Re-evaluating green marketing strategy: a stakeholder perspective

Purpose - The present study aims to examine the influence of stakeholders on green marketing strategy (GMS). Marketing literature recognizes that stakeholders play a significant role in influencing organizations and markets, but has not targeted a single integrated approach to examine the relationship between stakeholder management and GMS. Design/methodology/approach - This research comprised several phases, including the development of a typology of GMS, an analysis of how managers prioritize stakeholders, a study of the influence of stakeholders on ISMS, and an analysis of the influence of the organizational context on managers' perception of the stakeholders. The hypotheses were validated using multivariate correlational techniques. Findings - The study identified the stakeholders associated with GMS and their impact on the strategy adopted by the firms, and established how this is moderated by the firm's own economic sector and organizational characteristics. Research limitations/implications - Future studies might replicate and extend the research in other industries and countries to ascertain whether environmental concerns have different effects in other contexts. Practical implications - The surveys on GMS and stakeholder perception under-taken in the present survey are a potential source of information for managers - because they can be used as a self-diagnostic tool to determine if a firm's attitude to the environment is reactive or proactive. Originality/value - Results show that the organizational "greening" process is not a linear, one-dimensional progression, rather an uneven process in which several GMS profiles prioritize different stakeholders. The results also reveal that underlying perceptual, behavioral, and organizational factors influence GMS implementation.