group 7 - marketing_strategy_and_sustainability.docx

8/14/2019 Group 7 - Marketing_Strategy_and_Sustainability.docx

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MARKETING STRATEGY & SUSTAINABILITY

ANURAG SINGH ABM10004

DIXANT KUMAWAT PGP29012

MOHINI PATIL PGP29007

NUPUR RUSTGI

PRATIK MANDHANA

PGP29022

PGP29002

TUSHAR KUMAR PGP28017

WAMAN VIRGAONKAR PGP29017

TERM-I SECTION-A

Group-G (7)

MARKETING MANAGEMENT I

PROF. DEVASHISH DAS GUPTA


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INDEX

1. Introduction

2. Conceptual Framework

3. Marketing Strategy and Sustainability4. Finings and Analysis

5. Conclusion

6. Bibliography


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1. INTRODUCTION

A sustainable development can be achieved by integrating social and ecological perspectives with

marketing strategies. Therefore, sustainability is one of the main marketing challenges in the 21st

century. Business sustainability can be zeroed down to managing the triple bottom line which is aprocess most of the companies follow to manage their financial, social and environmental risks,

opportunities and obligations. These three are at times referred to as profits, people and planet.

Marketing for a sustainable business is about delivering greater value to customers and ensuring that

brand remains viable over time. Good intentions, authenticity and credibility are important for a

sustainable business. Marketers have the power to create a more sustainable business through their

influence on product development and purchasing decisions.

Sustainable businesses are prepared for the future because they create long-term financial value thus,

making firms resilient to change and better able to adapt it. Organizations see their ties to others for

example, employees and community and contribute to positive social change. These firms go beyond

short-term financial goals and consider environmental and social implications both in their day-to-day

operations and when making long-term investments. Sustainability Marketing hence provides a global

perspective and a new sustainability-oriented vision of marketing for the twenty-first century. It has a

consumer marketing focus with an emphasis on integrating sustainability principles into both marketing

theory and the practical decision making.

The sustainability imperative for society is comparatively clear, and for major companies this presents

both a responsibility and an opportunity. The responsibility is to operate ethically, and ensure that

products and operations are safe for humans and the environment. But, if integrated into the rhythm of

a business, it also presents the opportunity to meet new consumer needs, build top-line business,

reduce costs, build employee morale, and deliver greater value to both society in general and

shareholders in particular. The key is to build sustainability into the business, rather than present it as an

additional activity; to have it owned by the business rather than by a corporate CSR group.


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2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Marketing is no longer a task confined to a single department. The dimensions have increased and span

across different departments which contribute in development of marketing strategy for any

organization. In the current scenario, where the dynamics are so fast paced that there is a continuousneed to evolve the strategy, an important aspect is the consideration of the sustainability of the

organization in the context of expectations of various stakeholders.

The objectives are as follows:

To find the influence of social perceptions in marketing strategy development

To find marketing strategy considerations for evaluation of impact on organizations business

environment To find how marketing strategy and sustainability go together Complement, Contradict, Co-

exist?

To find specific intricacies of emerging market marketing strategies and their sustainability in

the global context


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3. MARKETING STRATEGY AND SUSTAINABILITY: A RESEARCHAGENDA

The paper proposes a comprehensive conception of sustainability marketing, defined by six steps:analysis of socio-ecological problems; analysis of consumer behavior; normative sustainabilitymarketing; strategic sustainability marketing; instrumental sustainability marketing; andtransformational sustainability marketing. The aims of the paper are to clarify the concept ofsustainability marketing and to inspire further research in this fascinating field.

Sustainability marketing aims at creating customer value, social value and environmental value. It aimsat integrating social and ecological criteria into marketing. These include:

a. Analysis of the social and ecological problems, generally and specifically with respect toproducts which satisfy customer needs and wants

Impact = Population*Affluence*Technology

b. Analysis of consumer behavior with special respect to social and ecological concerns

c. Corporate commitments to sustainable development in the mission statement, development ofsustainability visions, formulation of sustainable principles and guidelines, setting of socio-ecological marketing objectives and goals (normative aspects of sustainability marketing)

d. Sustainability segmentation, targeting and positioning, and timing of market entry (strategicaspects of sustainability marketing)

e. Integration of social and ecological criteria into the marketing-mix, i.e. products, services andbrands, pricing, distribution and communication (instrumental aspects of sustainabilitymarketing)

f. Participation in public and political change processes, which transform existing institutionstowards sustainability (transformational aspects of sustainability marketing).

Specifics of Sustainability Marketing:


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i. Ecological and Social Problems: These are hardly considered during product lifecycle. So theanalysis remains on a superficial level.

ii. Intersection: For sustainability, intersection between socio ecological problems andconsumer behavior is important.

iii. Normative aspects: Sustainability marketing focuses on key concepts on marketing.iv. Information Asymmetries: The customers should believe information passed by producers

else it will lead to skepticism. Thats why trust and credibility are important. v. Transformational Aspects: The objective is to change the existing framework in favor of

sustainability.vi. Time Aspects: Unlike classical marketing that focuses on short term sales and transactions,

sustainability marketing aims at building long lasting customer relationship.


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4. FINDING AND ANALYSIS

i. Towards Sustainability: The Third Age of Green Marketing,

The article reviews the evolution of green marketing in terms of three ages: Ecological, Environmentaland Sustainable marketing Green marketing mainly attempts to describe marketing activities that try toensure reduction in the negative social and environmental impacts of existing products and systems.Main concerns the first age tried to focus were, specific environmental issues like air pollution, oilreserve depletion etc, identifying products and companies causing these issues, ensuring the companiescomplied with new intro duce environmental regulations which was mainly driven by end -of-pipeenhancements. Though this approach had two flaws- restriction on marketing strategy and lessconsideration of customer needs leading to increased market pressure, many businesses like body shop,adopted it to become icon in ecological green marketing. Later 1980s the second age of greenmarketing took a leap highlighting serious issues such as Bhopal tragedy. It also evolved around variousparameters like Sustainability, Clean Technology, The Green Consumer, Eco-performance etc.Introduction of sustainability widened the scope of environmental debate compelling to marketers toconsider various aspects like loss of species, ecosystem destructions. This changed the view of businessto a total physical system. Sustainability promoted global perspective considerations of environment,new environmental market developments with faster sector growth, introduction of new products withpromotional opportunities and more emphasis on the means of production. The end of second agetriggered more emphasis on sustainability providing significant challenge to marketing discipline. Themajor components it considered are futurity, equity and emphasis on needs. Sustainability as wholeposes critical challenge to marketing with environmental restrictions on basis on freedom of choice. Italso aims for equitable distribution among ages, sexes and nations with greater emphasis on customerneeds than wants establishing the fact that it is critically important to focus on customer needs in orderto grow and sustain in competitive market environment.

Though environmental impact due to marketing activities of many industries and companies haveincreased and ultimately any improvement that does not lead to eventual sustainability risk becoming afutile gesture. Unless customers recognize the green marketing targeted issues and are convinced withthe offerings current green marketing is making to them, there is a little hope remained for greenmarketing. According to the Brundtland Report, the first conclusion drawn was that People generally are unfamiliar with the idea of sustainability in its environmental sense. But once they understand it,they appear to identify positively with its values and priorities. (MacN aghten et al. 1995). That sentenceencapsulates the opportunity and the challenge involved in making marketing more sustainable.

ii. Marketing, Market and Product Stewardship: Contributing to corporate socialresponsibility strategies:

This article aims at providing information and insight of the process of sustainable marketing, brandingand product development. Sustainable development is concerned about the ways business contributes


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to the most significant challenges faced by the world today that is, it focuses on climate changes andworking conditions bio-diversity and health among the poor. However, Marketers have struggled intranslating these ideas into critical commercial propositions and into marketing strategies thatencourage competitive advantage, build trust or create new business opportunities, facing criticism forbeing part of the problem by pushing the consumption of unsustainable products and lifestyles.

Sustainable strategies development that address environmental and CR issues is a significant challengefor marketers and can be explained by holistic approach, external focus on stakeholders, strong focus oninternal values, partnership, future orientation etc. Developing sustainable marketing involves activitieswhich mainly focus on customer needs, preferences and expectations. In addition, it also considersanalysis of companys ability to meet those expectations as compared to its rivals. A sustainablemarketing mix must have qualities like ability to deliver sustainable returns to investors, ability toaddress customer and consumer needs, should be able to identify and respond to emerging societytrends and should respond to regulations expectations with ability to influence public policy agenda. Thekey elements of sustainable marketing are products, price and packaging, place. Marketers must takecognisance of sustainable development in their marketing practices. Taking a broad view of social,environmental and economic outcomes, an inclusive approach to action will ensure the sustainability of

the company, the people and communities on which a company depend.

iii. Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Service Industries: A Conceptual Model andResearch Propositions

This article describes a contingency model of sustainable competitive advantage in service industries.The model explains the components such as potential sources of competitive advantage, characteristicsof services and service industries, competitive positional advantages, sustainability of competitivepositional advantages and long term performance, service firm characteristics, barriers to imitation ofresources.

This article provides an assessment of the services marketing and management highlighting the need fordeveloping contingency theories of services marketing and management. The main requirement of thisresearch is to develop and test propositions about what marketing and management practices areeffective for certain types of services under certain conditions. The contingency model in serviceindustries and propositions mentioned here partially addresses the research needs highlighted by theseauthors. Many constructs presented in this model for example, equity of brands, communication forgood effect and psychometric scales are not available currently. As per the authors, development andvalidation of Psychometric scales for these constructs with further refinements of the proposed model

will constitute promising future research directions.

i. Customer Retention-An important marketing strategy for business competitiveness

The article focuses on the customer retention aspect for a business to sustain in global marketcompetition. Considering the fact that customer is the king of todays market, it is critically important fora selling organization to ensure its customer retention while structuring its marketing strategies. When


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compared to the strategies in capturing new customer markets customer retention is less expensive tocultivate the existing customer base and sell more services to them than it is to seek new. Withoutcustomers none business organization can be run. Therefore, In order to sustain the competition mostof the business organizations try to maximize their customer satisfaction so that they can retain thecustomers.

ii. How companies manage sustainability: McKinsey Global Survey results

According to the global survey, 50 % of the executives consider sustainability as the management ofenvironmental, social and governance issues considering various factors such as new productdevelopment, reputation building and corporate strategy. The survey clearly depicts that the majorreason why companies engage resources in sustainability is to build business reputation and brands. 72percent of the survey respondents have confirmed this fact. Sustainability matters at all levels of abusiness ranging from manufacturing, energy, financial, professional services and high tech telecom, etc.

The survey also highlights that despite the fact that businesses know the importance of sustainabilitymarketing the effort is lacking at executives levels. A mong the group that is aware of whats being tracked, the engaged companies are far more likely to be tracking relevant sustainability indicators suchas waste, energy and water use, and labor standards for their suppliers and consumers. The survey alsohighlights the importance of sustainable marketing which contributes positively to share holders values

in the long term thus enabling the companies to find value creation opportunities. In addition, itcommunicates better with investors and other stakeholders, encouraging them to consider the businessfor their future investments.

iii. Sustainable Marketing Practices: A potential strategy for Sustainable Development inEmerging Economies

This paper describes how individuals and organizations can achieve sustainable development fromsustainable marketing practices. The paper concentrates on protection of environment by incorporationof sustainable marketing practices to conserve the depleting resources in the world today. The paper isrestricted only to the marketing discipline and does not cover other business areas. The paper henceprovides the relation between sustainable marketing practices and sustainable development. The paperis largely conceptual and explores information from a secondary data source.

iv. Building a sustainability strategy into the business

This paper is built around a case study based on sustainability practices of Proctor and Gamble, which isa global leader in FMCG sector. The paper describes the sustainability strategy and goals followedglobally by P&G. The paper shows it is imperative to be explicit about sustainability and its importance.It should be ensured that sustainability is not added work and it is incorporated into the DNA of theorganization. The paper highlights how sustainability has been implemented in a global FMCG companyand the challenges of engaging a global workforce to deliver a single coherent sustainable strategy.


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v. Strategic Positioning and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Food Industry

This paper covers the link between Strategic positioning and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Thepaper is especially focused around Food Industry. Food industry is extremely wide, diverse and dynamic.Eating habits of people vary globally especially due to geographical location, culture and tradition. Thepaper focuses on 3 successful companies from the food industry producing drinks. It has a deep insightinto the various strategies followed for positioning and other strategies followed for success of thebusiness. The paper also considers network approach and relationship concept marketing the concept ofpositioning.

vi. Benchmarking Marketing Capabilities for Sustainable Competitive Advantage

This paper talks about how market based organizational learning in the form of Benchmarking has beenidentified as an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. The paper discusses the link

between marketing capabilities and business performance. The paper identifies a set of marketingcapabilities that are appropriate for benchmarking, both for within and across industries. The paper alsotells how each marketing capability is positively and directly related to firm performance. These aretherefore appropriate targets for benchmarking. The paper mentions the indirect paths between thefirm performance and marketing capabilities.

vii. Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Service industries

The purpose of Sustainable Competitive Advantage is to enhance a businesss performance. This paperfocuses on the distinctive organizational skills and resources underlying Sustainable CompetitiveAdvantage in Service Industries and the moderating effects of characteristics of services, serviceindustries and firms within the service industry on the skills and resources under lying a businessscompetitive positional advantages. The paper discusses the sources and conditions for SustainableCompetitive Advantage with a conceptual outlook. It also lays emphasis on the proposition extended byService Industries for Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The paper also looks at other aspects such ascommunication, corporate culture and product and process innovations.

viii. How Stakeholder Perceptions Differ From Corporate Reality

Sustainability is viewed as an important component corporate reputation. A strong reputation can bethe most valuable asset of a firm. Many stakeholders consider sustainability as an important part oftheir decision making. However, there is a gap between firms performance and perception of the

stakeholders. It is possible that the stakeholders do not notice meaningful differences on sustainabilitybetween the vast majority of firms. Hence, it is important to integrate sustainability into the culture andbusiness practices which would then flow into mainstream communications.


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ix. A multidimensional approach to the influence of Environmental Marketing andOrientation on the Firms Organizational Performance

Environmental marketing is is an emerging philosophy on the back of environmental degradationproblems. It focuses on considering social and environmental impacts alongwith customer satisfactionand economic objectives. It is employed to express that corporate commitment to environmentprotection is not just a communication strategy. The commitment has to be translated into specificstrategy at operational levels. This also helps improve firmss operational performance and economic

performance. It also results in higher employee satisfaction, relation with authorities, customer loyaltyand improved reputation.

x. A Conceptual Framework for understanding and analyzing attitudes towards environment

behaviour

Attitude and Behaviour change is a complex process. The socio-psychological factors gain importancedue to alternative perceptions in different contexts. The situational and psychological factors intervenethe values and behaviour. The situational variables modify the environmental behaviour based oncontext specific to each individual. Psychological variables like intrinsic motives, response efficacy,peceived threat relate to the practices surrounding sustainable consumption. These can offer insightsinto the conceptual basis of different attitudes and perceptions. Hence any strategy should take intoaccount the diversity of behaviour and make the people think and feel the need to change thestructures and values towards environment.

xi. Instrumental and Integrative Logics in Business Sustainability

It is often assumed that decisions on social and environmental investments are made for instrumentalreasons to predict higher financial performance. However, the theoretical premise uses a systemsperspective and considers higher integration between financial performance and commitment toenvironmental issues. It is not about how firms can benefit from addressing societal concerns. It is theinterwoven financial, social and environmental performance which act as pillars for a business tosustain. When viewed integrated through simultaneous decision making, the firm can generate morecreative strategic solutions.

xii.

The Marketing-Natural environment interface model for discussion

Environmental issues are important, pervasive and it is important to examine the interface betweenenvironment and marketing. Three models are presented:


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c

xiii. Appropriate marketing strategies for sustainability of small businesses in developingcountries: Case of Bakery Chains of Kolkata:

A research was conducted on small firms in India, to explore how they sustain the cut throatcompetition with appropriate marketing strategies. A framework was developed to evaluate the


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marketing strategies and its impact on market position of the firms. This framework was then tasted ona chain of small scale bakers in Kolkata.

The case study was developed based on business reports and informal interviews with top management.It was done to understand three things at large:

a. Target Customer Groupb. Marketing Mixc. Understanding of present competitive scenario and future challenges

Initially, funds were a major constraint and so the bakers created brand awareness and loyalty byperformance rather than by Advertisement. The available funds were utilized for infrastructure andproduct line development. They used the concept of mobile advertisement effectively. Post this, withthe availability of funds, they started with promotional offers like celebration clubs to increase thecustomer loyalty. Then they relied on POPs like banners and posters. Also, they utilized vehicles likeauto, used for retail distribution, by painting them with brand name and logo. And now they have tieups with Pepsi and Rollicks ice cream.

xiv. Marketing Strategies in the age of Sustainable Development:

The paper was written to investigate characteristics and drivers of sustainability marketing strategies. Inthe empirical study of German Food Sector, four sustainability marketing strategy with distinctivecharacteristics were identified:

i. performers

ii. followersiii. indecisiveiv. passives

Sustainability marketing is defined as building and maintaining sustainable relationships with

customers, the social envi ronment and the natural environment. Generally behavioral, demographic,psychographic and geographic variables are used for market segmentation. A number of studies haveidentified consumers as the key driver for Strategic sustainability Marketing.

Then the article discusses about determinants of Strategic Sustainability Marketing, which states that:The higher the influence of consumers, the more likely the companies will pursue active sustainability

marketing.

Finally 5 key characteristics of strategic sustainability were discussed: Ecological Product Quality

a. Social Product Qualityb. Market Segmentationc. Targeting


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d. Positioning

xv. Social Marketing and Sustainable Tourism:

This research paper highlights the tourism promotion, provision and consumption, and how socialmarketing can offer tourism organizations a more sustainable approach to their market. SocialMarketing has been defined as a desire to benefit individuals or society as a whole, not the marketer, bydirectly influencing behavior, an adequate consideration of the needs of the target audience. Theseneeds can then be reflected in the nature of the benefits that are marketed to each target group asresulting from the adoption of the specified change in behavior.

The initial marketing mix (the four P s of marketing) was given by McCarthy as Product, Price, Place andPromotion. Later, Kotler in 1983, recommended adoption of an extending marketing mix includingpartnership and policy. A self completion questionnaire was developed which captured data in respectof demographic, lifestyle and behavioral characteristics of visitors to the region.

So in the results two distinct strategies were suggested. Firstly, potential to segment the traditionalmarket and focus in particular on those who will be attracted by the tourist location. These visitorswould be considerably more likely to behave sustainably. Secondly, to target those segments that is lesssustainable.

An approach to this market based on social marketing would likely be effective in developing it to its fullpotential, while at the same time minimizing the economic, social and physical impacts of enhancedvisitor numbers on the host region. In short, the tools and techniques of social marketing would seemwell suited to the promulgation of both the notion of sustainability and the conservation of our tourism

destinations.

xvi. Ecological Sustainability and Marketing Strategy:

Environmentalists tend to focus on sustainability aiming at both ecological and economic concerns.Green marketing has been defined as the application of marketing tools to facilitate exchanges thatsatisfy the goals of organization and individuals in a way so as to preserve, protect and conserve thephysical environment.

A green marketing approach promotes integration of environmental issues into different corporateactivities. Solutions found to environmental challenges are:a. New technologies for handling waste, pollutionb. Product standardizationc. Providing natural productsd. Products oriented towards resource conservation

Eco efficiency refers to the use of natural resources at correct timings. The list stages of product include:


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i. Development Stage It deals with procurement of raw materials and component parts. Somanufacturers should check environmental programs of suppliers.

ii. Production Stage Reduce emissions, toxic waste and conserve water.iii. Consumption Stage Conservation of energy, minimization of packaging and promote reuse

and recyclability of the dead product.

iv. Disposal Stage Waste Reduction

Total Quality Management deals with total yield of production and product marketing processes,including recycling and waste reduction.

Companies have adopted ecological approach and these include:

1. Building consumer demand for green products2. Spending revenues to educate buyers3. Building infrastructure to facilitate recycling and prevent pollution

xvii. Evolution of sustainability as marketing strategy: Beginning of new era

Can we ensure a better world in terms of economy, society and environment to our future generations?Will they be able to witness same growth in aforementioned areas which our generation has witnessed?These are the questions which brought the concept of sustainability to the fore. Defining it precisely, it isthe fulfilment of demand of current generation without compromising on the ability of futuregenerations.

Sustainability works on triple bottom line concept of people, planet and profit. Most of the times,

sustainability is measured in environmental context only but it also includes social and business issues.A business is said to be sustainable if it is assessed through economic, social and environmentaldimensions.

Marketing strategy is often defined as the optimum allocation and coordination of marketing resourcesto attain the organisations goals. A holistic marketing strategy is imperative in a business so that

problems related to the achievement of economic, social and environmental goals of the organisationcan be easily dealt with.

Social marketing, as the name suggests, is accommodating the social ideas with considerations ofproduct planning, pricing and distribution. Companies are very pragmatic now a day to adopt socialmarketing as their frontline strategy to gain competitive advantage.

Ecological marketing is extension of social marketing. It focuses on the willingness of marketers toacknowledge the impending ecological and environmental concerns. This gives the concept ofsustainability marketing. It is building and maintaining sustainable relationship with customers, societyand ecology.


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Attaining the agenda of sustainable marketing is not easy to achieve. On one hand, the principle ofmarketing says to sell more and on the other there is an obvious agreement on the scarce naturalresources. So there should be a trade off. This pursuit will open doors for more innovation in sustainableproducts.

xviii. Indicators of sustainable business practices: Woolworths in South Africa

A very relevant example of sustainable business is Woolsworth Retail Chain in South Africa. It sells widerange of products viz. food, cloth and general merchandise. It has employee strength of 2,20,000 andannual revenue of $ 3 billion (as per 2011 data). Its success lies in its complete adherence to triplebottom line of sustainability. Apart from taking care of entire life cycle of product they have verycustomer centric marketing strategy. They convince customer in behaving responsibly to reduce theenvironmental impact of their products. Woolsworth achieves this by in-store awareness programs,increased use of social media platforms and new relationship with a nature conversation TV program.Because of this approach their business remains profitable while at the same time protects theenvironment.

xix. Environmental marketing strategy and firm performance: Effects on new productperformance and market share

As per Varadarajan, environpreneurship is environmental - friendly marketing practices, strategies andtactics initiated by a firm in the realm of marketing. Environpreneurial Marketing (EM) can prove as apowerful resource which can directly influence not only the firms capabilities but can also give it a

competitive advantage. A true EM is not only recognises the environmental concerns but also honoursthe commitments towards it. EM can be positioned into 3 constructs. These are (1) CorporateEnvironmentalism (2) Environmental orientation (3) Environmental strategy focus.

There are several firms which adhered to these constructs and remained profitable andenvironmentally responsible too. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) is global purveyor of coffeebeans. It dwells upon the policy of fair trade. This means they pay the farmers a price for their produce

so that it increases their production capacity for the consequent season. In this way they are making thebusiness sustainable.

xx. An Ethical framework for marketing the Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility doesnt only create value for stakeholders but also for the corporationitself. This can be done by marketing the CSR initiatives. An ethical framework is prepared for themarketing of CSR activities by researchers. As per this, CEO of a company should keep the stakeholderswell aware of its CSR activities but not brag too much. The rationale behind the framework is, it willincrease funding, add more volunteers and increases awareness. This makes the initiative sustainable inlonger run.


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There should be a tradeoff between a firms CSR activities and its main motive i.e. to earn profits. Thecompany shouldnt stress itself for excessive marketing of CSR. A company should be virtuous enough ifit goes for marketing its CSR. There are five identities which define the virtuosity viz. actual identity,communicated identity, conceived identity, ideal identity and desired identity. If there is misalignmentin conceived identity and actual identity then this will create mistrust between company and its

stakeholders.

xxi. Innovative Marketing

This research paper explains the marketing methodology which a handloom firm employed for itssustainability. Datkar Andhra Marketing Association (DAMA) is an associate unit of DA which handles its

marketing portfolio. It started on the premise that (1) there is a strong demand for medium priced, goodquality handloom fabric by low income group, (2) Production and delivery can be worked out with thehelp of producers. It provided work for certain number of weavers throughout the year and increasedthe wages. It identified the societies who were willing to work with and these societies were responsiblefor maintaining records of wages and delivery. In this way they created a system in which everystakeholder was employed for longer run and with regular wages.

xxii. Marketing and Sustainability

This paper analyses the key concepts in sustainability and marketing, the issues and implications of themand how they can be combined. Authors state the findings of a range of studies that show thatcustomers, employees and investors tend to favour companies that are more sustainable. According tothe paper, the consumers and the media are the major drivers of change for sustainability. It then goesto discuss the definitions of the concepts involved in sustainability like the environment, ecology,stakeholders and the different themes of marketing related to them. Sustainability issues like globalwarming, ozone depletion, acid rain etc. are very well stated. The paper next gives the strategicimplications to a company for a ddressing sustainability and marketings role in it. The latter half of thepaper discusses about how sustainability can be incorporated into a marketing strategy through thetraditional 4Ps approach as well as other methods such as campaigns, advertising, PR, sponsorshipamong others. The paper concludes by giving a picture of the future of sustainability in marketing.

xxiii. Integration of the Sustainability concept into Strategy and Marketing

The paper talks about how recent marketing concepts reflect sustainability requirements andcompetitive advantages of their integration into mission, strategy and policies at companies. It also talksabout translating sustainability theory into business philosophy by innovating and balancing threeobjectives of Ecology, Economy and Equity using the triple bottom line concept. Marketing approach ofsustainability is discussed through the concepts of added value delivery to customers, societal marketing


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and customer relationship marketing. The discussion is extended to some related strategic andmanagement implications like competitive advantage, cost & benefit issues, aspects of efficiency &innovation and company reputation.

xxiv. Sustainability: Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Strategies

The paper discusses about how studies of green consumer behavior, in particular purchasing anddisposal, have largely focused on demographics or socio-demographics, with mixed and frequentlycontradictory results. It analyses the degree of compromise and confidence in consumers for buyinggreen products. The authors investigated a wide range of sustainability activities with number ofconsumers, who placed each activity on a matrix according to perceived effort and perceived differenceto the environment. The data was obtained mainly using the interview process. This matrix was thenused as a research instrument to identify patterns, both across respondents and between certain pairsof activities. The paper suggests that this model increased our understanding of how consumers viewsustainable activities. Marketers can use this information to consider marketing strategies that positivelyinfluence consumers' perceptions of such activities.

xxv. Sustainability marketing for the poorest of the poor

Recent work is reconceptualising global poverty as an attractive growth opportunity for firms that cansimultaneously alleviate the problem of poverty. This notion has major implications for the sustainabilityof global society in general, and for the concepts and practice of marketing in particular. It is thepurpose of this paper to explore, and bring attention to, these important implications, and to offerconceptual and practical suggestions for sustainability marketing for the poor. It discusses how povertyalleviation is a new priority for businesses and how can it be done analysis, objectives, strategy,marketing mix, marketing organisation and controlling.

xxvi. Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective

This book talks about sustainability as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility in managing a holisticmarketing organization for the long run. It discusses the concept of triple bottom line people, planetand profit. The book points out that heightened interest in sustainability leads to products not living upto their promise inspite of being environment friendly. Consumers drive the sustainability concept butthey are also unwilling to sacrifice the product performance and quality, thus posing a big challenge tomany firms, the book says.

xxvii. Ecological Sustainability and Marketing Strategy: Review and Implications

In the early 1990 due to the ecological concerns in marketplace the business perceptions on issues suchas environmental friendliness of products, recyclability, waste reduction and the costs associated withpollution were reinterpreted. Also there was pressure from Federal and Local Government andcustomer willingness regarding eco friendly products changed. Going for Green approach was a


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challenge to American business, it also brought opportunities to get greener products into market andcapture them. The concept of Sustainable development came up first in 1987 to preserve the naturalcapital" -air, water, and other ecological treasures .These all things led to formation of new strategiesThese include: (1) new technologies for handling waste, sewage and air pollution; (2) productstandardization to ensure environmentally safe products; (3) providing "truly" natural products; and, (4)products oriented toward resource conservation and greater occupant health.

xxviii. Primer: Business Sustainability for SMEs

Business Sustainability for Firms means they are able to adapt to the changing environment .Majorundertakings in making a business sustainable include to come with long time financial value and try toreduce the impact on the natural environment. And working this way is very beneficial as this results insaving on the capital and involves saving fuel, Energy and other inputs .It also helps in maintain betterrelationship with Employees, Customers, Local Community and other Companies .The question is where

should the companies begin with? This needs to be divided into Environmental Actions and the SocialActions .Environmental ones include looking on for the infrastructure as the building, the equipment,the recycle system, etc. Social ones include communicating with community members about thechanges and run workshops and trainings to empower employee skills and loyalty.

xxix. Marketing Strategy towards Sustainability

Sustainability is increasingly considered an important driver of firm success and well-being society in thenew economy. However, developing sustainability is difficult due to the need of integration of

economic, environmental and social aspects at different level contexts throughout the organizationsystem. Attaining such heights premise requires a clear focus on sustainability incorporated in allbusiness activities and decisions to help formulate good strategies actions that could really be useful inthe long run. In addition, it requires ongoing management attention and continually identifies, analyzeand create new strategies to promote sustainability in the long-run. Managers therefore have to rethinkwhether their current business plans and strategies are able to provide sustainable growth. And workingthis way is very beneficial as these results in saving on the capital and involves saving fuel, Energy andother inputs .It also helps in maintain better relationship with Employees, Customers, Local Communityand other Companies

xxx.

Sustainability and business-to-business marketing: A framework and implications

Researchers in several business disciplines have cotnously argued that environmentally responsiblestrategies can lead to competitive advantage and better capital performance. While debates on havebeen going on ecological conservation and environmental practices within marketing for over threedecades, much of the focus has been on getting to know the environmentally-conscious consumer. Lessattention has been given to marketing's role in a green supply chain and its interface withenvironmentally-friendly manufacturing and operations. We integrate data from various sets of researchand develop a broader framework to understand the appropriate role and focus of business-to-business
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1464941http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1464941


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marketing in the supply chain for achieving environmental sustainability objectives. We identify threemajor strategies the reduction of surplus supply of products, reduction of reverse supply, and internalmarketing where marketing's role in environmental sustainability is crucial for achieving superiorcompetitive advantage and financial performance.

xxxi. Turning sustainability into action: Explaining firms' sustainability efforts and their impacton firm performance

This research seeks to shed more light on how manufacturing firms adjust their strategy according to thesustainability challenge. Strategic decisions are influenced by strategic long-term considerations, whichtake into account aspects that lie within firms' boundaries and beyond. Major undertakings in making abusiness sustainable include to a come with long time financial value and try to reduce the impact onthe natural environment. And working this way is very beneficial as t results in saving on the capital andinvolves saving fuel, Energy and other inputs .Therefore, the first step of this paper is to operationalisethe sustainability challenge by identifying relevant drivers for sustainability that firms are exposed to.Second, we develop a framework showing which dimensions affect decisions concerning a sustainabilitymove and which dimensions are affected by these decisions. A sustainability move can containinitiatives emphasising the adoption of new manufacturing technologies, the development of new,sustainable products or the integration of green practices into the supply chain. Next to the influence ofsustainability drivers, we explain firms' decisions concerning a sustainability move with pastperformance, firm size and current level of sustainability action. Depending on whether initiatives areled by strategic or ad-hoc decisions, firms have to explore new knowledge and/or exploit existingknowledge to realise competitive advantage. The goal of this research is to provide an explanation ofhow decisions of sustainability moves are motivated and which dimensions in the firm are affected bythese moves.


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5. CONCLUSION

Every business works for the one fundamental motive i.e. to make profits. But in the currenteconomic scenario when resources are scarce and swathes of population are reeling under

inequality, poverty and unemployment, there should be another dimension added to the solebusiness motive. It is sustainability. As per the researchers, sustainability works on triplebottom line of economy, society and ecology. Study done by our group is pretty holistic in thesense that we have covered research insights from very eminent scholars.

Key areas covered in the study are:

1. Defining sustainability and its urgent need in modern context.2. Marketing strategies and their adherence to sustainability.3. How marketing strategies are evolving keeping in mind the triple bottom line of

sustainability?4. Ecological marketing and businesses which exemplify this5. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its framework.6. Social marketing and its ultimate beneficiaries.7. Trade-off between sustainable marketing and growth of the firm.


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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

i. Marketing Strategy and Sustainability: A research Agenda

ii.

Towards Sustainability: The Third Age of Green Marketing,iii. Marketing, Market and Product Stewardship: Contributing to corporate social responsibilitystrategies:

iv. Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Service Industries: A Conceptual Model and ResearchPropositions

v. Customer Retention-An important marketing strategy for business competitivenessvi. How companies manage sustainability: McKinsey Global Survey resultsvii. Sustainable Marketing Practices: A potential strategy for Sustainable Development in

Emerging Economiesviii. Building a sustainability strategy into the business

ix. Strategic Positioning and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Food Industryx. Benchmarking Marketing Capabilities for Sustainable Competitive Advantagexi. Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Service industriesxii. How Stakeholder Perceptions Differ From Corporate Realityxiii. A Conceptual Framework for understanding and analyzing attitudes towards environment

behaviorxiv. A multidimensional approach to the influence of Environmental Marketing and Orientation

on the Firms Organizational Performance xv. Instrumental and Integrative Logics in Business Sustainabilityxvi. The Marketing-Natural environment interface model for discussion

xvii. Appropriate marketing strategies for sustainability of small businesses in developingcountries: Case of Bakery Chains of Kolkata:

xviii. Marketing Strategies in the age of Sustainable Development:xix. Social Marketing and Sustainable Tourism:xx. Ecological Sustainability and Marketing Strategy:xxi. Evolution of sustainability as marketing strategy: Beginning of new eraxxii. Indicators of sustainable business practices: Woolworths in South Africaxxiii. Environmental marketing strategy and firm performance: Effects on new product

performance and market sharexxiv. An Ethical framework for marketing the Corporate Social Responsibility

xxv.

Innovative Marketingxxvi. Marketing and Sustainabilityxxvii. Integration of the Sustainability concept into Strategy and Marketingxxviii. Sustainability: Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Strategiesxxix. Sustainability marketing for the poorest of the poorxxx. Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspectivexxxi. Ecological Sustainability and Marketing Strategy: Review and Implications


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xxxii. Primer: Business Sustainability for SMEsxxxiii. Marketing Strategy towards Sustainabilit yxxxiv. Sustainability and business-to-business marketing: A framework and implicationsxxxv. Turning sustainability into action: Explaining firms' sustainability efforts and their impact on

firm performance
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1464941http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1464941

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