Environmental management systems: an alternative marketing strategy for sustainability

• Published in: Journal of strategic marketing 2019-07, Vol.27 (5), p.417-434
• Main Authors: D'Souza, Clare, Marjoribanks, Tim, Young, Suzanne, Sullivan Mort, Gillian, Nanere, Marthin, John, Jubin Jacob
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Discriminant analysis; Environmental management; Environmental management systems; ISO 14000 standards; Marketing; marketing strategies; responsible consumption
• ISSN: 0965-254X; 1466-4488
• DOI: 10.1080/0965254X.2018.1430054

The purpose of the paper is to shed light on the extent to which environmental management systems such as ISO 14000 standards influence marketing efforts. By examining firms who prefer ISO 14000 standards against those who do not, this research provides a platform for understanding their significance when applied to marketing and seeks to improve environmental marketing strategies. The study empirically tests whether statistically significant differences exist between the two groups on a set of marketing variables. The study uses hierarchical clustering Ward's method and measurement using squared Euclidean distances to determine the two groups. Discriminant analysis (DA) was used to classify each of the observations into selected groups; and test differences between these groups. Stepwise DA identified customer satisfaction as the best marketing predictor. This research indicates that green market-driven solutions for responsible consumption work best when it is consumer-driven, and consumers derive satisfaction from those results. The results adopts the view that investing in IS0 14000 standards is also highly beneficial for the wider applicability of developing strategies that would help firms make better decisions in marketing.