Abstract
Purpose: The Fair Trade movement works on improving working conditions for farmers and producers while creating sustainable supply chains for companies. Even though scholars have investigated the impact and effectiveness of the Fair Trade movement, existing challenges affect the movement’s awareness in different regions across the world. Hence, the purpose of this study is to compare the challenges in the Fair Trade movement to become mainstream from the German and Mexican perspectives.Methodology: Qualitative empirical research in form of semi-structured interviews was conducted in order to answer the guiding research question. German and Mexican experts make up the purposeful interview sample.
Findings: A conceptual framework identifying the key driver of the Fair Trade’s mainstreaming process is developed. The model compromises the two key drivers of the Fair Trade movement. In addition, the main influences on the key drivers are identified to understand which factors pose the greatest challenges to the mainstream introduction of Fair Trade products. The model provides the foundation for understanding the main challenges impacting the mainstreaming of the Fair Trade movement. The main insights identify corporations and consumers as the key drivers of the movement. Accordingly, the general understanding of challenges within the mainstream process serves as the basis for comparing the introduction of Fair Trade products into the Mexican and German markets. Consequently, the research provides a comparison of similarities and differences in mainstreaming products into the conventional market from different regional perspectives.
Originality: This thesis advances the research field of the Fair Trade movement in providing valuable insights into the challenges of the mainstreaming process for Fair Trade products into the conventional markets of Mexico and Germany. Accordingly, the research incorporates two perspectives analyzing different factors that influence the mainstreaming of Fair Trade. Thus, the findings of the thesis are not only relevant to researchers but also provide a cultural comparison of the Mexican and German perspectives on the movement.
| Date of Award | 30 Sept 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Osmar Ernesto Arandia Pérez (Supervisor) |