GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF AN ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING FIRM

Yıl 2024, , 41 - 53, 01.06.2024

Selahattin Semih Karakurum

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2024.1884

Öz

Purpose- Having started of climate change’s impact shaped businesses’ production process directly in 21st century. After consumers’ attitudes and behaviours had affected marketplace, businesses started to show themselves in aspect of corporate social responsibility. Since 1970s, sustainability has been highlighted as a topic reflected to corporate’s politics. Environmental sustainability is a variety of sustainability takes environment on center and keep providing products or services for this perspective. By using of green marketing mix, aim of a lot of brands to get profit take environment on center. From producing of packets to types of electric energy that use in factories, many effects started turning to metaphorses with corporates’ environmental sustainability politics. In context of ethical production and environmental sustainability, while animal testing is being removed vegan product production is tried to develop. Aim of this research is to understand on how environmental sustainability affects firms’/brands’ production process.
Methodology- In this research, case study is applied as a types of qualitative research designs. By Turkey’s representative of an eco-friendly cleaning firm that from Denmark, semi-structured in depth interview were conducted. Then, the semi-structure in depth interview transcripted and highlighted to topic which turned into codes. The codes were got together and tied to themes.
Findings- In result of the analysis reveals that 4 main themes which are 1) Scandinavian Morality and Ethical Production; 2) Green Sustainability; 3) Vegan Product; 4) Organic Product. To the analysis, Scandinavian morality has a big impact on ethical production. The firm’s practices are related to green sustainability; almost all production processes become “green”. In context of climate change, vegan perspective is rising day by day in the marketplace; producing animal-derived resources evaluate a part of climate change. Organic production is assessing an aspect of ecological life which is related to environmental sustainability.
Conclusion- In green marketing perspective, environmental sustainability is one of the most indispensable issue, especially, while climate change gaining visibility. Basic marketing mix turning to “green marketing mix”. When brands and firms go green by politically, their production process goes directly green, as well. Climate change could be assessed like ethical issue in marketplace in context of environmental degradation. In addition, firms and brands caring about vegan and organic products, due to green conditions, are being positioned in environmental sustainability can be evaluated as a method of differentiation.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Ethical production, climate change, green sustainability, nordic countries, vegan product

Kaynakça

• Ahmed, R. R., Streimikiene, D., Qadir, H., & Streimikis, J. (2023). Effect of green marketing mix, green customer value, and attitude on green purchase intention: evidence from the USA. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(5), 11473-11495.
• Akenji, L. (2014). Consumer scapegoatism and limits to green consumerism. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 13-23.
• Akhtar, R., Sultana, S., Masud, M. M., Jafrin, N., & Al-Mamun, A. (2021). Consumers’ environmental ethics, willingness, and green consumerism between lower and higher income groups. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, 105274.
• Alsaad, A. K. (2021). Ethical judgment, subjective norms, and ethical consumption: The moderating role of moral certainty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 59, 102380.
• Andreassen, T. A. (2021). Diversity clauses in job advertisements: Organisational reproduction of inequality? Scandinavian Journal of Management, 37(4), 101180.
• Annunziata, A., Ianuario, S., & Pascale, P. (2011). Consumers' attitudes toward labelling of ethical products: The case of organic and fair trade products. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 17(5), 518-535.
• Bacinello, E., Tontini, G., & Alberton, A. (2021). Influence of corporate social responsibility on sustainable practices of small and medium‐sized enterprises: Implications on business performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(2), 776-785.
• Baybars, M., & Ventura, K. (2020). Understanding new consumers through the lens of a promising market segment: Lohas. New Communication Approaches in the Digitalized World; Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 468.
• Bezençon, V., & Blili, S. (2010). Ethical products and consumer involvement: what's new? European Journal of Marketing, 44(9/10), 1305-1321.
• Blumberga, A., Blumberga, D., Bazbauers, G., Zogla, G., & Laicane, I. (2014). Sustainable development modelling for the energy sector. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 134-142.
• Browne, A. W., Harris, P. J., Hofny-Collins, A. H., Pasiecznik, N., & Wallace, R. R. (2000). Organic production and ethical trade: definition, practice and links. Food Policy, 25(1), 69-89.
• Buerke, A., Straatmann, T., Lin-Hi, N., & Müller, K. (2017). Consumer awareness and sustainability-focused value orientation as motivating factors of responsible consumer behavior. Review of Managerial Science, 11(4), 959-991.
• Burke, L., & Logsdon, J. M. (1996). How corporate social responsibility pays off. Long Range Planning, 29(4), 495-502.
• Cantele, S., & Cassia, F. (2020). Sustainability implementation in restaurants: A comprehensive model of drivers, barriers, and competitiveness-mediated effects on firm performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 87, 102510.
• Carroll, A. B. (2021). Corporate social responsibility: Perspectives on the CSR construct’s development and future. Business & Society, 60(6), 1258-1278.
• Chen, L., Wu, Q., & Jiang, L. (2022). Impact of Environmental Concern on Ecological Purchasing Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Prosociality. Sustainability, 14(5), 3004-3021.
• Cherrier, H. (2007). Ethical consumption practices: co‐production of self‐expression and social recognition. Journal of Consumer Behaviour: An International Research Review, 6(5), 321-335.
• Chun, J. S., Shin, Y., Choi, J. N., & Kim, M. S. (2013). How does corporate ethics contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of collective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Management, 39(4), 853-877.
• Cleek, M. A., & Leonard, S. L. (1998). Can corporate codes of ethics influence behavior? Journal of Business Ethics, 17(6), 619-630.
• Crane, A. (1997). The dynamics of marketing ethical products: A cultural perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 13(6), 561-577.
• Croney, C. C., & Anthony, R. (2011). Invited review: Ruminating conscientiously: Scientific and socio-ethical challenges for US dairy production. Journal of Dairy Science, 94(2), 539-546.
• Dangelico, R. M. (2016). Green product innovation: Where we are and where we are going. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(8), 560-576.
• Davari, A., & Strutton, D. (2014). Marketing mix strategies for closing the gap between green consumers' pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 22(7), 563-586.
• de Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & da Luz Soares, G. R. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1), 1-12.
• Dong, C., Liu, Q., & Shen, B. (2019). To be or not to be green? Strategic investment for green product development in a supply chain. Logistics and Transportation Review, 131, 193-227.
• Donker, H., Poff, D., & Zahir, S. (2008). Corporate values, codes of ethics, and firm performance: A look at the Canadian context. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(3), 527-537.
• Ek, K. (2005). Public and private attitudes towards “green” electricity: the case of Swedish wind power. Energy Policy, 33(13), 1677-1689.
• Elsharnouby, T. H., & Elbanna, S. (2021). Change or perish: Examining the role of human capital and dynamic marketing capabilities in the hospitality sector. Tourism Management, 82, 104184.
• Erondu, E. A., Sharland, A., & Okpara, J. O. (2004). Corporate ethics in Nigeria: A test of the concept of an ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(4), 349-357.
• Fauziah, P., & Mulyana, M. (2018, November). Formulation of The Green Marketing Development Strategy for the Body Shop Botani Square Bogor. In International Conference On Accounting And Management Science 2018 (pp. 171-181).
• Fux, P., & Čater, B. (2018). Analysis of interactions on nonprofit organization’s social media channel in the context of cruelty-free ethical consumerism. Dynamic Relationships Management Journal, 7(1), 29-46.
• Gilitwala, B., & Nag, A. K. (2021). Factors influencing youngsters' consumption behavior on high-end cosmetics in China. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(1), 443-450.
• Grappe, C. G., Lombart, C., Louis, D., & Durif, F. (2022). Clean labeling: Is it about the presence of benefits or the absence of detriments? Consumer response to personal care claims. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 65, 102893.
• Gustiani, L. G. F., Jihan, A. A., Fasya, S. F., Azzahra, N. R., Rahmawaty, J. P., & Padmakusumah, R. R. (2022). Effect Of Green Marketıng, Product Knowledge And Brand Personalıty On Purchasıng Decısıons (Study Case The Body Shop).
• Halkos, G., & Nomikos, S. (2021). Corporate social responsibility: Trends in global reporting initiative standards. Economic Analysis and Policy, 69, 106-117.
• Hong, Z., & Guo, X. (2019). Green product supply chain contracts considering environmental responsibilities. Omega, 83, 155-166.
• Humm, M. (1995). The dictionary of feminist theory. Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf. Second Edition.
• Jabbour, J., & Flachsland, C. (2017). 40 years of global environmental assessments: A retrospective analysis. Environmental Science & Policy, 77, 193-202.
• Jamieson, A. (2017). Vegan Yaşam for DUMMIES (Çev. İlze, T.), Ankara: Nobel Yaşam, (Living Vegan for DUMMIES).
• Jänicke, M. (2012). Green growth: From a growing eco-industry to economic sustainability. Energy Policy, 48, 13-21.
• Juknys, R., Liobikienė, G., & Dagiliūtė, R. (2014). Sustainability of catch-up growth in the extended European Union. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 54-63.
• Kallmuenzer, A., Zach, F. J., Wachter, T., Kraus, S., & Salner, P. (2021). Antecedents of coopetition in small and medium-sized hospitality firms. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 99, 103076.
• Kanji, G. K., & Chopra, P. K. (2010). Corporate social responsibility in a global economy. Total Quality Management, 21(2), 119-143.
• Kapstein, E. B. (2001). The corporate ethics crusade. Foreign Affairs, 9, 105-119.
• Kaur, B., Gangwar, V. P., & Dash, G. (2022). green marketing strategies, environmental attitude, and green buying ıntention: a multi-group analysis in an emerging economy context. Sustainability, 14(10), 6107.
• Kavaliauske, M., & Ubartaite, S. (2014). Ethical behaviour: Factors influencing intention to buy organic products in Lithuania. Economics and Management, 19(1), 72-83.
• Kim, S. Y., & Rha, J. Y. (2014). How consumers differently perceive about green market environments: Across different consumer groups in green attitude-behaviour dimension. International Journal of Human Ecology, 15(2), 43-57.
• Lim, M. H., Rey, C., Zamuco, M. P., & Castaño, M. C. (2022). Consumer Behavior and Practices towards Green Marketing of Food Enterprises. Journal of Business and Management Studies, 4(2), 79-99.
• Livesey, S. M., & Kearins, K. (2002). Transparent and caring corporations? A study of sustainability reports by The Body Shop and Royal Dutch/Shell. Organization & Environment, 15(3), 233-258.
• Lita, R. P., Surya, S., Ma’Ruf, M., & Syahrul, L. (2014). Green attitude and behavior of local tourists towards hotels and restaurants in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 20, 261-270.
• Ludwig, P., & Sassen, R. (2022). Which internal corporate governance mechanisms drive corporate sustainability? Journal of Environmental Management, 301, 113780.
• Luke, T. W. (2019). Las Vegas as the anthropocene: the neoliberal city as desertification all the way down. In The Challenge of Progress. Emerald Publishing Limited.
• Machová, R., Ambrus, R., Zsigmond, T., & Bakó, F. (2022). the ımpact of green marketing on consumer behavior in the market of palm oil products. Sustainability, 14(3), 1364.
• Mustapha, M. A., Manan, Z. A., & Alwi, S. R. W. (2017). Sustainable Green Management System (SGMS)–An integrated approach towards organisational sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 146, 158-172.
• Narimanfar, S., & Nezhad, K. H. (2022). Investigating the Mixed Effect of Green Marketing on the Decision of Green Buying Consumers (Case Study: Consumers of Mihan Company’s Dairy Products in Arak). European Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 6(1), 178-191.
• Niezgoda, A., & Kowalska, K. (2020). Sharing economy and lifestyle changes, as exemplified by the tourism market. Sustainability, 12(13), 5351.
• Oh, J. C., & Yoon, S. J. (2014). Theory‐based approach to factors affecting ethical consumption. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(3), 278-288.
• Ojo, A. O., Raman, M., & Downe, A. G. (2019). Toward green computing practices: A Malaysian study of green belief and attitude among Information Technology professionals. Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 246-255.
• Opatha, H. H. D. P. J., & Kottawatta, H. (2020). Impact of green attitude on green work behavior: An empirical study of employees in a Sri Lankan tiles manufacturing company. Asian Journal of Social Science and Management Technology, 4(2), 1-7.
• Pollach, I. (2003). Communicating corporate ethics on the world wide web: a discourse analysis of selected company web sites. Business & Society, 42(2), 277-287.
• Putra, N. R., Lestari, M. T., & Nasionalita, K. (2017, November). Cyber CSR Communication Strategic of The Body Shop Indonesia (Literature Study Through Official Website of The Body Shop Indonesia). In 3rd International Conference on Transformation in Communications 2017 (IcoTiC 2017) (pp. 234-242). Atlantis Press.
• Raza, A., Farrukh, M., Iqbal, M. K., Farhan, M., & Wu, Y. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and employees' voluntary pro‐environmental behavior: The role of organizational pride and employee engagement. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(3), 1104-1116.
• Reilly, A. H., & Larya, N. (2018). External communication about sustainability: corporate social responsibility reports and social media activity. Environmental Communication, 12(5), 621-637.
• Rusyani, E., Lavuri, R., & Gunardi, A. (2021). Purchasing eco-sustainable products: Interrelationship between environmental knowledge, environmental concern, green attitude, and perceived behavior. Sustainability, 13(9), 4601.
• Rutitis, D., Smoca, A., Uvarova, I., Brizga, J., Atstaja, D., & Mavlutova, I. (2022). Sustainable value chain of industrial biocomposite consumption: influence of COVID-19 and consumer behavior. Energies, 15(2), 466.
• Sana, S. S. (2020). Price competition between green and non green products under corporate social responsible firm. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 55, 102118.
• Saunila, M., Ukko, J., & Rantala, T. (2018). Sustainability as a driver of green innovation investment and exploitation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 179, 631-641.
• Shimul, A. S., Cheah, I., & Khan, B. B. (2022). Investigating female shoppers’ attitude and purchase intention toward green cosmetics in south Africa. Journal of Global Marketing, 35(1), 37-56.
• Shin, D., Curtis, M., Huisingh, D., & Zwetsloot, G. I. (2008). Development of a sustainability policy model for promoting cleaner production: a knowledge integration approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(17), 1823-1837.
• Siegford, J. M., Powers, W., & Grimes-Casey, H. G. (2008). Environmental aspects of ethical animal production. Poultry Science, 87(2), 380-386.
• Sofaer, S. (2002). Qualitative research methods. International Journal for Quality in Healthcare, 14(4), 329-336.
• Sohail, M. S. (2017). Green marketing strategies: how do they influence consumer-based brand equity? Journal for Global Business Advancement, 10(3), 229-243.
• Suganda, U. K., Theresia, M. P., & Wijaya, H. A. (2022). Antecedent of green purchase behavior: Cases of Indonesia. International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy, 4(1), 01-10.
• Thompson, P. B., & Nardone, A. (1999). Sustainable livestock production: methodological and ethical challenges. Livestock Production Science, 61(2-3), 111-119.
• Tilt, C. A. (2016). Corporate social responsibility research: the importance of context. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 1(1), 1-9.
• Tuan, L. T. (2021). Disentangling green service innovative behavior among hospitality employees: The role of customer green involvement. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 99, 103045.
• Uusitalo, O., & Oksanen, R. (2004). Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(3), 214-221.
• Vand, B., Hast, A., Bozorg, S., Li, Z., Syri, S., & Deng, S. (2019). Consumers’ attitudes to support green energy: a case study in Shanghai. Energies, 12(12), 2379.
• Vita, G., Lundström, J. R., Hertwich, E. G., Quist, J., Ivanova, D., Stadler, K., & Wood, R. (2019). The environmental impact of green consumption and sufficiency lifestyles scenarios in Europe: connecting local sustainability visions to global consequences. Ecological Economics, 164, 106322.
• Vitolla, F., Raimo, N., Rubino, M., & Garegnani, G. M. (2021). Do cultural differences impact ethical issues? Exploring the relationship between national culture and quality of code of ethics. Journal of International Management, 27(1), 100823.
• Wang, X., Gu, Y., Xin, H., Qiu, P., & Wang, J. (2022). The role of product cues and regulatory focus in the consumers’ response to green products: The mediation effects of green attitudes. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 65-79.
• Wang, X., Shen, J., & Zhang, W. (2014). Emergy evaluation of agricultural sustainability of Northwest China before and after the grain-for-green policy. Energy Policy, 67, 508-516.
• Wiederhold, M., & Martinez, L. F. (2018). Ethical consumer behaviour in Germany: The attitude‐behaviour gap in the green apparel industry. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(4), 419-429.
• Wong, A. K. F., Köseoglu, M. A., Kim, S. S., & Leung, D. (2021). Contribution of corporate social responsibility studies to the intellectual structure of the hospitality and tourism literature. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 99, 103081
• Wuisan, E. C., & Februadi, A. (2022). Consumers’ Attitude towards the Cruelty-Free Label on Cosmetic and Skincare Products and Its Influence on Purchase Intention. Journal of Marketing Innovation (JMI), 2(2), 88-101.
• Wycherley, I. (1999). Greening supply chains: the case of the Body Shop International. Business Strategy and the Environment, 8(2), 120-127.
• Yağar, F., & Dökme, S. (2018). Niteliksel araştirmaların planlanması: Araştırma soruları, örneklem seçimi, geçerlik ve güvenirlik. Gazi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 3(3), 1-9.
• Zaremohzzabieh, Z., Ismail, N., Ahrari, S., & Samah, A. A. (2021). The effects of consumer attitude on green purchase intention: A meta-analytic path analysis. Journal of Business Research, 132, 732-743.
• Zhou, A. (2021). Communicating corporate LGBTQ advocacy: A computational comparison of the global CSR discourse. Public Relations Review, 47(4), 102061.