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An examination of owner managers’ perceptions of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in the German graphic design industry : A critical analysis of the influence of the use of sustainability.

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Rocklage, Metje (2016) An examination of owner managers’ perceptions of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in the German graphic design industry : A critical analysis of the influence of the use of sustainability. PhD thesis, University of Gloucesterhsire.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the research gap on the influence of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in businesses of German graphic design industry (GDI). It focuses on owner managers’ within the Creative Industries by understanding the use of sustainability and expresses what sustainability means for GDI owner managers’. Sustainability is and will be a relevant and unperfected accessed area of research, precisely because the rearrangement of resource saving and sustainable economic management is believed to be one of the major challenges of the 21st-century. Also the group of well the people with a Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainability continues to increase. Sustainability is a mega trend! It is well documented that sustainability management is especially relevant for big firms and is able to assure companies success for the long-term. This research seeks to explore this for small and medium sized companies. Which options do the mainly small organised German graphic design industry (GDI) have? How does that fit to the creative industry (CI) as a major economic force? The German GDI is rumoured to be very innovative – multiplied effective ideas are a basis for successful sustainability management. GDIs should be at the forefront of sustainability management because they have a wide reach and connections to other industries and are with its creativity services in graphic and communication design important for the growth of the whole German economy. The primary question is: Is the use of sustainability in German GDI a contribution to long-term success? This leads to the title of the thesis “An examination of owner managers’ perception of sustainability as a contribution to long-term success in the German graphic design industry.” The key research question is: Is the use of sustainability in German GDI a contribution to long-term success? The research methodology is based on a number of expert interviews conducted Metje Rocklage II with German graphic design industry owner managers’ implementing sustainability in their daily business. Preparing these semi-structured guideline interviews two pre talks were adapted. Together with reflective presentation of the author in front of an audience of graphic design and sustainability experts, the author developed a constructivist prejudice as a foundation for an Applied Thematic Analysis. The core results of this research are: Sustainability for graphic design industry owner managers’ means a strong inner motivated world improvement with another way of thinking and acting of how to ecologically (with priority), social and (not for all) economically produces good and sustainable results, which means durable and valuable products. The use of sustainability within German graphic design owner managers’ is based on internal motivation and personal core values. Ecologic activities occur more often than economic and social activities. Implementing sustainability to future business requires a creative, alternative, complex, and long-term thought process with consideration to consequences. Sustainability is often seen as a contribution to long-term success (with happiness and satisfaction). Sustainability positive influences the inner motivation, the networking and cooperation, is an added value, provides a unique selling proposition, and is seen as an image-forming factor. The surprising outcome of this research is the high personal inner motivation of the topic sustainability within German graphic design industry. The owner managers’ personal core values are of primary importance; with it the use of sustainability is seen as a contribution to long-term success with happiness and satisfaction. For long-term success, it seems to be optimal for the entrepreneur to act in a sustainable manner on the basis of inner motivation and intrinsic interest. That leads to the assumption, that the integration of sustainability in businesses of German graphic design owner managers’ is established on the basis of inner motivation and personal core values. German graphic designers that implement sustainability are headed in the right direction to be fit for the future, by thinking creative, complex and for the longterm. Further additional research is needed about inner motivation and sustainability as a contribution to small and medium-sized success.

Item Type:

Thesis (PhD)

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