Paradigms in Hong Kong’s Hong Kong Fairtrade system: Strategic networking prospects and patterns

Social marketing has emerged in marketing studies with its unique ability to use the civil societies approach to examine commercial and social aspects. It has also been emerging in real-world debate as practitioners have acknowledged the power of civil society in filling in government vacuums, especially in the post-pandemic area. This study investigates Fairtrade (FT) social marketing by examining fairtrade actors’ collaboration and strategies. We generalise thoughts from two social marketers —traditionalist and social ecologies —and form an analysing framework that could be used to study the pursuit of networks and interactions between different actors. By understanding the network between the different actors, we uncover complex and intertwining collaboration and strategies in the fairtrade system.
This research includes two case studies of the pioneering fairtrade business and advocates in Hong Kong. The value of this study lies in the quality of the data collected from an insider’s perspective, which includes empirical data based on participant observation, textual inquiry, and in-depth interviews. This study acts as a pre-test on the fairtrade system’s strategic developments and functions. It provides academics and practitioners with a comprehensive view of the fairtrade system’s current operations and networking. The findings of this study indicate the need to opt for co-creation of value between all actors in the fairtrade system, including socially-oriented businesses, education institutions and the public, to create more resources and expand the space for developing sustainability even in environments with limited resources. This research may act as a guide for academic exploration of system effectiveness. It may also provide implications for fairtrade social marketers to strengthen or re-evaluate current networking practices.