumer trends that were beginning to gain popularity in the past few years, such as the prioritization of experiences over physical items, resulting in a tendency towards minimalism; the increased interest in sustainability, ethics, and the Corporate Social Responsibility commitments of brands; the enhanced use of online distribution channels, and the consequential need for a seamless omnichannel strategy which could effortlessly and efficiently replicate the offline, in-store experience on digital platforms; and, finally, the emergence of new ways to experience luxury goods which prioritize accessibility over ownership, such as the second-hand market for luxury as well as luxury rental services, like Rent The Runway. The pandemic has highlighted a series of issues in society, healthcare, and businesses; the consequences of these issues have been tragic, but also eye-opening for brands as well as consumers. In the clients’ perspective, big companies hold the responsibility to not only provide a product or a service, but also to be helpful assets to their communities. Brands should live up to these expectations, not just to survive in the “new normal”, but also to genuinely help build a better future once the dust settles.

How to assess technological developments in basic research?

In an era of ever faster and more momentous technological development, both technology assessment and transdisciplinary interventions are in danger of structurally lagging behind the speed of innovation. This paper proposes a new tiered approach to technology assessment at low Technology Readiness Levels that enables a both rapid and concerted interdisciplinary science response to this Great Acceleration. Covering sustainability, ethics, and consumer issues, this approach encourages and enables the innovators themselves to conduct assessments embedded in the innovation process as early as possible. Suitable tools for early engagement that help facilitate development-integrated assessments are introduced and described. The design and use of these instruments in the field of basic research is illustrated using the Cluster of Excellence livMatS as an example.

Responsibility versus sustainability, ethics, and societal engagement

We examine the concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in Germany in the context of national science, technology and innovation (STI) as well as its legal and normative framework in relation to ethics and societal engagement and compare the results to similar international research. Our analysis shows that responsibility plays a central role in research practice guided by research ethics standards and societal grand challenges. Consequently, there is a significant increase in demands for inclusion and engagement of a wider stakeholder spectrum in STI. Compared to other countries, the concept of RRI in Germany is increasingly superseded by that of sustainability. We argue that responsibility and sustainability are conceptually close and highly interchangeable in the German national debate. We conclude with basic recommendations for greater clarity in research on responsibility and sustainability and the aims of ethics and societal engagement.