Marketing W2

8/12/2019 Marketing W2

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The Romanian Economic Journal

Year XV no. 46 December 2012

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The constant deterioration of the environment and the bad effects on the quality oflife cause many challenges for the businesses, consumers and governments. Theserequire a new philosophy of living and new solutions which must be incorporated inthe concept of sustainable development. The goal of this paper is to outline the

particular effects of putting into practice a new green marketing paradigm whichshould incorporate the sustainable development issue. We emphasize thecontribution of the push-pull strategies to the achievement of the dual role of the

green company, of an organization with a social cause and as a business with aprofit motive. This contribution may be identified in the push-pull effects onconsumer, business, environment and sustainable development.The analysis focuses on the push-pull green communication strategies and on therole they could play for obtaining successfully push-pull effects. These effects gobeyond the essential meanings of marketing communication which are informing,convincing and deciding by educating and empowering the consumers with green

solutions. All these effects can be found in the impact on the well-being of theconsumers and the society, on the business, on the environment and on thesustainable development. The increase of the green purchasing and consumption, the

1Victor Danciu, Professor Ph.D., Bucharest University of Economics, 6 Piata

Romana, Romania, e-mail: [email protected]

The Green Marketing atWork: The Push-Pull Effectsof the Green Communication

Strategies

Victor Danciu1


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well-being improvement, and a better profitability are the forms the push-pull effectscould take at a micro level. At a macro level, the most significant effects are theslowing of global warming, reduced air, water and soil pollution, waste energydepletion and new sources of green energy, diminishing of deforestation, and

prevention of depletion of natural resources. These effects are multiplied by a slowerrhythm of energy resources consumption, the saving of the crude oil resources andother raw materials and of drinking water. The sustainable development is backedalso by stopping the intense eploitation of the natural resources and energetic

resources, and by more lasting products.

!eywords" green marketing, green consumer, push-pull strategy, green

communication strategy, push-pull effects, quality of life improvement, environment

preservation, sustainable development

#$% &lassifications" '()

1. ntro!uction

The mankind has a permanent struggle for innovation andimprovement as a result of his aspirations for a better life. Thisstruggle of the humanity with its own condition had, has and will keepon with numerous and remarkable effects. But its achievements areshowing their bad consequences, too because of their tremendouspotential for the deterioration of the environment and the quality oflife. Some recent statistics provided by many well-knownorganizations like orld atch !nstitute, "# $%&, "S 'nergy!nformation %dministration produce evidence about hyperconsumption and environment deterioration (*loch, +)+). %s World

Watch nstitutehas found, *+ per cent of the world population lives in#orth %merica and estern 'urope and accounts for per cent ofprivate consumption spending, while a third of humanity who lives inSouth %sia and sub Saharan %frica accounts for only ,+ per cent.

The industrialized nations, representing only + per cent of the world/s


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population consume 01 per cent of the world/s printing and writingpaper. The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer

water and the third industrial greenhouse gas emitter, after thechemical and steel industries, as &o-op America has established. ood

printhas found that for growing a pound of wheat requires around *gallons of virtual water. $or meat, depending on the type, multiply thatby five to ten times. The forests and arable land are under a constantpressure for deterioration and surface/s reduction. Between + and

+2 around * million acres of forests were lost only in South%merica were incorporates the mighty %mazon forest (&hoices'agazine). The grazing occupies over a quarter of the 'arth/s terrestrialsurface and feed crop production requires about a third of all arableland "# $%& affirms.

These e3amples and many others show that the consequences of thedestructive efforts of the mankind must be stopped. The entropy ofthe planet/s ecosystem has to remain constant what requires a newphilosophy of living and new clever solutions, in order to preserve theenvironment and enhance the quality of life. Two main grounds arethe basis of such manifold efforts. The first consists in the degradationof the environment due to the negative effects of the various politics,strategies and products that are not environmentally friendly. Thesecond motive is the hyper consumption as a root cause of theenvironmental issues. Both main motives have bad outputs which arefound in the alteration of the quality of life on 'arth for people,animals and plant

% particular support for the challenges of the preservation and theimprovement of the environment and the quality of life could be the

green marketing, together with technical, economic and socialmeasures (/anciu, +0, p. 1). The potential contribution of the greenmarketing should be linked to the new eco-orientation of the business.&ronin et al 2+)3 call thisnew strategic concept as the triple-bottomline performance evaluation. The organizational performance is


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evaluated on the basis of economic prosperity (i.e., profits),environmental quality (i.e., the planet), and social 4ustice (i.e.,people).This broad understanding of doing business provides a glaringevidence of the growing importance of going green as a viableorganizational strategy with specific implications for marketing as well.

The companies should commit themselves to green marketingstrategies due to many reasons. $irst, the cost of resources such asmaterials and energy continue to rise. Second, the public pressure

continues to increase. The third, there is a growing consumer demandfor green products and services, and fourth, the consumers/ antipathyto globalization is leading to strengthening #5& activity relative togreen performance (&ronin et al,+)).Such an approach suggests thatthe entire issue should be incorporate in the concept of sustainabledevelopment. The 'arth 6onference from ++-+7 #ovember *888having as sub4ect 94ustainable &onsumption in the +)st&entury5considersthe sustainable development : meeting the needs of the present withoutcompromising the ability of the future generations to meet their ownneeds5(White,)111). The sustainable development embodies economicgrowth, and social progress in addition to the environmentalprotection. % sustainable development is secured only if there aresustainable production and eco-efficiency as part of the governmentpolicy and strategies, and changes in consumption patterns so thateveryone can en4oy a better quality of life. These requirements areneeded by the present tri- polar society made up from governments,business and civil society (White, )111). !n this tri-polar world,business does have a unique role in that is the only generator of

wealth. The governments help re-distribute it. %long with roles come

rights and responsibilities of these components. The business has toinnovate, to market safe and sustainable products and services thatmeet people/s needs, to adopt high ethical standards in how it operate,and provide information so the people can make appropriate choice.

The literature suggests three ma4or types of green strategies the


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business could use. These strategies are the green innovation thatmeans the development of new innovative green products, thegreening of the organization which assumes a focus on theenvironmental aspects in the company itself and the green alliancesand partnerships to enhance the green orientation. The public asindividual consumers and citizens are responsible for using theinformation available in the market to make choices on how best toimprove their sustainable quality of life The governments have the

responsibility for working with all elements in society to identify whatthe key priorities are and setting the market frame work conditionsthat promote environmental, economic and sustainability (White,)111). The government the business and the citizens are allresponsible for rising public awareness about the relationship betweenthe sustainability and the quality of life.

". # ne$ green marketing %ara!igm

The green marketing will become the +*stcentury business philosophyif the focus on sustainable development environment preservation anda fair quality of life will be maintained. This new green marketingparadigm should be considered within the evolution process of thegreen marketing. *howmick et al 2+)+3 who quote6eattie 2+)3 thinkthat this evolution has three stages which are the ecological green marketing, theenvironmental green marketing and the sustainable green marketing. The laststage came into prominence in the late *88s and early +s andcontains all components of the earlier two stages but has the long term

issues as a new focus. This new paradigm of green marketingemphasizes the importance of social dimension within the conte3t ofthe sustainable development as a prerequisite for the achievement ofthe company/s marketing ob4ectives (/anciu, +0, p.+7). %ll these aremotives for a new green marketing paradigm having characteristics


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and components which can harmonize the individual with the socialinterests according to a green philosophy (/anciu, +0, pp. )0-)83.$irst, the green marketing should have a balanced approach betweenphysical, technological, and economic parts of the business and thesociety. !n this way, the green marketing is really a subset of thesocietal marketing which is focused on natural environment combined

with social issues (;ulcahy, +2). Second, a new paradigm of greenmarketing presumes to lay stress upon meeting the real and true needs

of the consumers instead stimulating the superficial wishes. Third, thegreen marketing should look upon the consumers as real humanbeings instead hypothetic economic entities. ;ore, the greencompanies should recognize the green consumer which has as corebelief that she or he can make a difference or impact by purchasingenvironmentally friendly products and this is an important predictionof green consumption (&ronin, +)). These consumers areenvironmentally conscious and they have a thinking process thatreflects the 'nvironmentally 6onscious Behavior ('66B) which is9the consumer9s behavior based on the awareness of the environmental impactassociated with a product or service and a desire to reduce those impacts5(*homwick et al, +)+, p. ))).$ourth, the company and all its activitiesshould be considered as apart of the 9consumed green product5. !t has tofollow an ecological consciousness in terms of societal responsibility.

This approach means that the business has all its marketing andconcepts focused on the reduction of the consumption, thepreservation and even the improvement of the environmentalconditions of the people, animals and plant (www.marketing-marktplatz.de:;rundlagen:


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environmental added effects and the technical-economic value.


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consumers in generating and meeting the demand for green products.%s a result, the company can understand better the consumers andthus provide critical new products marketing strategy developmentinput to the profit of the organization.

'igure 1The green marketing transformation an! the %ush-%ull effects

Source= /esign adapted by the author according to #itendra, ++, p.)

Green sensitization

Organization Motive - Green Cause:

Improved environment

Sustainable development

Green consumers demand

Green marketing strategies

Green product strategies

Green communication strategies

Organization Motive:

PUSH-PULL GREEN INNII!I"ES

PUSH-PULL GREEN SR!EGIES

Improved quality of life

PULL PUSH


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The green marketing strategy means taking the green product toconsumer. This strategy type refers to the work a producer or amarketer needs to perform for getting the product to the customers.!t/s a proactive proceeding which involves setting up distributionchannels and persuading the distributors to stock the product. Such apush technique can work particularly well for lower value items suchas fast moving consumer goods when customers are standing at theself ready to drop an item into their baskets and are ready to make

decisions on the spot. The new businesses often adopt a push strategyfor their products in order to generate e3posure and a retail channel(&urrie,+)+?www.marketing-made-simple.com:articles:push-pull strategy.html3.&nce a brandhas been established, this can be integrated with a pull

green marketing strategy.That means getting the consumer to come to theproduct. %s the green consumers are proactive, informed, eco-educated, liberal, and have a green consciousness and they activelyseek out the product, the pull strategy seems more appropriate. % pullmarketing strategy requires a highly visible and trusted brand whichcan be developed trough mass media advertising or similar techniques.!f the customers want a product, the members of the distributionchannel will order it. That means the demand and supply in its purestform and this is the basis of a pull green marketing strategy.

The push-pull green marketing strategies are the source if the push-pull effects on consumers, business, environment, and sustainabledevelopment. The push effects are the outcome of the push grebestrategies the company carries out. The benefits if the green marketingstrategies used by the company as a reaction to the increasinge3igencies, requests or doubts of the green consumers and marketers

are called the pull effects.

&.". The re(uirements for a!)antageous %ush-%ull effectsThe growing number of green consumers is accompanied by aprogressive stronger green consciousness that embodies a social


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dimension. Therefore, the companies assume by their own willresponsibilities that are associated with the green social corporativeresponsibility. But only a trusted commitment can convince the greenconsumers. ;ore and more buyers are interested in companies/commitment into different green and social sustainable pro4ects.

That/s why many producers and marketers have such initiatives andreactions. Some are developing marketing true green products, butother make only minor changes and are pushing them forward as

being important. The deceiving marketing is known as 9greenwashing: that adds a new contribution of luck of trust felt by theconsumers to the green companies(6roninetal,+)? iedler,+.0.+)+?&ashinvestigation,+@..+)+). This green marketing is not convincingand has no chance on the long-term. #ew drugs and packages havingnothing new for the environment and the quality of life protection areuseful for the producers and marketers interests to the detriment ofthe consumers. !n addition, the consumers/ criticism and confusionare issues associated with green marketing strategies. Therefore, thestrategies aimed at the 9reluctant consumer: are critical if the businessseeks to advance and reap the benefits of the green marketingstrategies (&ronin et al, +)).

%ll strategic efforts are taking as true to the same e3tent they succeed.The green strategies are successful if they show a constant and strongcommitment for the creative replacement of classic solutions withbetter green alternatives. % modeling of successful green strategiesmust be worked out according to the 76 concept that is 6ompetency,6redibility, 6ommitment, and 6ooperation. %ny green strategy hasmore chances for good push-pull effects if all competent, suited actors

work together for the same ob4ectives.


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*. The lea!ing %art of the green communication strategies for+est %ush-%ull effects*.1. T$o main +alancing roles of the green communication

The green marketing communication has a strong promotionalsubstance. This means that the green promotion media, supports andmessages must convince the consumers and public to accept and tobuy the green products. Therefore, it stimulates the demand for greenproducts. ;oreover, the goal of the promotional communication is to

create and to improve the green image of the business and its offer. !norder to achieve these important goals, the green communication playsa prominent part in correcting the trust deficit of the green marketingand the green information asymmetries.

The public and the consumers are often skeptical about the greeninitiatives and strategies of the business. Thus, seems that not thetechnical, economic issues, saving or obstacles for having greenproducts but rather the business/ ability to convince the price sensitivecustomers to choose green products has more meaning for them.

%nother motive that urges good green communication is the greencommunication asymmetries. The business has to understand that theconsumers and the public are partners and beneficiaries and meetingtheir green e3igencies is the most important goal and the source of thebusiness survival. This calls for an interactive green communicationand for financial, human and managerial efforts. 6onsidering theunbalanced distribution and access to information betweenconsumers, public and business is the task of the latest to convince theconsumers that its green efforts are real. These efforts are aimed at amore balanced flow of information and a correction of the

asymmetries in green communication between the market/s actors andtheir behavior (/anciu, +0, pp.)8@-)81). % good outcome of thegreen communication encourages the green consumers and business.


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*.". The green %ush-%ull communication strategiesThe effectiveness of the strategy impacts on the conviction power ofthe green communication. !n the green marketing literature thefollowing three green communication strategies= educate consumer,empowered consumer and convince consumer 2


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'igure "The ,%ush-%ull %romotion strategic mo!el

Source= /esigned by the author

The push communication strategies have the information flow from

the producers to the successive links of the distribution channel untilthe message reaches the consumer and she or he demand the greenproduct as $igure + shows. The e3plicit and implicit messages reachthe consumers via push and pull promotional mi3es. The greenpromotion mi3 with effects could have different combinationsbetween the direct selling to consumers in show rooms or face to face,the negotiation with retailers to stock the company/s product, theutilization of efficient supply chains allowing retailers effective supply,the trade show promotions to encourage the purchase and the point

of sales displays.The pull green communication strategies have the initiative on theconsumers which actively seek the product of the company as asupport. The communication messages are feeding the market and thecreation of demand almost looks after itself. Some pull promotional

PROMOTION

MI

!ISTRI"#TION

$%&NNE'

PRO#UCER

!emand

!emand !emand

PROMOTION

MI

CUSOMER

CUSOMER

'EGEN!(

Promotional messages(


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combinations could be built up from the advertising and mass media,the word of mouth referrals, the customer relationship managementand sales promotions and discounts. The business must have a strongbrand, in order to obtain good push-pull effects of its green marketingstrategies.

. The %ush-%ull effects of the green communication strategies.1. The %ush-%ull effects on the consumers

The green communication strategies have numerous and variouseffects. %ll three green communication strategies are aiming not onlyat the performance of the essential roles of the marketing promotion

which are informing, convincing and deciding. They go beyond that byeducating and empowering the consumer with green solutions. &nepush-pull effect the communication strategies have is the increasing ofthe green purchasing and consumption. The analyses work out by>elto. co. uk, T#S, !?S&S, and quoted by authors like &ooney2+)+3and'urray2+))3or !nternet sites as www. ecopreneur. co. zaconcludedthat the market for green products is set to gather pace in the ne3tyears, doubling the value of the market from '"@ 2 billion in +8to '"@ **7 billion by +*2. %t the same time, the green retail pricesare e3pected to drop over ne3t years, reducing the overall 9greenpremium: to an average of 7, 2 per cent that is e3pected to driven bythe rise in demand for green products ('urray, +))). %t a countrylevel, a study conducted by !?S&S over "S, ">, 5ermany, $rance,Spain, ;e3ico, Brazil, !ndia, and 6hina shows that 18 per cent of theconsumers rather buy from companies doing their best to reduce theimpact on environment. %t a first glance, this feeling is surprisingly

most marked in 6hina and Brazil, but least in the "nited >ingdomand "nited States (www. ecopreneur .co. za). The green communicationstrategies have no impact of all these trends, but they play animportant role. The green communication strategies that have in view


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the education of the consumers could have particular good effectsmaking easier for them to choose free.

.". The %ush-%ull effects on the (ualit/ of lifeThe quality of life is a term used to evaluate the general well- being ofthe individuals and societies. !n a broad understanding, the quality oflife is : a multidimensional construct including physical, emotional,mental, social ,and behavioral components 9 thinks Aanse (+7,p. 27)

quoted on www. scotland. gov. uk:6ublications:+0:):)())8(:)). %similar approach has &C&< 5roup(*882) enlarges the concept ofquality of life as 9a broad-ranging concept incorporating in a comple3

way the person/s physical health, psychological state, level ofindependence, social relationships, personal beliefs , and theirrelationships to salient features of the environment:. The authors*rown, *owling and lynn 2+,p. 03 have found in literature(Bosenberg,)11+? *owling, )117, )110? Windsor +)3 that all components of thequality of life could be systematized in two groups that ismacro(societal) and micro(individual, sub4ective) terms.

The he communication strategies have an impact on the physical andpsychological well-being of the consumers and the society. The greencommunication media, supports and messages have push-pull effectson the individual and societal well-being by better information usingmore substantiate argumentation that is convincing the consumers topurchase green products and the business to make green investments.

These effects take shape if the e3isting and new green brands areemphasized, the contributions of the marketing practices to loweringthe pollution, preserving fauna and for a, improving the housing, the

longevity and the health are outlined.


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*.&. The %ush-%ull effects on the +usinessThe green strategies have many benefits for the business with greenmarketing practices(!inotti,+))). $irst of all, these strategies makeeasier a better profitability because the green products create less

waste, use fewer raw materials, save energy. Then, the green productsare higher in quality in terms of energy saving, performance,convenience or safety. The organic products offer safety and a bettertaste ,the recycled paper or plastic save money while the solar-power

cell phones have an e3tended use and waste reduction. % quiet ride,fewer fill-ups, reduced pollution and status are some benefits of thehybrid cars. The green communication should focus on such effectsand stress them in the promotional messages, in order to contribute tobetter effects on the green ob4ectives of the business. The third, thecompanies which are first to deliver their green innovations to themarket en4oy competitive advantages and increased market share, at acertain e3tent. But increasing the market share is the attribute of abetter brand loyalty. The consumers view the company/s record on theenvironment as an important determinant of their purchase decision.

The green communication has a particular role in informing theconsumers on the true character of the company and its brand.

*.*. The %ush-%ull effects on the en)ironmentThe environment derives many benefits from the green marketingstrategies, the communication strategy included. % well-coordinatedgreen communication strategy could contribute to a better physicalenvironment. The advantageous effects are a slowing global warming,reduced air, water and soil pollution, waste energy depletion and new

sources of green energy, reduced deforestation, depletion of naturalresources, and a better landfills rate. To all those benefits could beadded a slower rhythm of energy and resources consumption, savingthe resources of oil and other raw materials, drinking water, e3tinction


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of endangered species and they must be used in the argumentation ofthe communication tactics.

*.. The %ush-%ull effects on the sustaina+le !e)elo%ment!f the new green marketing paradigm is incorporated into the conceptof sustainable development, the outcome of the green communicationstrategies and practices could contribute to the meeting of the presentand without compromising the ability of future generations to meet

their needs. The good effects show themselves both at the micro leveland at the macro level of the sustainable development.

The green product is a sub4ect of meeting the ob4ective related to thecontribution to the sustainable development. The sustainable productstrategy has an impact on stopping the intensive e3ploitation of thenatural resources and the energetic resources. The perishable rawmaterials could be replaced by more lasting others, on one hand. &nthe other hand, the renewable resources can be more used as is thecase of the replacement of crude oil with solar or wind sources forgenerating electric energy. %ll green products are more sustainable ifthey are more lasting. The durability becomes a source of added value,an indicator for quality and conduces to a diminished consumption ofraw materials.

. ConclusionsThe disorder of the 'arth/s ecosystem as a result of the mankindunfortunate actions requires strong and intelligent steps to fight backfor maintaining its entropy. The green marketing can develop anumber of strategies which help the efforts for the environment

preservation and the improvement of the quality of life. !n order toget the best results, a new green marketing paradigm which embodiesmany areas of actions such as its contribution on environmentprotection and sustainable development in addition to the efforts forconsumers and companies.


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The successful implementation of this particular approach shouldcontain the issue of the push-pull effects. They are the outputs of thegreen strategies e3ecution which have a push-pull character. % pushgreen strategy means taking the product to the consumer while a pullstrategy is getting the consumer come to the product. The push-pullcommunication strategies are a part of the green strategies thatsupport the effort to acquire the best push-pull effects. These effectsare distributed among consumers, business, environment, and

sustainable development. %s the business is the key part of the greenefforts, its push-pull green strategies and effects depend on how theycomply with all requirements and concepts of the new greenmarketing paradigm.


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achieving its dual role, of an organization with a social cause and as abusiness with a profit motive, is carried out only if the green strategiesare worked out and implemented in a professional manner and withgoodwill.

0eferences%llen, 6arolyn (editor), &onsumers Tighten 4trategies for Calue, www.

californiagreensolutions. &om:cgi-bin:gt:tpl.h, contentD(0+Bhowmick, TamisreeD 6hakraborty,Subho4it(+*+), ;reen 'arketing"

AnAnalysis of &onsumer *ehavior Towards ;reen 6roducts, *st!nternational6onference on BusinessE!nformation ;anagement By #!T,Fargapur, 'mporia State "niversityET&@5, 8th-**thAanuaryBloch, ;ichael (+*+), $ast-facts-consumption statistics. ;reen %ivingTips:7::+)+Baner4ee, BobbyD ;c>eage, >im(*8873, Eow green is my value" $ploringthe relationship between environmentalism and materialism, in FAdvances in&onsumer Besearch5, Golume +*, eds. 6hris t. %llen and Feborah@oeder Aohn, ?rovo, "T %ssociation of 5reen 6onsumer @esearchBrown, AackieD Bowling, %nneD $lynn, Terry (+7),'odels of Guality of%ife" A Taonomy


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Falvi, Aame, ;azhar (+**), &orporate 4ocial Besponsibility of ;reen'arketing, * Aune, >hed, "niversity of ;umbaiFanciu, Gictor (+), 'arketing ecologic. $tica verde a productiei siconsumului, 'ditura 'conomica, BucurestiFas >umar, Aitendra (++), @esponding to 5reen 6onsumers= The@oles for 5overnment and Business, Cilapa, vol. +8, no. ), #anuary-

'arch$iedler, Foreen, dpa. ,


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'mpirical 'ffusive Study, $uropean #ournal of 4ocial 4ciences, volume +8,=ovember, (hite, ?., @ (*8883, $arth &onference" 4ustainable &onsumption in the +)st&entury, ++-+7 September, Southampton, ">Ju Jin, SusannaD alker, elenD #airn, %gnesD Aohnson, Thomas(+1), A =etwork Approach to Inderstand ;reen *uying" A literatureBeview, impgroup.org:upload:papers:7108.pdfKKK &ash investigation" marketing Cest, le grand maquillage, +0 avril, +*+

KKK ;reen 'arketing 4trategies of &ompanies and 4ustainable /evelopment" A;lobal ;uide, !nternational !nstitute for Sustainable Fevelopment,&opyright +)+, www.iisd.org :*usinessJJ www.ecopreneur.co.za:+1::...:green-marketing-business-statistics...KKK


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