Abstract
The pairing of sustainability and marketing has been around for several decades and has opened new standards in management and marketing. The main objective of this chapter is trifold: First, to shed some light on the distinctions between sustainability marketing and analogous terms; second, to review some of the criticisms that have arisen (i.e., greenwashing or green marketing myopia); finally, the authors offer a broader term for the marketing and sustainability link. The chapter will review the evolution of these concepts and present future directions of the sustainability and marketing linkage. Taking as a starting point theories that propose a new relationship between society and companies (civil economy, corporate citizenship) and the new paradigm of marketing, the authors also put forth a wholesome concept: civic marketing. This concept balances the two objectives expected in a marketing approach: positive business results and customer satisfaction in a sustainable economy.
TopIntroduction
As businesses and the market have changed through time to respond to more than mere economic incentives, the marketing field has also undergone through dramatic transformations. Milton Friedman’s (1970) claim that “the business of business is business” reflects a vision focused on economic results, financial gains, and in regard to marketing, unsustainable consumption patterns (De Graaf, et al, 2005). This view was oblivious to the effect businesses (and therefore marketing) have on socioeconomic growth, environmental impact and welfare. To address these concerns, the notion of sustainability has gained interest in many disciplines, and among them, marketing.
Before examining this concept, it is important to focus on the integrating concepts of marketing sustainability. First, a commonly used definition of sustainability is provided by the OECD (2002) which defines it as “the consumption of goods and services that meet basic needs and quality of life without jeopardizing the needs of future generations”. These definitions associate sustainable development to a series of actions that reflect positive moral and ethical values and are directed towards long term beneficial goals. The other integrating concept, marketing, can therefore be a driver in the business’ engagement in sustainability (Tollin et al, 2017). The broad definition of marketing provided by the American Marketing Association (2017) describes marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. This reviewed version does not go far enough in how value is created, which hinders the ability of researchers to adequately address the sustainability and marketing nexus (McDonagh & Prothero, 2014).
As an integrative concept, sustainable marketing can be considered a corporate philosophy (Lim, 2016) or an approach that researchers and practitioners recognize its importance but struggle to integrate to their strategies (Greenfield, 2004). A more widely accepted definition of sustainability marketing is provided by Matin & Schouten (2014) who state: “Sustainable marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers in such a way that both natural and human capital are preserved or enhanced throughout”. The ambiguity in the definition of the key concepts allows the question of what the linkage between sustainability and marketing entails to still linger despite the research efforts of the past 50 years (Kilbourne & Beckmann, 1998; Kumar et al., 2013; McDonagh & Prothero, 2014).
While a managerialist approach to marketing has dominated the field, sustainability marketing has become increasingly mainstream (Gordon et al., 2011). Sustainability marketing represents an evolution in the marketing field that combines economic perspectives of traditional marketing with newer concepts of relational marketing and social, ethical, environmental and intergenerational aspects included in a sustainable development agenda (Gali, 2013). It generally implies a change in the consideration of marketing as a tool for management under a more commercial perspective to a tool to recognize and propel social development (Varey, 2010), under a more societal perspective. But in the last decade, as society and the consumer intensify their demand for sustainability, this trend is also embraced by companies that are moved to satisfy the customer’s demand under a commercial perspective, without the societal perspective.
Nonetheless, although social and environmental aspects in the development of marketing strategies are emphasized, economic aspects in the development of marketing strategies are also included in the approach of sustainability marketing (Bridges & Wilhelm, 2008). Sustainability marketing comprises many aspects and dimensions, and all of them should be improved, not limited through a strategic plan (Lim, 2016). This leads to the question: exactly what does sustainability marketing entail? What is and what should the linkage between marketing and sustainability be?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Green Marketing Myopia: The marketing practice that, involves an effort to improve the environmental quality of its product or service, but does not attain customer satisfaction, creating and imbalance between the marketing goals of the company.
Civil Marketing: Marketing model inspired by the civil economy that contributes to the construction of a more fair and overall happy society balancing two objectives: positive results for the company and satisfaction to the civic sense of customers.
Brand Activism: Term created by Sarkar & Kotler in 2018, referring to an evolution of CSR that allows social change and promotion to be sponsored actively by brands and companies.
Social Marketing: Approach to marketing that describes the change in orientation from commercial interest to social good.
Corporate Citizenship: It refers to a company's responsibilities toward society in a broad sense. It is how companies exercises its rights, obligations, privileges, and duties in order to benefit the local environments but also the society as a whole.
Demarketing: The marketing practices that aims to reduce the demand for certain products and services, discouraging customers in general or a segment of customers on a temporary or permanent basis. This concept, coined in the 70s, acquires a new dimension when working in sustainability.
Greenwashing: The act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a company product or service. This practice generates skepticism and discourages sustainable consumption.
Civil Economy: Coined by Antonio Genovesi during the second half of the 18th century, it refers to the economic model capable of responding to the society of the moment seeking a more just and happy society.
Sustainability Marketing Myopia: Similar to green marketing myopia, is the result of being product focused instead of consumer focused and emphasizing on sustainability legitimacy and credentials over consumer needs and satisfaction, losing the balance between marketing goals.