“Greening” the marketing mix: do firms do it and does it pay off?

Growing concern about the sustainability of the natural environment is rapidly transforming the competitive landscape and forcing companies to explore the costs and benefits of “greening” their marketing mix. We develop and test a theoretical model that predicts (1) the role of green marketing programs in influencing firm performance, (2) the impact of slack resources and top management risk aversion on the deployment of such programs, and (3) the conditioning effects that underpin these relationships. Our analyses show that green marketing programs are being implemented by firms, and we find evidence of significant performance payoffs. Specifically the results indicate that green product and distribution programs positively affect firms’ product-market performance, while green pricing and promotion practices are directly positively related to firms’ return on assets. In addition, industry-level environmental reputation moderates the links between green marketing program components and firms’ product-market and financial performance. Finally, we find that slack resources and top management risk aversion are independently conducive to the adoption of green marketing programs—but operate as substitutes for each other.     

The process of conflict in buyer‐seller relationships at domestic and international levels: A comparative analysis

Despite the fact that conflict is an essential behavioural dimension underlying the buyer‐seller relationship, no empirical work has as yet been conducted on the comparison of conflictual processes between different types of marketing channels. This paper attempts to compare exporter‐importer and exporter‐domestic customer business partnerships, regarding the dimension of conflict throughout its various stages of growth and development. The study was carried out on a sample of 53 indigenous Greek manufacturing firms. Contrary to prior expectations, it was found that the exporter‐importer (E‐I) kind of relationship was not characterized by higher levels of conflictual processes than those in the domestic type of business association. Surprisingly, the study results also showed that in a substantial number of conflict areas, the domestic relationship category was governed by significantly higher levels of conflictual processes compared with those in the E‐I kind of business partnership. The managerial implications of the research findings are discussed and avenues for future research directions are outlined.     

Strategic goal accomplishment in export ventures: the role of capabilities,knowledge, and environment

The management literature suggests that setting strategic goals facilitates the identification of appropriate business strategies and focuses management attention and available resources on their accomplishment, enabling subsequent goal realization. Yet the literature also indicates that firms often find it difficult to realize their strategic goals and may find it even more challenging to do so when operating in foreign markets. However, little is known empirically about the extent to which strategic goals enable desired strategic positions to be achieved and factors that may affect this relationship. We examine this important issue using primary data from a sample of exporting manufacturers. Results support the existence of previously theorized strategic goal–realized strategic position gaps and show that these negatively impact performance. Thus, simply setting strategic goals does not necessarily aid in accomplishing the desired outcomes, and any failure to do so is costly. Drawing on organization theory, we find that internal capabilities and knowledge, and external market factors play important roles in minimizing such strategic goal–realized strategic position gaps. Specifically, we show that businesses with stronger architectural capabilities, those with higher levels of internationalization, and those operating in less dynamic market environments are better able to realize their intended strategic objectives and thereby enjoy superior performance.