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Firm identity development within the artisan food sector: an enquiry into business networks, brand and consumer morality
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Date
2025
Authors
Badran, Amer Majdi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Despite extensive research on relational and moral identity, prior studies have largely examined these dimensions in isolation—either focusing on organisational and brand identity while neglecting the consumer perspective or centring on consumer identity without simultaneously considering the firm’s role. This fragmented approach has constrained a holistic understanding of firm identity by overlooking the interplay between these aspects. Moreover, existing research on relational and moral firm identity has predominantly examined large multinational corporations, failing to address the distinct challenges faced by small entrepreneurial firms, which play a vital role in local economies. As firms increasingly face scrutiny regarding their sustainability practices, employee treatment and community engagement, the moral dimension of firm identity has become critical in shaping reputation, fostering stakeholder trust and ensuring long-term viability. This thesis addresses these gaps by examining firm identity development within the entrepreneurial artisan food sector, investigating its relational and moral dimensions across multiple levels—network, firm and consumer—through the lenses of business network interactions and relationships, virtue-based brand moral identity and consumer identity projects, respectively.
Methodology:
This thesis comprises three studies investigating firm identity’s relational and moral dimensions within the entrepreneurial artisan food sector. The first two studies examine organisational identity within networks and brand moral identity through single embedded (Study 1/N=9) and multiple case studies (Study 2/N=10), while the third explores consumer moral identity responses to these firm identity dimensions via semi-structured interviews (Study 3/N=19). A qualitative methodology is employed, integrating secondary social media data with semi-structured interviews (Study 1/N=1; Study 2/N=10) and other firm and non-firm secondary sources to ensure data validity and stakeholder engagement and input. By addressing gaps in the literature, this research highlights the underexplored role of social media in co-creating organisational identity within networks and developing brand moral identity in entrepreneurial firms. A purposive sampling strategy is used to recruit entrepreneurial firms for the first two studies and ethically ambivalent consumers for the third, expanding the focus beyond large corporations and explicitly ethical consumers. The findings offer valuable insights for marketing and brand positioning, helping firms effectively communicate their moral identity while resonating with a broader audience.
Findings:
The findings of this research identify key processes that collectively shape firm identity development, illustrating their interrelations and mutual influence within the three studies. The first study demonstrates that organisational identity within networks is co-created with other network actors both on-site and digitally via social media through four key processes: network relating, collaborating, interacting with industry trends and situating within community. The second study, focusing on firm-level analysis, reveals that brand moral identity develops through internal and external virtue enactment, which can lead to exemplary instances of conscientious branding positions, collectively undergirding the brand moral identity development. Finally, the third study highlights how ethically ambivalent consumers engage with conscientious entrepreneurial artisan food brands as a means of constructing their own moral identity. This engagement occurs through three key processes: enabling moral identity through brand association, expressing moral identity and navigating its arising tensions—outlining specific areas that have been largely overlooked in traditional ethical consumption research.
Research Implications:
These findings have significant implications for entrepreneurs, managers, brand strategists and marketers, offering a deeper understanding of firm identity management in an era of participatory social media and heightened moral scrutiny. As consumers and other stakeholders engage with firms both offline and online, they actively shape the co-creation and development of organisational identity within networks and brand moral identity. This dynamic interplay necessitates strategic brand management to uphold both relational and moral authenticity, particularly as firms navigate complex business-to-business networks, engage with ethically ambivalent consumers and respond to increasing consumer scrutiny of business relationships and scepticism towards ethical brand claims. Future research could build on this work by conducting a meta-analysis of the three studies, providing valuable insights into the intersection of organisational identity, brand identity and consumer identity development processes through the lenses of relationships and morality.
Description
Keywords
Brand identity , Consumer identity , Organisational identity , Social Media , Morality , Firm identity development , Identity co-creation , Identity , Virtue ethics , Consumer identity project , Consumer culture theory , Markets as networks , Identity within networks , B2B
Citation
Badran, A. M. 2025. Firm identity development within the artisan food sector: an enquiry into business networks, brand and consumer morality. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.