Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets: The Crucial Role of People Management in Successful Implementation (Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies) 3030730069, 9783030730062

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Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets The Crucial Role of People Management in Successful Implementation Edited by Robert E. Hinson Ogechi Adeola · Isaiah Adisa

Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies Series Editors Robert E. Hinson University of Ghana Business School Durban University of Technology Accra, Ghana Ogechi Adeola Lagos Business School Pan-Atlantic University Lagos, Nigeria

This book series focuses on contemporary themes in marketing and marketing management research in emerging markets and developing economies. Books in the series covers the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa); EAGLE economies (those which are expected to lead growth in the next ten years, such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey) and all other African countries (classified under developing countries), taking into consideration the demographic, socio-cultural and macro-economic factors influencing consumer choices in these markets. The series synthesizes key subject areas in marketing, discuss marketing issues, processes, procedures and strategies across communities, regions and continents, and also how digital technology is changing the business landscape in emerging economies. Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Markets presents a unique opportunity to examine and discuss marketing strategy and its implications in emerging economies, thereby filling a gap in current marketing literature. All chapter submissions to the series will undergo a double blind peer review and all book proposals will undergo a single blind peer review. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/16591

Robert E. Hinson Ogechi Adeola  •  Isaiah Adisa Editors

Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets The Crucial Role of People Management in Successful Implementation

Editors Robert E. Hinson University of Ghana Business School Durban University of Technology Accra, Ghana

Ogechi Adeola Lagos Business School Pan-Atlantic University Lagos, Nigeria

Isaiah Adisa Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria

ISSN 2730-5554     ISSN 2730-5562 (electronic) Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies ISBN 978-3-030-73006-2    ISBN 978-3-030-73007-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the ­publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and ­institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

Increasing demand for a sustainable social and economic environment by advocates of the sustainability movement (world leaders, government of nations and consumers) has led businesses to adopt practices that will drive the achievement of the sustainability agenda. Green marketing is an important aspect of business sustainability orientation, and without people and adoption of appropriate people management practices, green marketing goals might be unachieved. Therefore, in the twenty-first century, green marketing discourse needs to incorporate the importance of having the right green-focused human-resource to carry out green marketing strategies. This book discusses how businesses in emerging markets can achieve sustainability goals through the most vital asset—people. The edited book, Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Market: The Crucial Role of People Management Towards Successful Implementation discusses how organisations in emerging markets can achieve green-focused goals through people. The book recognises that human capital is one of the crucial resources that a firm possesses. Effectively harnessing this dynamic resource will enable a firm to meet its sustainability goals. The focus on emerging markets is necessitated by the heightened environmental problems in emerging market nations facilitated by manufacturing firms’ continuous unsustainable practices. Green marketing provides an environmentally-conscious perspective to marketing, which considers consumers, products, processes and resource sustainability. The book focuses on people and the role of people management in the successful implementation of green marketing in emerging markets. Green marketing is a crucial approach to sustainable production v

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and consumption in emerging markets and an essential pathway to sustainable development. The book is divided into four parts (Part I: Introducing Green Marketing, Green Business Practices and People Management; Part II: Green Marketing and Green Leadership; Part III: Green Competencies, Potentials and Engagement in Emerging Markets; Part IV: Conclusion and Recommendations) and provides insightful recommendations for business owners, managers, marketers, HR practitioners, researchers and students. Strategic and operational insights are provided into how organisations in emerging markets can engage in effective green marketing activities for a sustainable environment. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed by extending the scope of theories adopted while practical insights were identified for government and managers’ policy formulation. The crux of the book’s argument is first, that green marketing is an important business sustainability practice that drives the achievement of sustainable development in emerging markets. Second, successful green marketing practice depends on people and green people management initiatives. Lastly, green marketing and other sustainability practices provide social, economic and ecological benefits to the firm, the society and the environment.

Contents

Part I Introducing Green Marketing, Green Business Practices and People Management   1 1 Introduction: Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets—Achieving Success Through People  3 Robert E. Hinson, Ogechi Adeola, and Isaiah Adisa 2 Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies 13 Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, Bright James Nyarkoh, and Esmond Naalu Kuuyelleh 3 Green Human Resources Management as an Innovation Mechanism 29 Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey Part II Green Marketing and Green Leadership  43 4 Green Marketing and Social Practices: Managing People as Carriers of Sustainability Practices 45 Olamide Shittu and Christian Nygaard

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5 Driving Green Marketing in Emerging Markets Through Green Leadership 59 Godbless Akaighe and Samuel Okon 6 Green Leadership Approaches and Motivations for Green Practice Implementation Among Marketing Firms in China 73 Helen Song-Turner and Damian Morgan 7 Green Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market Context: A People Perspective 95 Ogechi Adeola, Jude N. Edeh, and Isaiah Adisa Part III Green Competencies, Potentials and Engagement in Emerging Markets 113 8 Competencies for Green Marketing Success in Emerging Markets115 Mary Wanjiru Kinoti and Abel Kinoti Meru 9 Harnessing the Potentials of Generation Green for Green Marketing Success in Africa’s Emerging Economies131 Isaiah Adisa, Ogechi Adeola, and Akin Oparison 10 Green People Management, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement151 Esmond Naalu Kuuyelleh, Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, and Hossein Ali Abadi

 Contents 

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Part IV Conclusion and Recommendations 167 11 Conclusion and Implications for Theoretical Adoption, Policy Formulation and Managerial Decision-Making in Emerging Markets169 Robert E. Hinson, Ogechi Adeola, and Isaiah Adisa Index179

Notes on Contributors

Hossein Ali Abadi  is Lecturer in Management in the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. His research interests include professionalism, professional identity, career identity, employee turnover and workforce shortage. Ogechi  Adeola  is Associate Professor of Marketing and Head of the Department of Operations, Marketing and Information Systems at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She has written academic books and papers in top scholarly journals with her coauthored articles winning best paper awards at international conferences in 2016–2019, consecutively. She is a fellow of the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria, and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. Isaiah Adisa  is a management researcher and consultant based in Nigeria. He has co-edited book(s) with several other book chapters and journal articles in recognised outlets. He is affiliated with the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, and his research interest cut across human resources management, organizational behaviour, marketing, and gender studies. Godbless  Akaighe is a doctoral researcher at Sheffield University Management School, UK.  He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. His research focuses on organisational leadership and followership and cuts across organisational behaviour and work psychology. xi

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Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, PhD  is a lecturer and the Management Major Coordinator at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Australia. His research interests include human resource management practice transfer from advanced economies to developing economies, workforce diversity, equality and inclusion and employment relations. Jude N. Edeh  is a postdoctoral fellow at the Chair of Business as Unusual: Innovation Practices and New Business Models, Kedge Business School, Marseille, France. He received his Doctoral education from the University of Seville, Spain. His research focuses on international strategy, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability. With over five years of consulting experience, Edeh has worked with a wide variety of clients ranging from medium to small entrepreneurial firms. Robert E. Hinson  is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Ghana Business School and Visiting Professor of Marketing at the Lincoln International Business School in the United Kingdom. Professor Hinson is also affiliated with the Durban University of Technology and an Extraordinary Professor at the North-West University Business School in South Africa. He has authored/edited several books and has over a hundred scientific publications to his credit. Mary  Wanjiru  Kinoti  is Associate Professor of Marketing and Acting Director of Intellectual Property Management Office, and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the School of Business, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Her research interests are mainstreaming green marketing and customer care in public institutions and among micro, small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. Esmond  Naalu  Kuuyelleh is a Lecturer at Bolgatanga Technical University. He holds a PhD in Management from Curtin University and is currently a Research Associate in the School of Management of the University. His research interests include employee turnover and retention in higher education in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Yvonne  Ayerki  Lamptey is a senior lecturer in the Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management at the University of Ghana Business School, Ghana. Her research focus is to advance knowledge and practice in human resource management strategy, especially in employment relations focusing on the informal sector and advancing

  NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 

Green Human organisations.

Resource

Management

(GHRM)

in

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modern

Abel Kinoti Meru  is Associate Professor of Business Management and the founding Dean of Riara School of Business, Riara University, Kenya, and first Chair of Academy of International Business Africa—Chapter. His research interests are in social innovation and business incubation, entrepreneurship and marketing. Damian  Morgan  is an associate professor at the Federation University Business School, Australia. His holds an Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration, a Research Masters in Recreation Management and a PhD in Injury Epidemiology. Bright  James  Nyarkoh, PhD is a lecturer in the Department of Development Studies at S.D. Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana. His research interests include the human rights-based approach to poverty reduction, community-based empowerment in development programming and decision-making in utilising economic resources in households in sub-Saharan Africa. Christian  Nygaard is a social economist at the Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. His research interest centres on barriers and drivers of long-term change and transition. Current work focuses on urban transitions, urban productivity and institutional transition in resource-rich and emerging markets. Samuel  Okon  is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is a member of the British Academy of Management and an associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Management. His research focuses on positive organisational behaviour and contextual factors affecting employees. Akin Oparison  is a senior fellow at Lagos Business School, Nigeria, with over 25 years’ management and leadership experience in blue-chip multinational companies. Oparison has held senior executive HR positions in Sterling Winthrop and British American Tobacco, with responsibilities across Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Russia and South Africa. Olamide Shittu  is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology. Previously a Management Scholar at Lagos Business School, Nigeria, he also consulted for Oxford Policy

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Management Limited. Shittu’s research interests include plastic consumption, waste management, circular economy, sustainability transitions, social practices, development studies and strategy. Helen Song-Turner  is Senior Lecturer in Management and Marketing discipline at the Business School, Federation University Australia, Australia. Her current research focuses on strategic green marketing, consumer behaviour and commercialisation of green technology in emerging markets.

List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Fig. 4.1 Fig. 4.2 Fig. 7.1 Fig. 8.1 Fig. 9.1

Illustration of the view of green business practices Elements of green marketing and management as bundles of social practices. (Adapted from Shove et al., 2012, p. 29) An interplay of green marketing, sustainability, people management and social practices Ten steps of green-marketing planning. (Source: Adapted from McDaniel & Rylander, 1993) Green competencies needed for green marketing success. (Source: Adapted from Cabral & Dhar, 2019) Interaction between green marketing, generation green and green marketing success. (Source: Authors)

18 51 53 101 118 144

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List of Tables

Table 6.1 Firms’ characteristics of case studies Table 6.2 Summary of seven firms’ green approaches Table 11.1 Summary of findings in the book

79 82 172

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PART I

Introducing Green Marketing, Green Business Practices and People Management

CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets— Achieving Success Through People Robert E. Hinson, Ogechi Adeola, and Isaiah Adisa

Abstract  The increased industrialisation in emerging markets has its associated consequences. One of such consequences is environmental pollution and degradation because of unsustainable business activities. To curb environmental pollution and encourage practices that promote environmental sustainability, organisations must adopt innovations, such as green marketing. Green marketing is the application of sustainability initiatives to marketing activities, for organisational performance and environmental safety. Achieving green-marketing goals requires a focus on people and people management functions, which has received less attention in the

R. E. Hinson (*) University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana O. Adeola Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria e-mail: [email protected] I. Adisa Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_1

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marketing literature. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of green marketing and the need to focus on people as a crucial resource for successful green marketing practices in emerging markets. Keywords  Green marketing • Green people • Emerging market • Sustainable practices • Green economy

Introduction Prior to world leaders’ formal recognition of sustainable—production, consumption, products and services and their inclusion in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030) in 2015—ecological marketing had been identified as crucial to sustainable growth and development, globally. The first workshop on Ecological Marketing, held by the American Marketing Association (AMA) in the early 1990s, set the pace for a paradigm shift in marketing literature (Ajike et al., 2015). Ecological marketing is conceptualised differently by various researchers, but with similar interpretation (Katrandjiev, 2016). Terms used for the concept include ecological marketing (Lockrey, 2015), sustainable marketing (Van Dam & Apeldoorn, 1996), environmental marketing (Miles & Covin, 2000) and, lastly, green marketing (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017); we adopt the term “green marketing” as our operational concept in this book. Green marketing (GM) takes a different approach to traditional marketing, as it recognises the safety of the environment and the people while pursuing economic benefits. It is the marketing of product and services that are environmentally friendly (Ajike et al., 2015). Ensuring that the environment is preserved for future use through organisational activities is central to the concept of green marketing. This is achieved by incorporating consumer protection practices, product modifications and creating a sustainable distribution process (ibid.). Achieving the goal of green marketing is, therefore, crucial; literature has also shown that green-marketing success is an antecedent to issues like customer loyalty (Martínez, 2015), firm’s performance (Hasan & Ali, 2015), corporate image (Yadav et al., 2016), business development, increased natural ecosystem and quality of life (Vilkaite-Vaitone & Skackauskiene, 2019). Despite these positive social, economic and ecological outcomes recorded through green marketing, the practice (green marketing) by

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itself is not enough to offer solutions to environmental problems. Citizens, government and organisational resources (e.g. people), therefore, are needed for successful green-marketing activities towards sustainable development. Interestingly, previous studies (i.e. Bailey et al., 2018; Nguyen et al., 2018, 2019; Papadas et al., 2019; Shabbir et al., 2020) have focused more on the application of green scale, young consumers’ green purchase behaviours, organic food purchase in emerging markets, green-marketing orientation on competitive advantage and green-marketing approaches on consumers behaviour respectively with less attention on the role of people and people-management practices, in the success of green business activities in emerging markets. Green marketing is one of the strategies businesses adopt to promote green practices and environmentally safe products and services. With the opportunities in green people management, green consumers and a green workforce, it is crucial that researchers elucidate the role of people and people management, in the successful implementation of green practices, such as green marketing. Our focus in this book is on the role of people in the successful implementation of green marketing and management in emerging markets.

Green Marketing and Management Through People, in Emerging Markets Sustainable business practice is a major concept in modern business practices, as managers seek to build a corporate business image that appeals to the sustainability yearnings of stakeholders (government, consumers and the organisation) (Ajike et  al., 2015; Hasan, & Ali, 2015; Mishra, & Sharma, 2010). It is imperative for businesses, in this era, to operate with the consciousness of the environmental needs of their society. Sustainable business practices are important for the safety of the environment, the continuous survival and performance of businesses and, hence, have social and economic implications on the larger society (Papadas et  al., 2019; Wymer & Polonsky, 2015). To this end, businesses must engage in practices that promote sustainable production and consumption; this will alter the processes of production, promotion, packaging and service rendering to the consumers. Thus, sustainable practices have mutual benefits for firms, the government, society and the people.

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About 85% (6 billion people) of the global population live in emerging markets, and this population is significantly younger than those in developed economies (Muller, 2018). For instance, Africa is the fastest-growing consumer market in the world, and by 2030, markets such as Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt are projected to become the largest consumer markets (Signe, 2018). Emerging markets provide the potential for businesses and opportunities for sustainable green business practices. The large percentage of the younger population in the emerging markets provides businesses with the opportunity to drive green practices for sustainable development, through the people. This is because extant literature has shown that the younger population of generations Y and Z appear to be more green-oriented and, hence, encourage green products and practices towards sustainable development (Dabija, 2018; Keve & Bryzek, 2019; Price, 2018). In an emerging market, people are the most valuable asset, around whom social and economic policies must be designed (Muller, 2018; Signer & Johnson, 2018). Emerging markets in Latin America and East Asia are experiencing a steady decline in the population of youth, while the reverse is the case in Africa and South Asia. The population of youth in Africa and South Asia is on the increase and will continue to record unprecedented numbers of youthful population for many decades to come (Lam, 2006). A youthful population has social and economic implication for emerging markets. Literature has shown that green practices appeal to the youth more than to the older generation; therefore, it is important that businesses in emerging market nations harness their youthful population’s potentials towards achieving green goals. For instance, African has the largest concentration of a youthful population in the world with 226 million youth, representing one-fifth of the world’s youth population (United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, n.d.). In addition, 19 countries in Africa have the world’s youngest population (Myers, 2019). The young population in Africa can be harnessed for green business performance, which, although costly, its benefits of sustainable business practices, outweigh the cost. Businesses around the world are, therefore, being pressurised to adopt sustainable initiatives, but more urgently, in emerging markets due to their practices’ concomitant environmental challenges. The continuous increase in the establishment of industries in emerging markets has heightened environmental problems which call for immediate sustainable remedies (Jayanti & Gowda, 2014). Green marketing affords

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businesses in emerging markets, the opportunity to reduce waste, curb environmental pollution and increase the production of eco-friendly products (Mishra & Sharma, 2010; Nguyen et  al., 2019); therefore, green-­ marketing management is an approach to marketing that offers economic, environmental and social benefits to emerging markets. To achieve green-marketing success, businesses in emerging markets must harness the skills, initiatives and orientation of people. People in this context are leaders, managers, employees and customers who are major drivers of green practices (Hameed et  al., 2020); hence, green people-­ management practices are established due to the crucial role of people in green success. Through the right green people-focused policies and practices, organisations can communicate green-marketing activities, initiate a green-conscious production process and render services that promote environmental sustainability. Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) has recently evolved because of the continuous need for people who are green conscious. Through GHRM and GM, organisations can have broad business strategies that stimulate people towards green innovation and action plan. Without people who are green conscious in an organisation, it will be challenging to drive and achieve the goals of green practices, such as green marketing. Thus, sustainability practices appeal to green-conscious people (i.e. individuals who consider the environmental implications of their actions). In this context, consumers are also crucial to businesses’ sustainability agenda in emerging markets, as they must understand their need and the factors that stimulate their green purchases. This edited book proposes how organisations can achieve green-­ marketing goals through people who are sine qua non to achieving a green emerging-economy.

Structure of the Book The book is divided into four parts and structured along a similar line of argument for a comprehensive flow and ease of reference. Part I is titled “Introducing Green Marketing, Green Business Practices and People Management” and it contains the first three chapters, which introduce readers to the concept of green marketing (GM), green business practices and Green Human Resources Management (GHRM). Robert E.  Hinson, Ogechi Adeola and Isaiah Adisa introduce the concept of “Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets” in Chap. 1. Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, Bright James Nyarkoh and Esmond Naalu

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Kuuyelleh, in Chap. 2, discuss “Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies” while Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey examines “Green Human Resources Management as an Innovation Mechanism” in Chap. 3. Part II, entitled “Green Marketing and Green Leadership”, focuses on how leadership can drive the achievement of green-marketing goals. Olamide Shittu and Christian Nygaard, in Chap. 4, discuss “Green Marketing and Social Practices: Managing People as Carriers of Sustainability Practices” while Godbless Akaighe and Samuel Okon interrogate “Driving Green Marketing in Emerging Markets Through Green Leadership” in Chap. 5. Through case studies, Helen Song-Turner and Damian Morgan empirically examine “Green Leadership Approaches and Motivations for Green Practice Implementation Among Marketing Firms in China” in Chap. 6. Lastly, in Chap. 7, Ogechi Adeola, Jude Edeh and Isaiah Adisa explicate “Green Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market Context: A People Perspective”. Part III, which captures the concept of “Green Competencies, Potentials and Engagement in Emerging Markets”, contains three chapters. Mary Wanjiru Kinoti and Abel Kinoti Meru identify competencies needed for green-marketing success in emerging markets, in Chap. 8 entitled “Competencies for Green Marketing Success in Emerging Markets”. Isaiah Adisa, Ogechi Adeola and Akin Oparison, in Chap. 9 “Harnessing the Potentials of Generation Green for Green Marketing Success in Africa’s Emerging Economies”, propose how emerging markets in Africa can harness the opportunities in the continent’s green generation, for green-­ marketing success. Esmond Naalu Kuuyelleh, Desmond Tutu Ayentimi and Hossein Ali Abadi, in Chap. 10, focus on “Green People Management, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement”. The chapter suggests how green goals could be achieved through employee engagement, internal communication and green people-management practices. Lastly, Part IV of the book includes the concluding chapter titled “Conclusion and Implications for Theoretical Adoption, Policy Formulation and Managerial Decision-Making in Emerging Markets”. The editors Robert E. Hinson, Ogechi Adeola and Isaiah Adisa recommend policy formulation and managerial decisions in emerging markets in Chap. 11, and they outline the theoretical and practical implications of the green concept from the entire deliberations.

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Conclusion Green marketing is a step in the right direction for economies seeking to address their sustainability concerns, especially as they relate to sustainable production and consumption, which are crucial aspects of sustainable development. Through a well-implemented green-marketing plan, emerging markets, across the globe, can respond to their environmental challenges and also satisfy aspects of sustainable development goals. People, especially the young population among other resources, provide emerging markets with their best opportunity towards achieving sustainable development, through green business practices; this book elucidates various ways through which emerging markets can make this a reality.

References Ajike, E. O., Amos, N. B., & Kabuoh, M. N. (2015). Green marketing: A tool for achieving sustainable development in Nigeria. International Journal of Advanced Research in Statistics, Management and Finance, 3(1), 1–14. Bailey, A. A., Mishra, A. S., & Tiamiyu, M. F. (2018). Application of GREEN scale to understanding US consumer response to green marketing communications. Psychology & Marketing, 35(11), 863–875. Dabija, D.  C. (2018). Enhancing green loyalty towards apparel retail stores: A cross-generational analysis on an emerging market. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 4(1), 8. Dangelico, R. M., & Vocalelli, D. (2017). “Green marketing”: An analysis of definitions, strategy steps, and tools through a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Cleaner Production, 165, 1263–1279. Hameed, Z., Khan, I.  U., Islam, T., Sheikh, Z., & Naeem, R.  M. (2020). Do green HRM practices influence employees’ environmental performance? International Journal of Manpower, 41(7), 1061–1079. Hasan, Z., & Ali, N. A. (2015). The impact of green marketing strategy on the firm’s performance in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172(27), 463–470. Jayanti, R.  K., & Gowda, M.  R. (2014). Sustainability dilemmas in emerging economies. IIMB Management Review, 26(2), 130–142. Katrandjiev, H. (2016). Ecological marketing, green marketing, sustainable marketing: Synonyms оr аn evolution оf ideas. Economic Alternatives, 1, 71–82. Keve, R., & Bryzek, M. (2019). Green generations: Millennials and Gen Z change the fabric of fashion. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/09/08/ green-­generations-­millennials-­and-­gen-­z-­change-­the-­fabric-­of-­fashion

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Lam, D. (2006). The demography of youth in developing countries and its economic implications. The World Bank. Lockrey, S. (2015). A review of life cycle based ecological marketing strategy for new product development in the organisational environment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 95, 1–15. Martínez, P. (2015). Customer loyalty: Exploring its antecedents from a green marketing perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(5), 896–917. Miles, M. P., & Covin, J. G. (2000). Environmental marketing: A source of reputational, competitive, and financial advantage. Journal of Business Ethics, 23(3), 299–311. Mishra, P., & Sharma, P. (2010). Green marketing in India: Emerging opportunities and challenges. Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education, 3(1), 9–14. Muller, D. (2018). Emerging Markets—Powerhouse of global growth. Ashmore. http://www.ashmoregroup.com/sites/default/files/articledocs/MC_10%20 May18_2.pdf Myers, J (2019) 19 of the world’s 20 youngest countries are in Africa. https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/youngest-­populations-­africa/ Nguyen, H.  V., Nguyen, N., Nguyen, B.  K., Lobo, A., & Vu, P.  A. (2019). Organic food purchases in an emerging market: The influence of consumers’ personal factors and green marketing practices of food stores. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 1037. Nguyen, T. N., Lobo, A., & Nguyen, B. K. (2018). Young consumers’ green purchase behaviour in an emerging market. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 26(7), 583–600. Papadas, K. K., Avlonitis, G. J., Carrigan, M., & Piha, L. (2019). The interplay of strategic and internal green marketing orientation on competitive advantage. Journal of Business Research, 104, 632–643. Price, T. (2018). ‘Generation Green’: How millennials will shape the circular economy. https://environmentjournal.online/articles/generation-­green-­how-­ millennials-­will-­shape-­the-­circular-­economy/ Shabbir, M. S., Bait Ali Sulaiman, M. A., Hasan Al-Kumaim, N., Mahmood, A., & Abbas, M. (2020). Green marketing approaches and their impact on consumer behavior towards the environment—A study from the UAE. Sustainability, 12(21), 8977. Signer, L., & Johnson, C. (2018). Africa’s consumer market potential: Trends, drivers, opportunities, and strategies. Africa Growth Initiatives, pp.  1–34. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-­c ontent/uploads/2018/12/Africas-­ consumer-­market-­potential.pdf United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa. (n.d.) Youth empowerment. https://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/youth.shtml#:~:text=This%20

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global%20trend%20has%20particular,of%20the%20world’s%20youth%20 population Van Dam, Y.  K., & Apeldoorn, P.  A. (1996). Sustainable marketing. Journal of Macromarketing, 16(2), 45–56. Vilkaite-Vaitone, N., & Skackauskiene, I. (2019). Green marketing orientation: Evolution, conceptualisation and potential benefits. Open Economics, 2(1), 53–62. Wymer, W., & Polonsky, M. J. (2015). The limitations and potentialities of green marketing. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 27(3), 239–262. Yadav, R., Kumar, A., & Swaroop, G. (2016). The influence of green marketing functions in building corporate image: Evidences from hospitality industry in a developing nation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(10), 2178–2196.

CHAPTER 2

Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, Bright James Nyarkoh, and Esmond Naalu Kuuyelleh

Abstract  The notion of sustainable development has propelled a new pathway for countries and corporate enterprises to re-orient towards green business practices which echoes the integration of environmental, social, and economic considerations into corporate strategic thinking to benefit the present and future generations. The environmental, economic, and

D. T. Ayentimi (*) School of Management and Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia e-mail: [email protected] B. J. Nyarkoh Department of Development Studies, S.D. Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana E. N. Kuuyelleh Department of Secretaryship and Management Studies, Bolgatanga Technical University, Bolgatanga, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_2

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social elements are closely interconnected and cannot be considered distinctly within the sustainable development framework. The positive synergies and sustainability of businesses can be nurtured by integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations into corporate managerial thinking. This chapter explores the emerging new normal of green business practices with a focus on examining the level of receptivity and progress with green business practices in emerging economies. Green business practices offer a new corporate paradigm that attempts to lessen the impact of corporate activities on the environment and the wider society. Keywords  Emerging economies • Environment • Green business practices • Social • Sustainability

Introduction The green business practice debate and trend has traditionally been promoted by corporate entities and governments in developed economies. In recent times, it has become of great importance in many developing and emerging economies as well. Indeed, emerging and developing markets are progressively developing both their sustainability and financial capabilities. Traditionally, managers of corporate enterprises were concerned with their monetary profits (or economic bottom lines). Today, many corporate managers and business practitioners have begun to consider sustainability and corporate responsibility. The notions of sustainability and green business practice have witnessed fundamental growth and receptivity across developed and developing economies. Business sustainability, and by extension, green business practice, represents the approach to integrate economic, social, and ecological considerations into business operations (Depken & Zeman, 2018). There are prospects for enterprises in emerging and developing markets to benefit from corporate actions which advance the agenda of sustainable development. For example, while prior economic theory argued that investments in sustainability practices create additional costs and adversely impact a firm’s financial performance, the emerging corporate sustainability literature continues to provide evidence

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to suggest that a firm’s investment in green innovation can increase its performance and competitiveness (Guo et al., 2020). A firm’s reputation and brand value can be considerably boosted by actions which enrich its social and environmental performance. Firms’ reputations are intangible assets, but help to attract capital and retain talents, build business partners and increase sales (Guo et al., 2020). Business competitiveness and operational superiority have characterised the global business environment combined with increasing flexibility in customer demands and expectations (Udokporo et al., 2020). Customers are now more conscious than ever before and are not only demanding information on firms’ environmental impact, but also information on their social impact as well as their responsiveness to the needs of the wider society. In this knowledge-based economy, developing eco-innovation practices helps businesses to deliver value to their customers and other key stakeholders. Firms with eco-innovative capabilities must be able to address the ecological and social needs, and expectations of customers (Fernando et al., 2019). Extending the discussion through ‘lean thinking’, Caldera et al. (2017) suggest that the lean approach to business thinking facilitates business sustainability practices as it positively impacts on business environmental performance. Lean thinking are processes that support businesses in eliminating non-value-adding activities and deliver better customer value, practices which correspond with corporate sustainability and sustainable development principles (Caldera et  al., 2019). Even though the benefits of green business practices are well documented in the corporate sustainability literature (Lüdeke-Freund & Dembek, 2017), the likely implications that may result from applying green business practices among businesses in developing and emerging economies are yet to receive significant research attention. The existing green business literature tends to recognise direct economic costs, as the principal drawback of employing green business practices, at the expense of contextual constraints rooted within developing and emerging markets as well as perceived risks—behavioural, psychological, and structural (Tura et al., 2019). This chapter explores the emerging new normal of green business practice with a focus on examining the level of receptivity and progress with green business practice in emerging economies. The chapter further highlights important lessons for developing and emerging economies.

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Conceptualising Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies Corporate sustainability has been considered an important component of recent corporate catchphrases in many corporate organisations, from large corporations to start-ups across the globe (Soytas & Atik, 2018). Most importantly, the emerging global challenges including climate change, increasing poverty, food insecurity, and rapid urbanisation provide a real-­ world consideration of sustainable development as an essential and urgent theme, particularly in less developed and emerging economies (Dhahri & Omri, 2018). Even though the idea of sustainable development is not relatively new, it was not until 1992 that the United Nations underscored the need to ensure societal resources are explored to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the stability of the natural systems for future generations. This commitment of sustainable development was re-echoed in 2015 through the propagation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda which ‘provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future’. The notion of sustainable development is conceptualised on the assumption of the usage of natural resources or other resources in a way that does not affect the human environment, and the initial coverage was around poverty reduction, environmental protection, and economic growth (Everard & Longhurst, 2018). Sustainable development thinking offers a new development paradigm that attempts to lessen the impact of human activities on the environment (Halati & He, 2018). Korczak and Kijewska (2016) argued that sustainable development represents the consolidation of the economy with the laws of nature in relation to the consideration of natural resource usage. The sustainable development frame of understanding corresponds with the quality of life, which centres on three broad societal dimensions—ecological, economic, and social (Soytas & Atik, 2018). The ecological element of sustainable development generally focuses on resolving environmental challenges by upholding the quality of the environment (Xia et al., 2018). The economic aspect of sustainable development seeks to create good economic conditions for persistent growth which

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potentially is reflected in improved housing, technical infrastructure, transport systems, business development, and spatial planning (Korczak & Kijewska, 2016). The social dimension of sustainable development supports the creation of enabling social conditions for human needs in society. These social conditions include security, education, sports, culture, and recreational values (Olawumi & Chan, 2018). Primarily, at every level of corporate governance, there is a rising consent that sustainable development should not only be driven by globally established corporations but by local organisations—large and small—as well as start-ups. It is this notion of sustainable development that has propelled a new pathway for countries and corporate enterprises to re-orient towards green business practice which echoes the integration of environmental, social, and economic considerations into corporate strategic thinking to benefit the present and future generations. It is also propelling corporate organisations to incorporate sustainability into their business decisions as well as their operational and strategic goals. The environmental, economic, and social elements are closely interconnected and cannot be considered distinctly within the sustainable development framework. This perspective corresponds with the theory of the ‘triple bottom line’ often highlighted as the three Ps: profit, people, and planet, a combination which has been well grounded within the field of accounting. The concept of the ‘triple bottom line’ extends the traditional accounting principle of profit to include environmental and social performance of corporate entities—sustainability accounting (Buffa et al., 2018). The conceptualisation of the ‘triple bottom line’ theory is to create a broader perspective to evaluate corporate performance for greater business value. According to Tura et al. (2019), green business practice denotes policies, activities, and initiatives of corporate entities that aim at addressing social and environmental concerns while sustaining corporate profitability. The positive synergies and sustainability of businesses can be nurtured by integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations into managerial corporate thinking. Green business practice offers a new corporate paradigm that attempts to lessen the impact of human activities on the environment and the wider society (Fig. 2.1).

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Fig. 2.1  Illustration of the view of green business practices

Examining the Level of Receptivity and Progress with Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies There exists a global divide between countries and economies based on their level of development—developed, emerging, and developing economies. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regularly rates the progress of countries based on specific standards and measurable indicators including access to educational attainment, health care, and living standards which produce a rating that is termed Human Development Index (HDI). The global divide outlines the development disparities between countries and specifically highlights the development imbalance across the world which has occasioned some countries to fall back in human capital development, technology utilisation, political and corporate governance, and infrastructure (Ayentimi, 2020). The term ‘emerging market’ was initially coined to depict a relatively narrow list of higher- to middle-income economies among developing countries, with

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stock markets in which foreign investors could buy securities. Over the years, the concept has since been extended to include all developing countries with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of less than $10,000 (see IFC, 2002). Emerging economies, also known as emerging markets, are countries that are undertaking rapid investment in productive capacity and exhibiting some characteristics and future potential of developed markets. Emerging economies are moving away from their traditional economies—raw materials export and agriculture—and becoming more engaged with global markets. Given the fact that emerging economies largely do not have the level of development of regulatory institutions and market efficiencies as found among developed economies, the level of receptivity and progress with the engagement of green business practice amongst corporate entities is likely to be different. Within the last decade, in many industries and economic sectors, green business practice and by extension corporate sustainability has become an essential component of the overarching corporate strategy. Corporate entities that engage in green business practices are able to minimise the ecological impact of their activities, whilst creating sustained economic benefits and demonstrating corporate social responsibility commitment to key stakeholders including employees, customers, regulators, and the wider community (Tura et  al., 2019). The emerging corporate sustainability literature highlights the fact that the general attitude of corporations large and small towards green business practices has been progressive, particularly in developed and emerging economies (Singh et  al., 2020). This progressiveness in the engagement of green business practices has been attributed to the view that business sustainability practices offer possible interesting business and economic opportunities. There is increasing evidence of corporate investments in environmental and sustainability activities, though these investments may be influenced by several factors (Caldera et al., 2017). For example, while many consumers are conscious of sustainability issues, others are demanding and making purchasing decisions around businesses environmental and social performance. Shao and Ünal (2019) acknowledge that consumers are important enablers of businesses’ receptiveness to green practices because consumption behaviour can influence firms’ operationalisations. It has been argued that compliance with green business protocols in the long term may offer businesses local and international legitimacy, differentiating power and brand equity (Guo et al., 2020), which are important capabilities for gaining and sustaining a competitive edge. This also demonstrates a contrary view of

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green business practices as a cost, which is mostly linked to regulatory costs (Tura et al., 2019). The corporate institutionalism literature argues that the robustness of regulatory institutions, which is noticeable in developed economies, partly underpins many corporate entities’ adoption of green business practices (Udokporo et al., 2020). Over the last few years, there have been growing regulatory demands for the assessment of businesses’ sustainability performance. For example, it is now mandatory for listed firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to report on their economic, social, and environmental performance—sustainability reporting. Importantly, South Africa is among the few emerging markets and arguably the only African country to initiate mandatory sustainability reporting (Wachira et  al., 2016). Similarly, the commitment among businesses beyond regulatory demands for voluntary sustainability certification has also increased significantly across emerging markets. For example, the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), since its establishment, has developed over 21,000 standards which practically cover every sector and industry from agriculture and food safety to manufacturing and technology. Other recognised standards and certification bodies include Social Accountability 8000 ‘that encourages corporate entities to develop, maintain and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace’. Similarly, the AccountAbility’s (AA1000) standards offer ‘principles-based Standards and Frameworks used by a broad spectrum of organisations—private enterprises, global businesses, civil societies and governments—to demonstrate performance and leadership in sustainability, responsibility and accountability’. To understand managerial drivers, practices, and performance within the green supply chain domain, Micheli et  al. (2020) identified institutional requirement, ISO certification amongst others to greatly impact the relationships between ‘drivers’ practices’ and ‘practices performance’. Collectively, the emerging corporate sustainability literature points to current business strategic thinking, customer demands, the appetite for competitiveness, and profitability as compelling drivers of corporate sustainability (Udokporo et al., 2020). Drawing specific evidence from the logistics service and freight transport industry, Centobelli et  al. (2020) found that the influence of green business practices and enabling technologies is rising and offering stimulating business opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large multinational firms within the sector. Similarly, Shao and Ünal (2019, p.  1473) ‘noted that the

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environmental impact of information has a significant influence on green purchasing’. Increasingly, corporate entities investing in green business practices are seeking for ‘win-win’, where social, environmental, and economic benefits can be achieved whilst satisfying customer and regulatory demands (Tura et al., 2019).

Discussion and Lessons for Emerging Economies The possibility for the positive impact of green business practice is high and widely perceived, especially in emerging markets where the focus is on developing cost-efficient services and products. Cumulatively, this chapter highlights several and important lessons for corporate sustainability literature through the lens of developing and emerging economies. First, despite the benefits of green business practices being well documented in the corporate sustainability literature (Anthony Jr et al., 2020), the likely implications that may result from implementing green business practices among businesses in developing and emerging economies are yet to receive significant research attention. The existing literature tends to recognise direct economic costs, as the principal drawback of employing green business practices, at the expense of contextual constraints rooted within developing and emerging markets as well as perceived risks—behavioural, psychological, and structural (Tura et al., 2019). These contextual constraints highlighted in the chapter include the domination of economic informality and weaknesses in regulatory institutions, which, in turn, demonstrate how green business initiatives and green strategic thinking may be constrained in the face of key actors’ best intents. This may help business owners and corporate entities understand why investment in green business practices may not be successful or witness resistance as a result of limited support from key stakeholders (e.g. regulators). On the other hand, by understanding the latent sources of contextual constraints rooted within developing and emerging markets, regulatory institutions and other actors may be able to forestall and mitigate possible rigidities to advance green business practices in emerging markets. Second, Tura et  al. (2019, p.  229) ‘identified four types of tensions (economic, structural, psychological, and behavioral) that tend to manifest in a firm’s network due to the implementation of sustainable business practices. The authors further illustrate how different network actors perceive them.’ Implicitly or explicitly, the evolving corporate sustainability literature supports a broader valuation of investments in green business

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practices beyond economic costs and may possibly provide a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, as well as a superior option for corporate entities and business managers to be successful in promoting and advancing green business practices. Therefore, important lessons for emerging economies and corporate managers are to pay attention to how varied actors in business and corporate networks perceive and experience the impact of green business practices. Third, the adoption of green business practices requires a range of abilities, resources, and skills that may be a stretch for many corporate entities and particularly for SMEs and start-ups (Depken & Zeman, 2018). In some instances, this may be perceived as unachievable for many managers and owners of SMEs. However, Seles et al. (2019) found that even during economic uncertainties, green business practices associated with a firm’s dynamic capabilities and strategy can still enhance its performance. Drawing from organisational theory through the lens of the resource-­ based view of the firm, dynamic capabilities represent an organisation’s capacity to decisively create and reconfigure its competencies to respond to changing business environmental needs (Haarhaus & Liening, 2020). During economic uncertainties, the capabilities and competencies of firms can be reconfigured to build long-term competitiveness. Importantly, businesses in emerging and developing markets where economic uncertainties are visible may potentially benefit from the awareness that investing in green business practices can support business performance even during challenging economic times (Seles et al., 2019). In addition, it is emerging from the corporate sustainability literature that ‘lean thinking’ which draws from the ideals of green thinking and business sustainability has the potential to transform businesses to generate best business outcomes through the incorporation of sustainable business practices including cleaner production and resource productivity which help to eliminate waste and enhance efficiency. Drawing from the perspective of resource efficiency, Caldera, Desha and Dawes (2017, p.  1559) argued that ‘lean thinking is a critical, but still underutilised approach within the modern industrial system’. Primarily, lean thinking presents specialised lean processes and techniques which can be utilised by corporate entities in developing and emerging markets to reduce their ecological impact on the environment. Interestingly, one of the key concerns is the fact that many corporate entities in developing and emerging markets manage issues around green business practices in silos (Jayanti & Rajeev Gowda, 2014). While many organisations are committed to

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promoting green business practices, they fail to integrate sustainability commitment into corporate strategy. Sustainable corporate governance denotes the integration of social, environmental, and economic considerations into corporate strategy which requires top managerial commitment and knowledge. According to Jayanti and Rajeev Gowda (2014), the greatest challenge for sustainable governance in emerging markets is how to persuade top management to adopt the appropriate views towards green business practices. The diverse stakeholder groups offer unending potential in making a business case for sustainability, strengthening the advancement of green business practices in emerging markets. These stakeholders include the government, investors, customers, civil society organisations, and the media. Cumulatively, the emerging evidence highlights the fact that the level of stakeholder influence on corporate entities to propel increasing interests in business sustainability activities in developed economies has been growing faster than in developing and emerging markets. Therefore, in order to strengthen the advancement of green business practices, the state represents a key stakeholder to making a business case for sustainability (IFC, 2002). However, in emerging and developing markets where weak governance remains the underlying challenge, issues of corruption, contradictory regulations, and unrealistic policies are typical characteristics (Ayentimi et al., 2016). For example, labour and environmental regulations may be too rigid to the extent that they hinder companies from being able to engage in green business practices, or become too flexible to the extent that they create managerial prerogative for companies to engage in green business practices. More importantly, regulatory enforcement of labour and environmental laws may generally be absent or weak, leading to insufficient enticements for businesses to comply with such regulations (IFC, 2002). In some instances, the absence of sustainability regulations and the existence of corruption in most emerging and developing markets may, in reality, encourage businesses to engage in environmentally damaging activities. Yet, the emerging sustainability literature points to the fact that increased regulatory demands contribute to increasing adoption of green business practices amongst businesses across the world (Seles et al., 2019). To a large extent, regulatory confidence, supported by strong and enforceable regulatory standards, plays a key role in boosting the business case for green business practices in emerging markets. On the one hand, there is emerging evidence to suggest that despite the institutional and regulatory

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constraints, some governments in developing and emerging markets are developing appropriate initiatives to improve good governance and advance the green business agenda (IFC, 2002). There is potential within developing and emerging economies to exert greater influence in promoting business sustainability practices. In promoting and consolidating green business practices in emerging and developing markets, investors can play a key and important role. Investors are influential and can be broad and distinct, ranging from institutional investors to individual investors, other corporate institutions, and even governments. Investors, through their investment decisions, will likely favour sustainable businesses. This will further stimulate the business case for green business practices in emerging and developing markets. Primarily, there is progressively more evidence of the relationship between investment in business sustainable practices and firms’ financial performance (Fernando et al., 2019). On the one hand, there is also evidence of weak sustainability business case for firms developing products and services for emerging and developing markets (IFC, 2002). Even though in comparison with the developed markets, the influences of customer crusading and social action have contributed less to propelling business sustainability agenda in emerging markets, customers continue to represent an important driver of sustainability practices. It is through increasing customer demands that firms may be influenced to improve their environmental and labour standards. In the developed markets, there is growing evidence to suggest that firms are under intense pressure from customers’ demands to operate within the dictates of sustainability (Buffa et  al., 2018). Thus, customer crusading and social action may offer potential opportunities for firms in emerging markets to make a strong business case for green business practices. Finally, in addition to customer demands, civil society organisations, media, and community interest groups have over recent years supported promoting sustainability. Several civil society organisations, through their crusading programmes, are regularly exposing firms’ poor labour and environmental performance (IFC, 2002). Civil society organisations and community interest groups are increasingly lobbying state agencies and institutions to improve regulatory demands for mutual business sustainability goals. It is also important to acknowledge that the level of civil society influence on corporate entities may vary from country to country as some are likely to have significant influence in some countries compared to others. In recent years, and within the political science literature, in

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addition to the three arms of government—the legislature, executive, and judiciary—the media is acknowledged as the fourth arm owing to its influence in promoting accountability and driving transparency. The media provides sustainability information about firms and rates firms that are performing well and those that are failing (IFC, 2002). This singular responsibility of the media can compel businesses to engage in green business practices. Nonetheless, with some noticeable exceptions, in some emerging and developing markets, the media is yet to acquire that independence and freedom to play such an important role in accountability and transparency, especially in countries failing on good governance, transparency, and accountability.

Conclusion The emerging corporate sustainability literature underscores the value of regulatory demands and corporate sustainability practices and policies. To demonstrate corporate social responsibility commitment, increasing customer sustainability consciousness with the provision of sustainability information could help to simplify and redefine customers’ perceptions of the value of sustainable products and services. This approach offers an important window to advance green marketing in emerging markets. This new corporate strategic thinking provides an important entry point for developing and emerging economies to address the emerging global challenges, including climate change, increasing poverty, food insecurity, and rapid urbanisation. This would suggest that developing and emerging economies consider green business practices and ‘lean thinking’ as an opportunity to concurrently address pressing issues around climate change, inequality, social injustice, and poverty and, therefore, seeking to achieve an inclusive green economy. Importantly, the transition to a green economy in developing and emerging markets presents some key constraints. First, the environment underpinning a green economy requires a range of robust institutional and regulatory arrangements. The challenges inherent with the institutional and regulatory arrangements are indicative that developing and emerging markets may not be able to drive green business practices or sustainability practices using regulatory demands. Firms are less likely to be under public and regulatory pressure to demonstrate high environmental and social standards, as the external business sustainability drivers in developing markets tend to be weaker. On the contrary, corporate entities’

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response to green business practices or sustainability practices in developing and emerging markets may tend to be driven by current and growing business strategic thinking, customer demands, the appetite for competitiveness, and profitability. This may offer strong underpinning drivers outside regulatory demands to promote and advance green business practices in emerging and developing markets in line with the global sustainable development agenda. If emerging markets, in their effort to connect to the global market, are to win the global competition, it is essential to embed green business practices throughout the firms’ operations, shaping the entire production value chain, engaging the workforce, and incorporating sustainability practices into the entire management system.

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CHAPTER 3

Green Human Resources Management as an Innovation Mechanism Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey

Abstract  Going green is a competitive business strategy mainly driven by the pressures from stakeholders for businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices to sustain the environment. In line with this, Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) adopts sustainable practices to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment. The concept of GHRM proposes green behaviours to support the green business agenda, but the cost of investment deters organisations from going fully green. This chapter discusses the concept, strategies and fears of businesses in developing and managing green employees, the internal customers, to support the environmental management agenda. GHRM can be conceptualised from the time of entry to the exit of workers. The outcome of GHRM activities needs to be measured to determine the benefits to organisations of varying sizes and not just to manage an environmental problem. Keywords  Green Human Resource Management • Human resource management • Innovation • Green behaviour • Eco-friendly initiative

Y. A. Lamptey (*) University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_3

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Introduction Competitive businesses are driving the sustainability agenda, and human resource management is integrating varying green practices to align. A strategic link between employees’ green behaviour, top management committed practices and a culture that promotes environmental sustainability of organisations is essential in adopting green strategies to deliver value. Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) has been conceptualised to influence employee green behaviour, cost reduction and environmental performance (El-Kassar & Singh, 2019; Fraj et  al., 2011; Iqbal et  al., 2018; Renwick et al., 2013). Going green provides the sense of control workers desire in the technological environment even though they believe that technology also provides the employer a stricter electronic eye to monitor worker performance and to discipline non-compliance. The technological change impacts workplace cultures, structures, politics and social agency in general because socio-technical systems become dominant work arrangements that challenge the status quo (Van den Broek et al., 2004). These GHRM activities specifically focus on paperless approaches to formulate environmental and social goals, corporate values and sustainable strategy which impinge on corporate philosophy. Using these systems, therefore, raise the need for due diligence considering the ethical and legal implications on trust which has a significant bearing on the employment relationship in the context of individuals, businesses, environment and society (Opatha & Arulrajah, 2014). Some HR activities are easier to align to green practices like employee training, but to drive the environmental agenda, GHRM needs full green perspectives though it is deemed costly and burdensome especially for firms in emerging countries in the change process. Leaders’ intentions need to corroborate with green organisational initiatives. Given the arguments, this chapter aims to discuss how green human resource management promotes green HRM innovation and the factors that facilitate the adoption of green HRM.

The Factors Determining the Adoption of Environmentally Friendly Business Practices Environmental sustainability drives businesses, and the stakeholder theory explains the intent of business partners to drive the environmental agenda (Phillips, 2003). Stakeholders demand that firms take specific actions because of the effect on them and the community. Institutional pressures

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also influence organisations to adopt green practices in coercive, mimetic and normative forms to structurally align management practices to the green agenda (DiMaggio & Powell, 1991). To promote GHRM practices, the internal factors (managerial concerns and the human resource behaviours) should be synchronous with the organisation’s external factors. The more business activities threaten life, the more owners of businesses become conscious of sustaining the environment. The firm’s ability to compete in uniqueness is also described by the resource-based view (RBV). The RBV describes the unique resources (human, physical, organisational) organisations must create for competitive advantage. However, organisations do not seem convinced on environmentally friendly activities where legislation barely exists to enforce these practices (Graci & Dodds, 2008). More so, the measurement of these green activities is unclear, and industries are developing action plans in their given contexts. The difficulties they encounter in cost, the complexity of changing familiar processes and realigning behaviour to get used to the new norm, inability to even get to learn what is best and working well with competitors in the name of protecting trade secrets discourage organisations from investing in green activities (Henderson, 2007). Some stakeholders, especially customers, are also not demanding adequate quantities of green products, services or facilities to drive firms to go fully green (Graci & Dodds, 2008; Pryce, 2001). Brown (1994) noticed that undertaking green initiatives for economic benefits alone is not enough drive for firms to invest. Stakeholder pressure is viewed as a dominant predictor of managerial attitudes towards the implementation of green initiatives among hotels in the United States (Park & Kim, 2014). The determinant factors influencing the adoption of green HRM practice such as the compatibility of green practices, quality of human resources, organisational support, relative advantage, regulatory pressure and government support have a significant influence on the adoption of green practices by logistic companies in China (Lin & Ho, 2011). These factors are in three main categories: organisational, environmental and technical. The organisational factors are organisational support, quality of human resources and company size. The environmental factors include customer pressure, regulatory pressure, governmental support and environmental uncertainty. In addition, the availability of technical resources to an organisation and firm size determine the firm’s capacity to undertake appropriate eco-friendly initiatives (López-Gamero et al., 2008; Bowen, 2002). In organisations where environmental management is the responsibility of executives, there exists a

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robust green culture as compared to organisations without any executive in charge of green matters (Aragon-Correa et al., 2004).

Understanding the Concept of Green in HRM Practice Green practices in human resource management began in 1996 in discussions and publications on greening people, in different forms and levels, and the practices were not embedded into corporate systems because they were new. Renwick et  al. (2013) conceptualised GHRM using a three-­ model framework for selected HR activities, to develop green ability, motivate employees to adopt green behaviours and provide an opportunity for undertaking green activities. The shade of green is important because the human resource will have to change their thinking and behaviour to environmentally friendly ways through learning and knowledge sharing (McGuire & Garavan, 2010; Yusoff & Nejati, 2019). GHRM practices are the HRM techniques, programmes and processes which promote environmental sustainability (Jabbour & Santos, 2008). The concept of green gives the notion of keeping it natural to the environment to preserve the ecological state. People keep the natural state of the environment due to climate change and the overuse of natural resources. The intent of GHRM is to develop, implement and maintain a system that makes employees ‘go green’ (Opatha & Arulrajah, 2014). HRM achieves its green goals by developing green policies, practices and systems to create, enhance and retain a ‘green sense’ in its people resource. This green sense is developed through green competencies, attitudes and behaviours aimed at achieving green outcomes. To achieve these outcomes, HRM practices are reviewed and modified to respond to the aspect of internal corporate social responsibility (Wagner, 2013) which is achieved through internal marketing to make employees aware of green values. The internal green culture will propel employees to achieve green goals when the corporate management commits to the green vision.

Outcomes of the Adoption of GHRM Practices Organisations that practise green human resource management have been noted to experience increased sales, desirable employee outcomes and brand recognition (Salem et al., 2012; Wee & Quazi, 2005; Yang et al.,

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2011). GHRM improves productivity by avoiding wastage and lowering costs through recycling and reuse of material options. GHRM practices lead to the ability to attract top talent coupled with an increase in employee retention rate because green organisations are well positioned to offer socially responsible incentives to workers such as subsidies for the purchase of hybrid cars. It also offers the firm an eco-friendly business image (Bangwal & Tiwari, 2015). Maintaining a good brand reputation strategically positions the organisation with conscious efforts towards environmental sustainability. It is a strategic move of attaining competitive advantage for increased business opportunities since other businesses and pressure groups are developing interests for eco-friendly organisations for business (Mehta & Chugan, 2015; Sudin, 2011). The outcomes of green human resource management can be grouped into individual and organisational and national level outcomes. The outcomes improve the environmental management profile and reputation, green policies and practices, sustainable development and performance of the firm at the organisational and national levels (Tahir et  al., 2017; Jabbour & Jabbour, 2016; Teixeira et  al., 2012). Again, GHRM influences the team’s collective voluntary behaviour towards the environment (Kim et al., 2017; Pinzone et al., 2016) and the individual employee outcomes produce green behaviour and voluntary green in-role performance (Harvey et al., 2013). Empowered employees achieve their green goals, and this is referred to as green employee empowerment (Tariq et al., 2016). When organisations empower employees towards environmental issues, employees feel obliged to reciprocate with green citizenship behaviours towards the environment (Jackson et  al., 2014). GHRM has an influence on employee extra-role green behaviours. An increasing level of green HRM practice leads to a rise in financial benefits of firms with proactive environmental management. A reactive approach to environmental sustainability as a result of compliance does not result in competitive advantage; however, a conscious effort to infuse GHRM into corporate strategy enhances firm performance (Lannelongue et al., 2015; Primc & Č ater, 2015).

Strategic Green HRM It is commonplace for organisations to rely on compliance to laws and regulations in achieving green management initiatives (Sudin, 2011) but this is unable to achieve market and cost advantages (Yang et al., 2011).

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There is need for HR to adjust the mandates and widen the scope through the infusion of eco-friendly practices into the core HR functions. Strategic HRM researchers must achieve HR effectiveness and align HRM with the business strategic goals. This becomes the primary means by which firms can influence and shape the skills, attitudes and behaviour of individuals to achieve organisational goals (Collins & Clark, 2003). Organisations should resort to the use of contemporary and digitised means to avoid the use of paper in green HRM practice. Typically, companies can render all job-related communications such as notice of vacancies on their websites and applicants can forward their applications online to avoid the waste in paper printing and mailing of letters (Mandip, 2012; Trivedi, 2015). The HR Department should write green job descriptions for employees by including environmental consciousness as one of the core competencies required of job roles (Grolleau et  al., 2012). There should also be a preference for green job candidates (Deshwal, 2015) who give priority and are ‘Green Aware’ as a part of the HR recruitment policy and process (Ahmad, 2015; Deepika & Karpagam, 2016). During on-boarding, there is a need for awareness creation on eco-­ friendly means of executing work. Projectors, laptops and other devices should be used to facilitate orientation programmes (Trivedi, 2015). Orientation programmes for new recruits should be designed to ensure the integration of recruits into a green-conscious organisational culture (Yadav, 2017). Workers today are mostly found using digital devices and e-copies and should be encouraged to access e-services for employees. The content of training programmes must be designed to develop the competencies and knowledge of workers in using environmentally friendly tools (Obaid & Alias, 2015) and eco-friendly related topics such as energy conservation and efficiency, health and safety, waste management (reduction and elimination) and reprocessing (Liebowitz, 2010) are recommended. Furthermore, employee training and development should be incorporated into the changing culture of the organisation, and employee learning needs to cover environmental regulations and required standards to facilitate compliance. Just like orientations, training should be digitised using smart devices featuring online courses, web-based training modules and case studies rather than printed handouts (Boromisa et al., 2015). There is the communication of green schemes to all staff levels through performance management and appraisal while establishing a firm-wide dialogue on green matters. For example, supervisors contribute to green achievements by creating awareness and ensuring the familiarisation of green

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issues (Odeyale, 2014). Some organisations include green targets in key functional areas when appraising employee performance (Jackson et  al., 2011), and this is recommended. When green performance indicators are heavily weighted on the appraisal matrix, they provoke employee green behaviours, sometimes referred to as green performance standards or indicators (Tapamoy, 2008). There is an increasing need to incorporate green metrics (behaviour and outcomes) into employee performance appraisal and general performance management systems. Employees will sustain compliance when they know there are measured outputs linked to environmental objectives (Jackson et al., 2011). Employees who show commitment to green initiatives should be recognised, and non-achievers should be encouraged (Renwick et al., 2013). If non-compliance is disciplined, employees who find it difficult to transit from the status quo might give up. Managers could carefully develop negative reinforcements using criticism, warnings and suspensions for lapses (Phillips, 2007). Compensation management should be aimed at recompensing green goal achievement and green skill attainment (Ahmad, 2015). Financial rewards such as bonuses, cash and premiums and non-­ financial incentives such as sabbaticals, leave and gifts could be offered to employees who achieve green initiatives. In employee relations, managers are urged to encourage employee involvement and participation in green suggestion schemes and problem-solving circles (Casler et  al., 2010). Employees should also be granted some level of freedom and independence to formulate and experiment with green ideas to complement employer models for consideration. A helpline for employee green matters and increased supervisory support behaviours (Lashley, 2012) will promote green behaviours. This may also serve as a green whistleblowing helpline. Labour unions play an essential role when they are encouraged to partner in negotiating green workplace agreements (Huq, 2010).

Contemporary Green HR Practices in Developed and Emerging Economies: The Difficulties in Implementing Green HRM Initiatives into the Future In several emerging economies, companies have initiated the process of integrating environmental concerns with their business strategy, with HR taking centre stage. Google is leading the way not just in its environmental

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practices but also in publicising its environmental record and approach. Like many emerging green companies, Google has hired a director who coordinates corporate environmental efforts to match its corporate business strategy. Companies like Honda, S.  C. Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Patagonia, Timberland and GE have successfully used their environmentally friendly policies to sell their products and gain media exposure. Green Toyota has made a public pledge that it would do business only with the concerns that are certified ‘Green’. The Tata Group has gone ‘Green’ and has made a list of third parties, vendors and suppliers to carry on with business without releasing toxic emissions that could harm the environment. In India, and other developing countries, the green movement and green HR are still nascent. Many companies are implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which also have green projects. ITC Ltd. and The Associated Cement Companies Ltd. (ACC Ltd.) practise CSR with emphasis on environmental management. This has helped generate interest and awareness about the green movement and green HRM in India. HRM has to play a central role in creating awareness about environmental management in organisations besides implementing green HR practices as part of the bigger role to save the planet (Lather et al., 2014). Even though going green is an ideal state for sustaining the environment, not every worker sees reason for changing comfortable lifestyles to adopt eco-friendly ones (Deshwal, 2015). It is acknowledged that developing a culture of green HRM can be a cumbersome process, not to mention the high investment required compared to a low return of the investments. The daunting task also arises when organisations need to go through the acquisition of employees who are green aware, indicating that they should be able to read these talents during the screening process (Brockett, 2007). Despite these fears, there is a lack of green courses in higher educational institutions to prepare younger workers to fit into the needed green roles (Smedley, 2007). Nevertheless, HR professionals must respond to green expectations by providing green tools, green processes, green structures and green initiatives to develop the future green workforce. The insufficient decision supporting models on environmental management, which make it difficult to convince business owners and boards that investing in eco-friendly practices is profitable (Ramus, 2001), put green HRM practices behind other corporate priorities in resource allocation and investment. Pressure from the internal stakeholders and the

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external environment to achieve financial targets override the pursuit of environmental objectives (Renwick et al., 2008).

Conclusion and Recommendations for Emerging Markets GHRM is an innovation in HRM and research is still evolving to concretize the practice. This chapter has discussed the concept of GHRM and how it has evolved in practice. The pressures that are compelling HRM practice to go green are mainly from business stakeholders and the growing need for environmental care. Stakeholders demand and the availability of resources to an organisation determine the rate of going green. The outcome of the efforts of an organisation to adopt green practices is the eco-friendly impact of the business activities on the environment. Therefore, HRM strategy needs to adopt a holistic frame of all HR activities to make a significant impact. It is apparent that organisations in advanced economies have developed robust green practices compared to those in the developing economies, even though firms in both economies face similar obstacles in their efforts to go green. It is important for firms in emerging economies to map out the transition of their people management activities with the green agenda and gradually phase it out. It is key for such firms to develop and implement a green code of conduct to regulate behavioural changes that will support the green strategies. Since green processes require investment in technology and equipment to support the practices, firms need to build the work environment and create green awareness.

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PART II

Green Marketing and Green Leadership

CHAPTER 4

Green Marketing and Social Practices: Managing People as Carriers of Sustainability Practices Olamide Shittu and Christian Nygaard

Abstract  Addressing the world’s environmental challenges demands the sustainable transformation of existing production and marketing processes. By adopting green marketing as a corporate strategy, businesses can achieve their organisational goals while also driving the sustainable development of host countries. However, given the unique socio-economic and political challenges of less-developed economies, businesses may encounter the risk of enabling unsustainable consumption and promoting greenwashing. To successfully implement a green marketing strategy, this chapter posits that businesses in emerging markets should move beyond attempting to influence people’s attitudes, choices or behaviour to consider the social practices that constitute organisational and socio-economic processes. By conceptualising people as carriers of social practices, this chapter further examines how the interaction of materials, meanings and

O. Shittu (*) • C. Nygaard Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_4

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competences create everyday consumption and routines. From a social practice perspective, the green marketing strategies corporate organisations in emerging markets can adopt to promote people management and sustainable development include influencing social practice performance, promoting the emergence or dissolution of social practices, enabling communities of sustainability practices and addressing the socio-economic consequences of conflicting social practices. Keywords  Green marketing • Social practice • Emerging market • Sustainable development • People management

Introduction The drive to expand traditional marketing practices to include environmental considerations and mitigate against unchecked production or consumption became prominent in the 1990s (Katrandjiev, 2016; Polonsky, 1994). While green marketing may be viewed as a business or policy solution to environmental and sustainability challenges (Amoako et al., 2020), it is not necessarily compatible with sustainability objectives (Kilbourne, 1998). Polonsky (1994, p. 2) defines green marketing as consisting ‘of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment’. Other definitions additionally incorporate a sustainability dimension to green marketing by embedding it within a holistic and systemic view of production, with an open-ended timeframe, a global perspective, ecological sustainability over (narrow) economic efficiency and a recognition of the intrinsic value of nature (Kilbourne, 1998). In an emerging market context, the issue of green marketing is (additionally) complicated by developmental objectives that also are considered critical to ensuring social well-being. To the extent that green marketing influences consumer behaviour, it provides a tool for business-led (or contributing) solutions to global grand challenges, including climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and sustainable development among others (Institute for Human Rights and Business [IHRB], 2015). Green marketing seeks to redress informational deficiency that may lead to a divergence of individual

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decision-­maker’s views of social and private benefits. This is especially important in emerging markets where existing environmental, socio-economic and political challenges may undermine sustainability reporting. Green marketing may provide businesses in emerging markets with a new marketing strategy that yield higher profits and, at the same time, contribute to sustainable development efforts (Yee, 2016). This is imperative as the awareness of the effect of production on environmental sustainability has grown considerably among consumers in less-developed economies (Eneizan et al., 2016; Ganda et al., 2015). As a result, corporate organisations are motivated to develop novel products, services and marketing strategies that showcase environmental and socio-economic benefits to consumers. However, green marketing may also enable product differentiation that increases overall production and brand loyalty that reduces consumer price sensitivity. Moreover, green marketing strategies that target behavioural change can be limited in implementation because they are predicated on the assumptions that consumers constantly make conscious or logical decisions on their needs, purchases and activities (Nicolini & Monteiro, 2017). A conventional marketing perspective located in the consumer sovereignty perspective of neoclassical economics posits that businesses aim to satisfy consumer preferences (Galbraith, 1998). Alternatively, marketing (including green marketing) may be characterised in an institutional economics perspective as demand creation (Galbraith, 1998). Demand may also be created in the neoclassical perspective, by removal of market inefficiency, for example providing consumers with information that correct existing market failures, but also by shaping consumer preferences in the tradition of institutional economics, for instance through social norms and institutions that value sustainability outcomes. This latter perspective may serve both commercial aims (new products) selectively represented as more environmentally friendly than they are (Delmas & Burbano, 2011) and environmental aims by changing the basket of goods (and potentially volume) that is consumed. In this regard, a social practice approach goes beyond a marketing/ advertising perspective where the focus is on individual (or global) trends relating to the consumption of specific items (e.g. the number of people that consume single-use plastics), to a viewpoint where green marketing considers the role of specific items in creating, sustaining or changing (un)

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sustainable consumption patterns (e.g. single-use plastic in shopping or food storage). Social practice theory in organisational and consumption studies propounds that the lives of individuals are organised into social practices and routines that mostly require less cognitive deliberations (Nicolini & Monteiro, 2017). Social practices are bundles of activities accompanied by emotions and aimed at achieving certain goals (Strengers & Maller, 2014). Social practices range from the reflexive bureaucratic processes in an organisation to the bundle of mundane tasks such as shopping and cleaning that govern domestic life. Consumers perform certain social practices given the psychosocial meanings they derive from the activities including a sense of security, comfortability, identity and social values among others. To implement green marketing strategies, it is imperative for corporate organisations in emerging markets to identify the socio-environmental meanings people attach to the consumption of their goods or services. Likewise, corporate organisations must understand how their products fit into the material arrangements that consumers employ to perform social practices. Lastly, corporate decision-makers need to assess the level of skills or competence of the people involved in green marketing processes to adequately perform sustainability practices. Stemming from the aforementioned, an understanding of green marketing from the lens of social practices provides an alternative marketing framework for organisations in emerging markets to supplement the service marketing mix. The implications of this chapter will be useful for further research in the field of sustainability marketing and serve as a decision-­making guide for organisations that intend to explore the environmental and business benefits of green marketing in less-developed economies. In the following sections, this chapter explains the meaning of social practices and discusses its composition of material, meanings and competence elements. Section two briefly sets out some challenges of green marketing and sustainable consumption in emerging economies. Section three reviews the lessons from the application of social practice theory in organisational studies literature while exploring how social practices shape the daily activities of individuals. Section four discusses how corporate organisations in emerging markets can manage people by intervening in and promoting sustainability practices, while Section five concludes the chapter.

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Green Marketing, Sustainable Consumption and Emerging Economies Green marketing may serve commercial, environmental and sustainability objectives in emerging markets, including those in Africa (Rao, 2014). These ends are, however, not necessarily always aligned. While misalignment is a global challenge, it may be particularly acute in emerging economies and less-developed country settings. For instance, due to the unique socio-cultural, political and economic volatility of less-developed countries, organisations in these economies still struggle with embracing and implementing green marketing strategies with little success (Afande, 2015). Smaller production runs, or more expensive inputs, frequently increase the price of green products, relative to mass-produced alternatives. This may lead to price sensitivity among consumers and is a barrier to expanding green production globally, but particularly in countries also dealing with widespread poverty or low purchasing power (Garg, 2015). Price sensitivity also leads many companies to conclude that consumers are unwilling to pay premium prices for green(er) products. This has been documented in several emerging market studies (Amoako et  al., 2020; Garg, 2015). Conversely, consumer awareness of environmental and sustainability challenges provides businesses with a market segment whose sensitivity to prices may be reduced—as long as the product in question meets, or appears to meet, wide environmental or sustainable outcomes. The Dependence Effect (Galbraith, 1958) implies that corporations may use individuals’ desire to do good, or desire for pro-social action, to extract a higher willingness to pay (WTP) from some consumers through market differentiation. This latter phenomenon also relates to issues of greenwashing—an attempt to tap into WTP for pro-social behaviour by emphasising (alleged) environmental benefits (Mukherjee & Ghosh, 2014). Greenwashing is also aggravated by the socio-economic challenges confronting emerging markets including pollution, low level of education, low technical know-how and political corruption. These sustainability challenges may make corporate organisations take issues of consumer rights, consumer protection and environmental safety for granted (Jiboye, 2011; Ndubisi et al., 2016). Lastly, some emerging economies, including China and India, have experienced considerable growth of their middle classes (Kharas, 2010). Increased purchasing power may, in this context, also provide additional

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opportunities for green marketing, but middle-class growth is also accompanied by increased consumption and consumption expectations (Kharas, 2010). Even in the optimistic scenario that green marketing leads to consumer demand for more environmentally friendly products, the increase in consumption itself may not be compatible with sustainability objectives (Kilbourne, 1998).1 These sustainability challenges in emerging markets show that there is a need for an alternative perspective that reconceptualises consumption and provides an integrated analysis of people management, green marketing, sustainable development and social practices.

Theories of Social Practice in Organisational Studies: Untangling the Bundles of Day-­to-Day Activities Scholars of organisational and management studies have termed the recent change of perspectives in the field the ‘practice turn’ (Bresnen, 2007). The adoption of social practice theory as a middle-range theory is a response to the ongoing debate in social theory between structural determinism and individual agency (Bresnen, 2007). Social practice theory focuses neither on institutional forces nor on individual actions but on the range of activities that create order and give meaning to social living (Kuijer, 2014). While there are several conceptual definitions of the concept, Reckwitz’s (2002, p. 249) widely accepted definition sees social practice as a routinized type of behaviour which consists of several elements, interconnected to one other: forms of bodily activities, forms of mental activities, ‘things’ and their use, a background knowledge in the form of understanding, know-how, states of emotion and motivational knowledge.

Social practices consist of three interconnected elements of materials, meanings and competences (Shove et al., 2012). Materials include objects, stuff, tools, bodies and infrastructures; meanings are social images, rules, expectations and shared interpretations of cultural conventions and norms; while competencies are the knowledge and embodied skills required to perform a social practice (Shove et al., 2012). For instance, a consumer can perform the social practice of ‘eating’ by making use of disposable plastic tableware (material) because of their desire for convenience 1

 An exemption here is regenerative production.

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(meaning) and properly separate the plastic material from general waste (competence). The dynamic interaction of these elements creates the bundles of doings and sayings that result in socio-economic patterns and formations across social domains (Nicolini & Monteiro, 2017). In an organisation, the processes of production, management, design, marketing and consumer support represent social practice bundles and complexities (Nicolini & Monteiro, 2017). These organisational formations are engendered by the technological and material arrangements in workplaces, the socio-economic objectives and aspirations of the organisation and stakeholders, and the embodied skills of the employees to effectively complete tasks and activities as shown in Fig. 4.1. Figure 4.1 depicts green marketing and management as social practice complexities enabled by the contextual reproduction of organisational routines and cognitive practices. Green marketing practices are carried by individuals (managers, employees, consumers, shareholders or policymakers) who embody and perform them. Social practices could recruit individuals as carriers (not actors) through birth, professional associations, social groups, fashion trends and other socio-economic and cultural configurations while shaped by personal experience and socialisation (Shove et  al., 2007). In return, these social practices then inform the activities individuals engage in daily and their life trajectory. For instance, a consumer could purchase bottled water to perform the social practice of drinking. Another consumer could avoid the purchase of bottled water to Materials: office equipment, desks and chairs, production machinery, physical environment, products, office day-to-day items, physical marketing materials, human bodies

Competences: knowledge of marketing, green design, sustainable production, green value-chain, market dynamics; embodied green skills, green advertising, sustainable office operations

Meanings: environmental sustainability, protection of stakeholders’ sustainability interest, profit maximisation, employee and customer satisfaction, competitive sustainability strategy

Fig. 4.1  Elements of green marketing and management as bundles of social practices. (Adapted from Shove et al., 2012, p. 29)

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express the social value of environmental sustainability. Each instance of (non-)consumption involves the contextual performance of social practices that interact or compete for carriers. Therefore, organisations need to understand the social practices an individual or a group perform to answer the why, how and when of socio-economic patterns and develop effective green marketing strategies.

Green Marketing in Emerging Markets: Managing People by Intervening in Social Practices Organisations in emerging markets must understand and influence the contextual social practices that give rise to administrative processes, marketing, production and consumption. An effective green marketing practice starts with the recognition and management of people as carriers of social practices. Rather than an attempt to influence people’s attitudes or beliefs, organisations can start to consolidate or reconfigure the dynamics of the social practices in which people participate. As an adaptation from Nicolini and Monteiro’s (2017) proposed research strategies, organisations can promote green marketing and sustainability practices in the following ways (Fig.  4.2): changing the performance of existing social practices, influencing the emergence or dissolution of social practices, forming or facilitating communities of sustainable practices, and addressing the socio-economic consequences produced by conflicting social practices. First, organisations in emerging markets can manage people by reconstituting the socio-material arrangements of administrative, production and market practices. An organisation’s green people management effort should start with the greening of organisational processes. Sustainability practices within an organisation include the prioritisation of environmental safety, green resource use, sustainable supply, socially responsible partnership, sustainable leadership and value-oriented production. As Fig. 4.1 shows, since social practices are composed of materials, meanings and competences, a change in each of these elements may sustainably reconfigure the practices, thus influencing people’s activities. For instance, an organisation can replace old office equipment with energy-saving technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of the employees. Also, an organisation can promote the sustainable performance of administrative tasks by improving the embodied skills of employees in using online tools

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• People Management

• Sustainabile Development

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• Green Marketing

Social practice performance

Emergence / Dissolution of social practices

Communities of sustainable practices

Social consequences of conflicting social practices

• Social Practices

Fig. 4.2  An interplay of green marketing, sustainability, people management and social practices

for collaboration rather than paper files. On the other hand, companies can remotely influence the reconfiguration of consumers’ social practices through green design and processes. Examples of this include the use of clear packaging to encourage the purchase of fresh products and the use of recycled materials as production inputs. Second, as a green marketing effort, organisations in less-developed economies can facilitate the emergence of new sustainable practices or the dissolution of unsustainable practices. Engendering new social practices entails the introduction of new material arrangements with embodied skills and organised around some social expectations or images. An interesting example relates to the Cool Biz innovation by the Japanese government in 2005 (Shove, 2012). To change the unsustainable energy use of cooling technologies in the workplace, the government introduced the wearing of comfortable and loose clothing to work instead of suits and ties (Shove, 2012). Government agencies such as the Environment Ministry

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then championed the promotion of such work dressing practices through various promotions including fashion shows (Shove, 2012). Although with arguable results, the United Nations, China and Bangladesh have identified lessons from the case study on not just how new practices could be promoted among the workforce but also how existing unsustainable practices could be disrupted (Shove, 2012). By partnering with policymakers, non-governmental organisations and other sustainability stakeholders, corporate organisations can be the driving force behind the adoption of new sustainability practices by providing enabling platforms for new material arrangements to thrive. For instance, some producers of fast-moving consumer goods in Nigeria partner with social enterprises that directly collect plastic waste from households through funding, purchase of recycled input materials and other social projects (Akanle & Shittu, 2018). This not only diverts plastic waste away from dumpsites but also encourages consumers to separate their plastic waste, deposit it to recyclers and get some financial reward from such activities (Akanle & Shittu, 2018). By changing the spatiotemporal arrangements of plastic disposal and recycling, such partnerships may enable the adoption of new sustainable practices by consumers. A third way that organisations in emerging markets can manage people to promote green marketing is through the formation or facilitation of communities of sustainable practices. Social practices connote bundles of activities that are shared among individuals accompanied with meanings that are societally agreed upon and skills that are transferred. This means that the formation of individuals who perform similar sustainability practices could facilitate the recruitment of others into such social practices. Organisations can support groups involved in workplace sustainability, bike sharing, community sanitation, garden or health, among others. The collaboration of corporate organisations with workplace associations, local sustainability groups and social enterprises could create a feedback loop for businesses to develop a better workplace environment and product or service. Examples of existing communities of sustainability practices in Africa include AWA Bike in Nigeria, Green Africa Youth Organisation, Friends of the Earth International and African Impact, among others. Lastly, doing green marketing from a practice perspective could mean resolving the social inequalities or injustices that arise from the way social practice complexities conflict, compete and interfere with one another. These include environmental degradation, poverty, lack of access to basic amenities and social discrimination. The social problems could be a direct

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result of organisational or industry practices or other societal tensions. For instance, some corporations formed the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) in Nigeria to implement the country’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy. FBRA’s activities include environmental sanitation, policy consultation, recycling facilitation, school outreach and community education.

Concluding Remarks This chapter examines the implementation of green marketing by organisations in emerging markets from a social practice perspective. Practice theory has been proposed as an alternative to the dominant or market theories in marketing and organisational studies that emphasise individual attitudes, choices and behaviours. To maximise the socio-economic and environmental benefits of green marketing, the chapter suggests that corporations in less-developed economies could focus on how their products or services influence the socio-material arrangements of social practices. The chapter further identifies practical strategies that could assist organisations in emerging markets to promote people management, green marketing and sustainable development through social practices. These include changing the performance of existing social practices, influencing the emergence or dissolution of social practices, forming or facilitating communities of sustainable practices and addressing the socio-economic consequences produced by conflicting social practices.

References Afande, F.  O. (2015). Extent of adoption of green marketing strategies by the Kenya tea firms. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, 11, 132–153. Akanle, O., & Shittu, O. S. (2018). Value chain actors and recycled polymer products in Lagos metropolis: Towards ensuring sustainable development in Africa’s megacity. Resources, 7(3), 55. Amoako, G. K., Dzogbenuku, G. K., Doe, J., & Adjaison, G. K. (2020). Green marketing and the SDGs: Emerging market perspective. Marketing Intelligence and Planning (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-11-20180543. Bresnen, M. (2007). The ‘practice turn’ in organisational studies and construction management research. In CME 25 Conference: Construction Management and Economics, Past, Present and Future (pp. 1747–1756).

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Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87. Eneizan, B. M., Abdul Wahab, K., Zainon, M. S., & Obaid, T. F. (2016). Effects of green marketing strategies on sales volume of green cars. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics, 5(3), 41–54. Galbraith, J.  K. (1958). The Affluent Society. Published in French as L’ère de l’opulence. Gallimard. Galbraith, J. K. (1998). The affluent society fortieth anniversary edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. Ganda, F., Ngwakwe, C. C., & Ambe, C. M. (2015). Profitability as a factor that spurs corporate green investment practices in Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE) listed firms. Managing Global Transitions, 13(3), 231–252. Garg, A. (2015). Green marketing for sustainable development: An industry perspective. Sustainable Development, 23, 301–316. Institute for Human Rights and Business [IHRB]. (2015). Business and the Sustainable Development Goals: Mind the gap—Challenges for implementation. State of Play, 4. https://www.ihrb.org/pdf/state-­of-­play/Business-­and-­ the-­SDGs.pdf Jiboye, A. D. (2011). Sustainable urbanization: Issues and challenges for effective urban governance in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development, 4(6), 211–224. Katrandjiev, H. (2016). Green marketing, sustainable marketing: Synonyms or an evolution of ideas? Economic Alternatives, 1, 71–82. Kharas, H. (2010). The emerging middle class in developing countries. Working Paper No 285, OECD Development Centre, OECD. Kilbourne, W. E. (1998). Green marketing: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 14(6), 641–655. Kuijer, L. (2014). Implications of Social practice theory for sustainable design. PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/ Lenneke_Kuijer/publication/266247132_Implications_of_Social_Practice_ Theor y_for_Sustainable_Design/links/55d355a008ae0a341722651e/ Implications-­of-­Social-­Practice-­Theory-­for-­Sustainable-­Design.pdf Mukherjee, R., & Ghosh, I. (2014). Greenwashing in India: A darker side of green marketing. The International Journal of Business & Management, 2(1), 6–10. Ndubisi, E. C., Anyanwu, A. V., & Nwakwo, C. (2016). Protecting the Nigerian consumer: An expository examination of the role of consumer protection council. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 6(4), 1–7. Nicolini, D., & Monteiro, P. (2017). The practice approach: For a praxeology of organisational and management studies. In A. Langley & H. Tsoukas (Eds.), The Sage handbook of process organization studies (pp. 110–126). Sage. Polonsky, M.  J. (1994). An introduction to green marketing. Electronic Green Journal, 1(2), 1–10.

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Rao, S. V. (2014). Green marketing and its impact on sustainable development. International Journal of Innovative Technology & Adaptive Management (IJITAM), 1(5), 39–45. Reckwitz, A. (2002). Toward a theory of social practices: A development in culturalist theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5(2), 243–263. Shove, E. (2012). Energy transitions in practice: The case of global indoor climate change. In G. Verbong & D. Loorbach (Eds.), Governing the energy transition: Reality, illusion or necessity? (pp. 51–74). Routledge. Shove, E., Pantzar, M., & Watson, M. (2012). Making and breaking links. In E.  Shove, M.  Pantzar, & M.  Watson (Eds.), The dynamics of social practice: Everyday life and how it changes (pp. 21–42). SAGE Publications Ltd. Shove, E., Watson, M., Hand, M., & Ingram, J. (2007). The design of everyday life. Berg. Strengers, Y., & Maller, C. (2014). Social practices, intervention and sustainability: Beyond behaviour change. Routledge. Yee, H. P. (2016). Green marketing practice and its effect on small and medium enterprises performance. Bachelor thesis, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. http://digitalcollection.utem.edu.my/18680/1/Green%20Marketing%20 Practice%20And%20Its%20Effect%20On%20Small%20And%20Media%20 Enterprises%20Performance.pdf

CHAPTER 5

Driving Green Marketing in Emerging Markets Through Green Leadership Godbless Akaighe and Samuel Okon

Abstract  Despite the numerous benefits of green marketing to firms, consumers, and society, the implementation of green marketing in emerging markets characterised by high food consumption, greenhouse gas emission, huge markets, market volatility, and environmental pollution increases the desire for more. This is further compounded by a shocking absence of critical engagement on the role of green leadership in the implementation of green marketing in the context of emerging markets. In this chapter, we examined the concept of green marketing, green behaviour, and how to develop green leadership practice leaning on institutional theory and stakeholders’ theory. We highlight some challenges of green marketing implementation in emerging markets bordering on organisational leadership and the failure of corporate governance. Our

G. Akaighe (*) Institute of Work Psychology, Sheffield University Management School, Sheffield, UK e-mail: [email protected] S. Okon Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_5

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recommendations suggest the need for green transformational leadership and striking a balance between the twin objectives of profitability and sustainability as well as the need for concerted efforts by stakeholders in the implementation of green marketing in emerging markets. Keywords  Green marketing • Green leadership • Green behaviour • Sustainability • Emerging markets

Introduction With a growing world population and the mass production and marketing of goods to satisfy the needs of consumers all over the world, scholars and practitioners have acknowledged the need for green marketing and management (e.g., Nguyen et al., 2019; Szabo & Webster, 2020). Green marketing is defined as the “holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying the needs of customers and the society, in a profitable and sustainable way” (Peattie & Charter, 2003, p.  727). The issue of sustainability in the production, marketing, and management by economic actors (e.g., producers and marketers) is central to green marketing practices. Similarly, green marketing by organisations influences consumers’ behavioural intentions (Chang et al., 2019). Research has shown that firms are becoming more aware of green marketing and taking steps to apply green marketing strategies to position themselves favourably in the minds of environmentally conscious consumers and gain a competitive advantage (e.g., Han et  al., 2019; Szabo & Webster, 2020). For example, between 2009 and 2010, the number of greener products has increased by 73 per cent in the United States of America (TerraChoice, 2010). However, this cannot be said about many emerging economies, in terms of their progress in green marketing adoption and implementation. Emerging markets are characterised by high food consumption, greenhouse emission, water scarcity, and pollution, which have a significant impact on the environment, individual and public health, and well-being (Nguyen et al., 2019). Recognising the issues around green marketing, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include goal #12 which is to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. To this end, the need to adopt green marketing by organisations is not in doubt. Two questions addressed in this chapter are as follows: what are the challenges

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to a successful implementation of green marketing and what is the role of green leadership in this process? This chapter contributes to the existing literature on green marketing and management by exploring the role of green leadership in driving green marketing. Green leadership is defined as the processes through which organisational leaders influence their followers to achieve the environmental objectives of the organisation (Huxham & Vangen, 2000; Tan et al., 2015). The rest of this chapter is organised as follows. The next section presents a conceptual review of green marketing, approaches to green marketing, and green behaviour. Next, we discuss challenges associated with implementing green marketing in organisations. This chapter concludes with recommendations on the implementation of green marketing.

Green Marketing, Approaches to Green Marketing, and Green Behaviour Green marketing involves marketers’ attempt to adopt strategies for producing and distributing environmentally friendly products to consumers (McDaniel & Rylander, 1993). In other words, it is the process of integrating environmental issues into the strategic management process of organisations, involving planning, organising, producing, and satisfying customers’ needs in an environmentally sustainable way (Peattie & Charter, 2003). Green marketing requires a proper understanding of public policy processes and managerial strategies, in addition to utilising the traditional marketing mix of product, place, price, and promotion, also known as the 4Ps (Prakash, 2002). Green marketing was born out of the concern by business stakeholders on the need to preserve the environment such that the objectives of satisfying customers’ wants profitably are not achieved to the detriment of the long-run best interest of the society and environment (Bell & Emory, 1971). These concerns align with the societal marketing concept or orientation (Kotler, 1972) which is the view that marketing has a greater social responsibility than just satisfying customers’ want or needs at a profit (Gaski, 1985) and that marketers should “build societal and ethical considerations into their marketing practices” (Kotler, 2000 p. 25). Research has shown that businesses can be profitable and socially responsible at the same time (see Abratt & Sacks, 1988; Yin, 2017).

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Approaches to Green Marketing There are two basic approaches to green marketing: namely, defensive and assertive. The defensive approach to green marketing involves organisations implementing minimum actions in a bid to avoid negative consequences such as government fines, penalties, product failure, bad publicity, or consumer boycott. The assertive approach, on the other hand, includes measures taken by organisations that reflect doing more than is required by consumers or the government (McDaniel & Rylander, 1993). In other words, the assertive approach to green marketing is a sustainable competitive strategy that positions an organisation for competitive advantage. This approach is a proactive way of responding to the market, rather than to the regulations. It implies that organisations act in the demands of the market in a strategic, sustainable, and profitable way and not a reactive way to government regulations or complaints by environmentally oriented consumers (McDaniel & Rylander, 1993; Niva & Timonen, 2001; Wells, 1990). Green Behaviour In organisation and management literature, green behaviour is described as individual behaviour that is consistent with environmental sustainability, while activities that promote environmental sustainability in organisations are referred to as green organisational practices (see Kim et al., 2017 for a review in this domain). Green behaviour, therefore, can be a voluntary behaviour or an organisational practice involving the influence of leaders in an organisation. For example, in response to the growing concerns of environmental degradation and climate change issues, scholars have studied voluntary green behaviour and antecedents of voluntary green behaviour in organisations (see Andersson et al., 2013; Kim et al., 2019). Advancing the argument beyond voluntary green behaviour, which is discretionary behaviour, there is a need for organisations to have green practices towards achieving green marketing and management. This process, therefore, involves green leadership, described as leaders’ strategies and influences on their followers to achieve the environmental objectives of the organisation (Tan et al., 2015). Generally, leaders influence followers’ actions, attitudes, and behaviours (Bass, 1985). In the context of green behaviour, leaders can be influential referents for driving green behaviour in work settings because

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leaders are role models and they transmit their values to organisational members or their followers (Kim et  al., 2019; Yaffe & Kark, 2011). Leaders’ voluntary green behaviour implies their concern for environmental sustainability and that encourages followers to elicit green behaviour (Kim et al., 2019). Research has shown that green transformational leadership influences employee green behaviour (Wang et  al., 2018), where green transformational leadership is defined as a leader exhibiting transformational leadership that encourages followers to engage in pro-­ environmental behaviours (Mittal & Dhar, 2016).

Green Leadership Development and Practice Green leadership is described as environmental excellence in the internal operations, products, services, and community support of an organisation (Gole, 2012). Green leadership involves the deliberate creation and development of sustainable policies and practices by organisations to ensure continued profit for themselves as well as environmental safety for the society (Boyd et al., 2017; Gole, 2012). From a theoretical lens, the institutional theory helps to explain how organisations can develop green leadership. Institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) argues that organisations that conform to institutional rules to maintain legitimacy, compete favourably in the environment, gain resources and stability, and increase their chances of survival. The core of institutional theory assumes that businesses have the internal and external environment, that is, internal and external stakeholders, which aligns with the stakeholders’ theory (Freeman, 1984). Stakeholders are divided into internal stakeholders, those who are involved in the internal operations and decision-making process of a firm (e.g., owners, employees, suppliers, and managers), and external stakeholders, those who are affected by the internal operations and decision-making of a firm (e.g., customers, local community, government, and the general public) (Atkin & Skitmore, 2008; Freeman, 1984). Institutional theory and stakeholders’ theory have been widely used in explaining the social structure, macro organisational issues, and ecological responsiveness (Colwell & Joshi, 2013; Peters, 2019; Scott, 1987). Applying the theories to green leadership, we argue that if organisations understand institutional rules of maintaining a safe environment while satisfying internal and external stakeholders, green leadership practice will be strengthened in the production and marketing value chain.

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To develop green leadership, there is a need for concerted and integrated approaches by organisational leaders to incorporate long-term environmental and societal risk analysis into their business processes, rather than a short-term returns mindset as a measure of economic health (Gole, 2012). For leaders to become green leaders, there is a need for a long-term vision that is pro-environmental, the development of sustainable practices that support green marketing and management, and a mindset of green behaviour and practice throughout the organisation. For example, practicing green procurement, and environmental chain management, developing green behaviour relevant vision that employees can relate with, understanding employees’ needs, abilities, and motivations to contribute to green ideas for the future, and promoting green creativity by employees (Li et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2018). In recognition of the critical role of green leadership to drive green marketing, it is important to examine some of the factors militating against green marketing implementation in the context of emerging markets. The next section discusses the challenges of implementing green marketing.

Challenges in Implementing Green Marketing in Emerging Markets Emerging markets, also known as emerging economies, are those countries that are in the process of becoming developing countries, through increased production, development of regulatory exchanges, and free and sophisticated markets. The term emerging market economy was first used by Antione Van in 1981 to describe countries with lower per capita income than developed countries.1 Generally, emerging markets are characterised by socio-political instability, market volatility, and traditional economies like agriculture or natural resources and are often vulnerable to swings in commodities and other currencies like the US dollar (Barry et al., 1998). However, they have high growth and investment potentials, for example, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, Vietnam, India, and China.2

1  https://www.thestreet.com/markets/emerging-markets/what-are-emergingmarkets-14819803. 2  https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/economics/emergingmarkets/.

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There are challenges associated with implementing green marketing in emerging markets which are not unconnected with the challenges of green leadership. Some of the challenges are discussed below: Low awareness level of green marketing: Despite the growth of green marketing concept and practices and its impact on the global market and environment (Iravania et al., 2012), there is a little or no awareness leading to a low pace of green marketing implementation in emerging markets. For example, research in South Africa shows that the level of awareness and practice of green marketing in the small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) of the manufacturing sector is low, coupled with a dearth of skilled marketing personnel (Lekhanya, 2014). This challenge is further exacerbated by a low level of awareness of the green leadership concept and practice. In emerging markets, the level of exposure to knowledge and expertise to drive critical engagement and practice of green marketing is low (Hessels & Kemna, 2008). For example, the practice of green marketing and eco-innovation in the manufacturing SMEs sector of Brazil is still new (de Jesus Pacheco et al., 2018). This shows the low awareness level of green marketing in emerging markets. Low commitment to green marketing and green leadership: A major challenge of green marketing in emerging markets is low levels of commitment by organisational leaders and marketing stakeholders. The lack of commitment to act by marketers beyond the defensive approach (to avoid regulatory sanctions) is a major concern. Research shows that emerging markets in developed countries lag in areas of environmental stewardship (Jayanti & Gowda, 2014). For example, countries like India and Nigeria have irregular power supply and rely on power generating sets for industrial production and marketing, thereby increasing carbon emissions which negatively affect the ozone layer (global warming; Giwa et  al., 2019; Jayanti & Gowda, 2014). The lack of commitment to green marketing and green leadership by organisations and governments of emerging economies is a major challenge to green marketing implementation. Lack of green transformational leadership: Leaders’ environmentally specific transformational leadership and pro-environmental behaviours (Robertson & Barling, 2013) to drive green marketing implementation in emerging markets have been lacking. Since a leader potentially influences followers with the right attitude to achieve organisational and societal goals (Bass, 1985), it is safe to argue that the low level of green marketing practice in emerging economies is a manifestation of the lack of green transformational leaders. Green transformation leaders are critical to

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driving the process of environmental sustainability and pro-environmental behaviours in the marketing value chain. There is a dearth of research regarding the area of greener transformational leadership (Wang et  al., 2018) which can potentially drive policy initiatives and practice in organisations especially in emerging markets. For example, research shows that a greener transformational leader can help followers improve their concerns about the environment (Robertson & Barling, 2013; Wang et al., 2018). This dearth in research and practice of green transformational leadership is a major challenge affecting the implementation of green marketing in emerging markets. Quest for improving bottom line to the detriment of the environment: Driving green marketing requires huge investment, for example, buying state-of-the-art equipment and engaging in pro-environmental marketing policies and practices. However, not all marketers in emerging economies are willing and able to afford the associated cost of green marketing. They invest in environmentally harmful infrastructure and engage in less expensive marketing activities to improve their bottom line (profits). This is further exacerbated by a poor understanding that investment in green marketing will reduce their profitability. For example, research shows that only about 30 per cent of organisations in Nigeria are environmentally friendly due to the high cost of green marketing (Iweama, 2014). Similarly, the petroleum industry in Nigeria has a record of underfunding of environmentally friendly infrastructure, with high cases of environmental degradation, oil spilling, and gas flaring in the Niger Delta region (Oluwasanmi & Ogunro, 2018). The social irresponsibility of firms is evident in their activities of refining, marketing, and retailing of petroleum products which have done irreparable damage to the environment as marketers are more interested in making profits to the detriment of the environment (George et al., 2016; Oluwasanmi & Ogunro, 2018). The problem of underfunding of green marketing activities by marketers can be linked to a mindset that profit must be made to the detriment of the environment. This is also a result of weak green leadership demonstrated by a lack of pro-­ environmental vision and profit-driven mindset to the detriment of green leadership and practice. Government failure: The responsibility for green marketing is as much government responsibility as it is an organisational responsibility. The failure of government and other stakeholders (e.g., community leaders, marketing boards, trade unions, and consumers) to put forward policies and insist and enforce pro-environmental practices in emerging economies is a

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major challenge to green marketing implementation. In some markets, for example, in Nigeria, there is systemic corruption perpetrated by government officials in collaboration with multinational companies to look the other way rather than enforcing green marketing practices (George et al., 2016). Weak institutions, weak policy formulation, regulations, and implementation at the political level are manifestations of leadership failure at the political level which trickles down to the failure of organisational leadership to implement green marketing practices. In emerging markets, for example, in the Nigerian oil and gas and cement industry, there is government failure, poor corporate environmental accountability which has left serious consequences for the environment; hence, firms are not inclined to engage in environmentally friendly ways in their production and marketing activities (Noah et al., 2020).

Recommendations The following are recommendations that should help drive green marketing in emerging markets through green leadership. 1. Creating more awareness of green marketing: With the importance of green marketing globally, there is a fundamental need to create more awareness of green marketing practices in emerging markets. As firms are recognising the importance of green marketing in emerging markets, there is a need to ramp up the awareness and practice of green marketing, to bring about more positive changes to firms, consumers, and the environment. The emerging green markets have the potential to bring many opportunities in different fields, for example, increasing green entrepreneurship, green leadership and sustainable development, and higher economic growth in emerging economies. Increased awareness of green marketing will also help emerging markets compete favourably in the global market through their product offerings. 2. Greater commitment to green marketing: Emerging markets need to understand that driving green marketing requires continuous and sustained efforts. Therefore, there is a need for increased individual and aggregate efforts towards green marketing by marketers. The commitment to green marketing should go beyond a defensive approach of avoiding sanctions by regulators or face-saving measures in the eyes of consumers, to proactive steps that are sustainable for consumers and society. To achieve greater commitment to green marketing, organisa-

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tions should incorporate green marketing into their marketing strategy. For example, one way to integrate green marketing into organisational strategy is to adopt the four dimensions of green marketing programmes by Leonidou et al. (2013) as a corporate strategy, which are green product, green pricing, green distribution, and green promotion programmes. This “greening” of the marketing mix will enhance the level of commitment to green marketing by organisations and increase the practice of green marketing in emerging markets. 3. Improving green transformational leadership: To drive green marketing and green leadership in emerging markets, there is a dire need for investment in green transformational leadership. The improvement of green leadership can be achieved by organisations investing in green leadership training and workshops. In addition, managers of organisations should reward green behaviour both in the organisation (e.g., a reward programme for employees who demonstrate green behaviour) and in the marketing value chain, such as discounts and coupons for distributors and consumers, who engage in green behaviour in the distribution and consumption of products. This will help increase the practices of green behaviour and green marketing in emerging markets. . Balancing organisational goals of profitability and sustainability: 4 The objective of business profitability is not mutually exclusive to environmental sustainability. While some of the infrastructure and programmes of green marketing might require more funding in the short run, the long-term effects will yield better quality product offerings, increased customer base, environmentally friendly practices, higher profitability, and societal well-being. The balancing of these twin objectives is recommended for marketers seeking to improve the practice of green marketing. . Government policy and corporate governance: To drive green mar5 keting in emerging markets, we recommend strong institutions, regulations, and responsibility by stakeholders, to the practice of green marketing. The government should enact laws that protect consumers and the environment and shun corrupt actions that aid and abate unethical practices and corporate social irresponsibility by ­organisations. Similarly, other stakeholders should understand their roles in promoting green marketing, for example, consumers should patronise only organisations that produce and market green products. Through their purchasing behaviour, consumers can persuade organisations to engage in green marketing.

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Conclusion The knowledge and practice of green marketing are still developing in emerging markets as firms tend to prioritise profitability over sustainability. This chapter has examined the concept of green marketing, green behaviour, and green leadership in the context of emerging markets. We discussed green leadership development and practice, drawing from institutional theory and stakeholder theory. The chapter articulated some of the challenges of green marketing and green leadership implementations mostly at the micro level while highlighting government failure and other stakeholders in demanding and enforcing green marketing practices. Based on the identified challenges, we recommended actions that organisations can take towards driving green marketing in emerging markets including the need for greater awareness, increased commitment to green marketing, and investment in green transformational leadership that can drive green behaviour in organisations and throughout the marketing value chain.

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CHAPTER 6

Green Leadership Approaches and Motivations for Green Practice Implementation Among Marketing Firms in China Helen Song-Turner and Damian Morgan Abstract  China’s growing economic importance and role in the global green movement presents new marketing opportunities. One green marketing opportunity is to drive social and economic change. A second is supporting green development to promote sustainable economic growth. In pursuing sustainable development China, as one of the world’s largest economies, presents the possibility of reaching important global targets. Green marketing is the nexus where economic development and the environment interact through integrating eco-environment protection and marketing principles. Positive outcomes unify interests held by consumers, the wider society, pro-environment practice and firms. Greening

H. Song-Turner (*) • D. Morgan Federation Business School, Federation University Australia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_6

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firms’ marketing becomes central here. Hence, the chapter considers how sustainable Chinese firms manage complex pro-environment challenges. Key informants from seven firms described employee roles in strategic and operational processes. Firms were found to reduce environmental impacts through innovation while avoiding superficial window-dressing. The findings point to reasons why growing Chinese firms apply practices that embody green people management (GPM), though further research is required. Such knowledge provides critical information on pathways taken by firms towards sustained economic development. In summary, this chapter informs Chinese firms and others, as well as policymakers and regulatory bodies, about the role, challenges and GPM practices embodied by China-located firms going green. Keywords  Green leadership • Green motivation • Greening approach • Environmental protection • Environmental sustainability

Introduction Following years of heavy industrialisation, China’s environmental challenges have come to the fore. As a leading economic nation globally, China now seeks to achieve comparable growth in sustainable outcomes. Moreover, people and communities within the Chinese Nation are seeking salubrious environs supporting healthy lifestyles. Underpinning these new realities is the potential for devastating environmental and social consequences where large economies move away from sustainable practices. At the national level, China’s environmental protection has been upgraded from a concept of interest to national strategy. For example, the former Ministry for Environmental Protection was transformed to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) to meet broader sustainability-­ related responsibilities (Leng, 2018). The MEE includes more stringent environmental goals specified within a 2018 three-­ year plan. The MEE plan supports government funding strategies supporting firms in green development. This response addresses China’s unprecedented development that creates significant challenges to sustainable development and societal harmony. China overcomes these challenges by offering learning opportunities for policymakers and business practitioners

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within the wider community. One learning opportunity surrounds green marketing. Green marketing, where economic development and environmental protection interact, is a major trend in business practice (Kassaye, 2001). Chinese firms show strong uptake in ‘green-based’ ISO140001 certification supporting China’s shift towards green development (National Enterprise Integrity Service and Information Publicity System, 2020). To explore cases representing this shift, this chapter reports on Chinese green firms responses to complex and important sustainable challenges through green marketing. A conceptual framework was applied to understand green marketing in China. The framework considers firms’ green motivations, stakeholder concerns and marketing practices to inform governance and greening strategies (Song-Turner, 2010). The specific focus concerns the ‘how’ component of greening initiatives implementation to understand Chinese firms greening approaches aimed towards improved firm performance and transition to sustainable development. The chapter first provides a discussion of motivations and barriers facing firms going green in China followed by a discussion of the applied qualitative case-based methodology (Wilson & Woodside, 1999). The greening approach and marketing practice adopted by the studied firms is then presented including element of people’s contribution to green marketing activities. Implication and limitation pertaining to these findings are then specified along with managerial recommendations and policy considerations.

Green Motivation in the Chinese Context Literature on firms’ motivations to go green has identified regulatory compliance, competitive advantage, stakeholder pressures, ethical concerns, critical events and top management initiatives as key motives (Ayuso, 2006; Bai & Chang, 2015; Bansal & Roth, 2000; Dubois & Dubois, 2012; DiMaggio & Powell, 1983; Jiang & Bansal, 2003; Lynes & Dredge, 2006; Shu et al., 2020; Winn, 1995; Zhu et al., 2014). Studies on smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly from the tourism sector, have identified additional green motivations including altruism, lifestyle, local society and civic attitude (Bohdanowicz, 2006; Dief & Font, 2010; Garay & Font, 2012). Additional motivations underpinned by legislative or regulatory compliance, competitiveness and ethical

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concerns are also broadly recognised as important drivers of environmental strategy and practice. These drivers comprise the Corporate Ecological Response (CER) model (Bansal & Roth, 2000). China differs in a cultural and political economy to the West due to an authoritarian model dictated by the Chinese Communist Party (Jiang, 2018). In China the state plays a significant role by influencing industrial restructuring and investment in R&D. Local governments have at times ignored China’s strong environmental laws due to power decentralisation (Emmott, 2008; Enderle, 2001; Martens, 2006; Tang et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2015). Firm reliance on China’s national government laws, regulations and drivers, in absence of local action, may therefore be inadequate to halt environmental degradation. Chinese firms should proactively assist the government to achieve broader policy objectives (Song-Turner & Polonsky, 2016). Research on the green marketing drivers in China proposes models based on specific leading forces. He and Yu’s (2004) four-­ force model of government, firm, consumer and non-government organisations (NGOs) provides an example. Alternatively, Wu (2006) proposes a three-force model—government, firm and consumer sectors— while Xu and Han (2007) propose three leading driving force models including Wu’s three sectors. The growing awareness of and regulations related to environmental sustainability have inspired researchers to address the culture and normative contexts of organisational green behaviours (Liu, 2008; Sima, 2011; Song-Turner, 2014; Tilcsik & Marquis, 2013). Liu (2008) posits that firms’ motivation for green innovation, in the form of eco-innovation in China, comes from industrial competition, increasing demand for corporate social responsibility (CSR), rising environmental costs, government legislation and regulations, and green tariffs. Based on institutional theory, Song-Turner (2014) identified four conceptual motivations: philosophical and social responsibility, management of risk reduction, competition pressure and special events. Of these conceptual motivations, firms’ philosophical and social responsibility prevails as the driver for firms going green. Such philosophy is internally driven and deeply rooted in the firms’ values and traditional beliefs in environmental protection. Firms are also additionally motivated to respond to legislative and legitimacy pressures for risk management and the desire to compete successfully in the industry as a whole. In addition,

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special events are identified as unique motivational factors for firms going green. Special events based on sustainable practices provide a catalyst that triggers or strengthens a firm’s green initiatives and commitments. Research on firms’ green motivation, while largely conceptual, has suggested that firms take various green marketing approaches and practices. Regardless, a strong fit between HR practices and strategy is required for high profitability and competitive advantages (Tang et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2014; Renwick et al., 2013). Moreover, research on Human Resource Management should play an important role in helping firms achieve corporate goals (Liu et al., 2012). However, literature on the people element in applying green marketing strategies, processes, practices remains unclear for China An expanding literature on cultural and normative contexts applying to firms’ green development in China is now recognised (Ren et al., 2018). This research study reported here represents this effort. This study draws lessons from seven business firms going green, operating in different geographic settings in China. Each represents disparate technologies engaged by distinct industries. This study aim was to identify firms’ greening approaches and marketing practices while extending knowledge of the people element in green marketing (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006; Liu et al., 2012; Robbins & Coulter, 2016). In this context, Menon and Menon (1997) propose three levels of greening typologies: tactical greening, quasi-strategic (or business strategic) greening and strategic greening. These levels identify required change by a firm reflecting the degree of commitment to environmental objectives (Polonsky & Rosenberger, 2001). This research adopted Menon and Menon’s (1997) approach in reflecting firm’s green commitment and green pathways.

Case Method and Case Selection Green marketing approaches and marketing practices have not typically extended to Chinese firms. Little is known about green people management practice. We present an inductive case study to generate insights (Bonoma, 1985). Here, multiple firm cases are used to understand organisational marketing strategy (Piekkari et al., 2010). For the case study, firms were located in different geographical locations varies from Beijing, Xian, Zhengzhou, Nanchang, and Nanning

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across five provinces and one municipality with all actively engaged in green initiatives. Participating firms were selected using a purposive sampling strategy (Patton, 2002) where researchers used their judgement based on specified selection relevant to green marketing. Firms were chosen by replication logic allowing firm features to represent duplication or contrasting results (Yin, 2012). Firms’ studies are not argued as representative of a population (Chetty, 1996). Rather, selection criteria were based on the literature findings (Gonzalez-Benito & Gonzalez-Benito, 2006) and firm characteristics in China (Table 6.1 provides a summary of the key features of seven case firms).

Data Collection and Analysis The interviews were based on open-ended questions that revolve around the perceptions of environmental issues, motivations and how to maintain a balance of participant’s interests for implementing green marketing initiatives. Examples of associated practices, marketing strategies and challenges were also extracted. Top management respondents, particularly those who oversee both operations and marketing activities, were targeted for this research to examine their perceptions of organisations’ marketing activities. Within this research, a single decision-maker who has influence and knowledge of the firm’s history and marketing actives were chosen, supplemented by data from internal and publicly available sources. Where possible, information was collected on site visits to the organisations. Given China’s collectivist culture, general managers (i.e., the key informant) also exert strong managerial influence throughout the firm (Zhou, 2006). The in-depth knowledge of the key informant increases the validity and consistency of the internal data collected. General managers, CEOs or founders are considered the most suitable and knowledgeable person in relation to firms’ motivations, relationships with stakeholders and other key aspects of firms’ marketing approaches. Respondents also completed a survey based on Wong et al.’s (1996) work. This consisted of a series of structured statements and questions that relate to green marketing orientation, outcomes and practices. Survey questions were modified and adjusted for the environmental and Chinese context for use in validating respondents’ in-depth answers (Charmaz, 2006; Silverman, 2011). A thematic analysis was performed to analyse the qualitative data. In situations where information was ambiguous, follow-up interviewers (via phone or email) were undertaken. Follow-up discussions were designed

Government control

Moderate

Agriculture processing

General manager 14 years

Participant position and working experience within the firm Industry sector

Private

Eco sand products 600–700 employees; 13.5 billion RMB*

FC

Founder and general manager 19 years Real estate Industrial and architect design commercial service sand industry Moderately Low high

General manager 20 years

Private

Private

Ownership

FB

Firm size (no. of employees/ turnover RMB) (2009–2010)

FA

Firm details

Camellia oil Construction design firm 238 300 employees; employees; 1.30 billion 1.29 billion RMB RMB

Firm products

Key features

Table 6.1  Firms’ characteristics of case studies

FE

High

Automobile industry

General manager 10 years

Joint-venture

Cashmere and garment industry High

General manager 5 years

State holding private firms

Garments & cashmere Approximately Approximately 4100 1200 employees; 10 employees; 7 billion RMB billion RMB

Automobiles

FD

FG

High

(continued)

Very high

Daily chemicals Approximately Approximately 110 1600 employees; employees; 1 100 million billion RMB RMB Privately Privately owned joint-stock owned General Founder and manager general 6 years manager 15 years Hospitality Daily chemical industry industry

Hotel

FF

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End

Position in the value chain Geographic location

FC

Start

Nil

Miyun, Beijing

End

Construction Raw material/ design/material environmental & equipment impact selection/ implementation

FB

Nanchang, Beijing Jiang Xi Province Internationalisation Experienced Limited

Consumer product

FA

Firm details

Green impact

Key features

Table 6.1 (continued)

Zhengzhou, Henan Province Limited

End

Vehicle design, manufacturing and sales

FD

End

Food processing, energy, land and water consumption (services to consumers)

FF

Nanning, Guangxi Province With large Intensive export volume international service experience

Daxing, Beijing

Raw material scouring, design, manufacturing process, distribution, recycling (business to business and business to consumers) Middle to end

FE

Large export experience

Xi’an Shaanxi Province

End

Environment, process and discharge (products to consumers)

FG

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to clarify, verify and assist in refining the emerging themes and trends from initial interviews while also cross-validating the observations from site tours and secondary materials. The use of follow-up interviews and secondary materials minimises any potential weakness associated with a single qualitative data collection (Mason, 2002; Charmaz, 2006; Silverman, 2011).

Results This section provides the results related to firms’ greening approach and marketing practices. Each firm’s green approach was captured and summarised here in Table 6.2. The implementation of green people management by those firms were explored and examined in their operations. Firm decisions to go green have in each case been initiated and championed by powerful individuals. In six out of seven cases, these persons were the founders, owners or general managers with demonstrated vision, passion and enthusiasm in relation to the community and the environment. Interview transcripts showed that most sustainable actions are made based on the value and vision of these individuals rather than a collective decision within the firm. This finding is consistent with that reported in Western literature (Papadas et  al., 2019; Alvesson, 2011; Epstein et  al., 2010) on greening. It also reflects the hierarchy of decision making in the collective culture and long-term orientation of the firms (Hofstede, 1983). Persevering and considering the long-term implications of these decisions from key persons are demonstrated in firm values and product policies. Firms engage in green management and marketing activities largely to comply with government regulations and competitiveness consideration. From interviews, the motivation of philosophical and social responsibility is considered the cornerstone for firms to undertake green initiatives. Even where firms have undertaken green actions under different motivations, including legislation or other compliance or competitive pressures, firms recognised their duty or obligation to the nation and society regarding sustaining the environment. Top management motivated by philosophical and social responsibility were shown to all have the vision, willingness and power to influence and initiate green actions and practices. While this internal-oriented, value-­ driven motivation is no different from motivation exhibited by some Western firms (see e.g. Ben & Jerry’s, Tom’s Maine, Body Shop, cited by Rivera-Camino, 2007), usually originating with entrepreneurs with a

Green Strategic approach greening: Operations and marketing focus Quasi-­ strategic actions: Operations function focus Tactical actions: Operations function focus (simple)

Strategic greening: Transforms itself from a traditional local camellia oil producer to a national leader through the organic and green certification mechanisms to systematically advance the firm’s green management and related operating practices.

FA

Firm details

Strategic greening but opts not to market directly as green instead communicate as savings in the Chinese context.

FB Strategic greening: Translates its motivation for green innovation through its leader’s example and corporate value and culture. Using the international quality and environment, as well as health and safety management system to ensure the internal green practices within the firm.

FC

Table 6.2  Summary of seven firms’ green approaches

Strategic greening: Through new products, new operations process and new technology. Environmental life cycle analysis.

FD Quasi-strategic actions: Apply energy and water efficiency and conservation concept mainly in the manufacturing process and other function areas such as HR management.

FE Quasi-strategic actions: Implements green practices in the main areas of the hotel and offers a variety of green products from food, room services, leisure services, transportation, employee training and proactive equipment maintenance to deal with green requirements and improve operating profit. Not actively promote its greening initiatives except green food.

FF

Strategic greening: Takes sustainable development as its responsibility and commits to the environmental protection and human safe principle since the inception of the firm. From the concept of product R&D to feedstock purchasing, production, marketing and sales, green mindset is raised at all levels of operations.

FG

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vision and an idea rather than specific stakeholder pressure, there are two distinct features of the cases studied that distinguish this motivation from Western representations in the literature (see Bansal & Roth, 2000). The first distinguishing feature between Chinese and Western thought is a patriotic attitude, and the second is the belief in communion with the environment. These attitudes and beliefs contrast with Western interpretations of ethical standards, this being do the right thing by the society and environment (Bansal & Roth, 2000). These two distinctive Chinese features provide further explanation of the power of the motivations of philosophical and social responsibility as environmental motivation. Moreover, the participant responses indicate their viewpoints to be contextual and socially constructed. This, in turn, is linked to national pride to rejuvenate the past glory of the Chinese Nation. This too remains consistent with ingrained influences of traditional Chinese belief concerning harmony with the environment (Wang & Juslin, 2009). The literature on social responsibility, in general, recognises that socially responsible firms tend to adopt long-term and strategic perspectives (Bannerjee et al., 2003; Menon & Menon, 1997), and so in a collective culture such as China’s this may be even more evident (Hofstede, 1983). Given this, it is no surprise to see that firms with philosophical and social responsibility motivation emphasised R&D and were more willing to invest money, assets and other resources for social and environmental good. Interviewees exhibited intensive attention to philosophical and social responsibility motivation. Here, the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and behaviour for firms’ in the process of going green in China was evident from interviews. These firms’ initial motivation for going green did not emerge from competition or legislative pressure. Rather, this emerged from the desire to demonstrate environmental leadership in their associated industries and sectors in China for both philosophical and strategic reasons. As revealed in the findings, there was a consensus that green technology, especially self-managed innovations and brands, combined with strong desire to generate influential power in a global environment, was the key to firms being globally competitive.

Green Approach The findings on firms’ green motivation from this research suggest that motivations for firms going green come from internal drivers—a firm’s philosophy and values. The green approaches adopted by the cases studied

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here are consistent with descriptions of green marketing levels identified by Menon and Menon (1997). A summary of the seven firms’ green approach is presented in Table 6.2. Five out of seven firms (FA, FB, FC, FD and FG) interviewed have attempted a strategic greening approach while two (FE and FF) adopted a quasi-strategic greening approach. The similarities and differences exhibited by the five cases demonstrate a high level of awareness of environmental factors from their top management. Four (FA, FB, FC and FG) of the seven firms’ green initiatives are a direct result of top management’s sense of social and environmental responsibility and entrepreneurial spirit which has translated into green motivations through culture change. Top management in these four firms exhibits patriotic and nationalistic sentiment and desire to take the lead in greening in their industries. Four firms with a strong entrepreneurial spirit (FA, FB, FC and FG) have pursued and implemented certifications and similar mechanisms as ways of establishing frameworks. This process has achieved coordinated and controlled outcomes for their activities across all related areas. Even so, these firms are not limited to these achievements through certification frameworks alone; they look beyond them to seek ways that may be derived from strategic and long-term perspectives. Such perspectives include heavy investment in R&D, acquiring new technology and processes, enlarging firm capacity and proposing new industry and national standards to create enduring competitive advantage. In addition, the responsibility of public education is brought into focus within this group of firms through their overall approach. One firm (FD) had adopted a strategic approach influenced by greening by the overseas parent firm regarding global environmental policy and response to competitive pressures in China.

The People Element in the Greening Operation Most studied firms had limited knowledge and understanding of the green management practices with regard to how this is defined by researchers from Western countries. Yet they all have recognised and engaged employees in the green activities. Firm employees are perceived as being important stakeholders in most cases (FB, FC, FF, FG and FD), but the influence of employees on their green initiatives at different stages of the firm’s evolution varied in each case. For case FC, employees in the early stage of the firm’s development had little influence. This level of engagement

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appears to be determined by the nature of a hi-tech firm, whereas the development of FC had been centred on its founder and owner. As the founder describes it: The innovation within FC had gone through individual innovation stages, team innovation stages, and currently firm-wide innovation, which aims to embrace the talents of each individual employee. (Interview with FC general manager) Employees’ dedication and involvement are the key to ensuring the high quality of our products. (Interview with FG general manager)

Equally important, employees may not necessarily be the decisive force in these cases. Regardless, as explained by FB general manager: firm employees are not the decisive forces for a firm’s green initiatives but can influence the quality and execution of a firm’s green design … as personal professional development is very important for the building design industry and our own design philosophy, we regularly send our employees to Japan, Europe and the United States for short-term and long-term study and exchange programs to attune them to advanced developments in green building design globally. (Interview with FB general manager)

This is also exampled in FD: Employees at FD are important to the whole plant manufacturing efficiency and emerging savings activities such as decrease in energy and raw material usage or decrease in pollution and wastes. Also quality and after-sales service are the keys to high-quality products and consumers’ trust. The knowledge and customer service responsiveness of sales and after-sales teams can make a key difference in increasing the market share of electric cars. (Interview with FD general manager)

Implication and Discussion The research in this chapter has focused on the motivations underpinning green approaches taken by firms operating in China. This topic has implications for green people management to successfully implement green activities. While the cases in this research span a range of firms—based on demographics such as location, the number of employees, annual sales volume, industry classifications and ownership—all are considered eco-­ environmental friendly and are labelled as green firms by Chinese

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authorities, albeit they do not represent or reflect the general business community in China in respect to the green and sustainable development. A few practical implications can nevertheless be drawn from the results and following discussion. There appeared to be limited knowledge of green marketing and green people management manifested by top management. This indicates that green marketing as a marketing concept at the firm level is still in an earlier and evolving stage in China. At the same time, the firms’ operational practices—from product stewardship, pollution prevention, innovation in production processes and marketing strategy—reveal remarkable environmental and sustainable development orientation. This is manifest even though much of their green efforts at the time of this research tended to be internally oriented. An identified discrepancy between perceptions and actions shows, on the one hand, that green marketing as a concept, when proposed from the Western perspective, may be new to green firms in China. On the other hand, the study found that marketing ethics are not unfamiliar in China. China, after all, has a long tradition of valuing communion with the environment as advocated in Daoist philosophy (Wang & Juslin, 2009; Chen, 2003). This result is significant when government and policymakers set out to develop for firms’ educational activities for sustainability programmes. It implies that in a developing economy, where public consciousness of greening and the physical environment is relatively weak, communication and education policies aimed at managers would be more effective than policies aimed at general public behaviours. This is because focused and targeted activities have the potential to drive and guide firms to achieve genuinely productive environmental performance. The interview data reveal Chinese culture and value have an influence on environmental awareness. This is true not only where top management in China is going green, but how this influences other firms and the wider Chinese society. In particular, Confucianism, which encourages interpersonal harmony, and Daoism, with its emphasis on harmony between man and nature (Wang & Juslin, 2009; Chen, 2003), are still widely influential in China. This clearly has an influence on the cultures and principles of the firm (Alford et al., 2013; Wang & Juslin, 2009; Zhou, 2006). Data from the cases studied show that environmental awareness among top management is influenced and encouraged by their philosophical heritage. Here they adopt an ethical and moral perspective on long-term obligations and responsibilities of the firm to the environment. Literature on

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social responsibility generally suggests social responsibility as the highest level of guiding firms’ social involvement with an objective of promoting positive change and outcomes outside of traditionally defined business environment boundaries (Kurucz et  al., 2008; Bannerjee et  al., 2003; Sethi, 1979; Menon & Menon, 1997). What emerges from the data on top management’s perceptions and firm actions is that firms have exhibited philosophical and socially responsible motivation and adopted strategic greening approach, which was perceived as able to help firms to achieve sustainable green goals. None of the seven cases studied here adopts a tactical greening approach. Such an approach focuses on doing the minimum to satisfy specific objectives in the functional level of marketing and operations. One explanation is that some firms with tactical greening approach were excluded from the sample. The interviewed firms’ view is that any non-­ green claims or green window-dressing practices can only backfire. Another explanation is that green tactical strategies are obvious, imitable and require low levels of skills and organisational capabilities to copy; hence performance results are less enduring (Hart, 1995). In contrast, because strategic and quasi-strategic marketing strategies require significantly greater levels of organisational resource commitment and culture shifts, they are rare and less susceptible to competitive imitation (Menon & Menon, 1997). Several implications for government and policymakers follow from firms’ green approaches. The first of these is related to top managements’ environmental awareness and the importance of entrepreneurship to firms’ green development. Identifying and fostering the growth of active green firms and nurturing potential entrepreneurs have significant implications for the green economy in China (Song-Turner, 2010). The second implication is the positive effect of competitive pressure on firms’ pursuits of green initiatives. Compared with legislative and legitimacy pressures, this motivational pressure, as shown in the case of FE, FD and FF, has advantages in encouraging firms to take actions beyond broad regulation requirements to pursue best practice benchmarked with the competition. Further, the findings show the importance and influences of employees in the greening implementation. As highlighted in the interviews, the concept of green human resource forms a sustainable source to promote firm productivity and competitive advantage in the green economy. This implies that the government and policymakers may consider implementing comprehensive training and education in green human resource

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development. Such green people practices might have substantial performance benefits to promote the firm’s sustainable and green development. Such actions should be considered in the context of this case study based on employee viewpoints from seven firms. A broader study with a wider geographic scope may yield different findings or raise new challenges. Further, the ability to implement green practices may vary by industry and the education levels of local workforces. Moreover, given the rapid evolution of China’s economy, viewpoints from key firm personnel may have altered or evolved since these data were collected.

Recommendations The results of this research serve to advance researchers’, managers’ and policymakers’ understanding of firms in China in relation to a few concerns in this field—firm’s perceptions and understandings of green marketing, green people management and green approach. Drawing upon the case study findings, the main motivation for firms going green appears to be a philosophical and social responsibility. Such views are deeply entrenched in traditional Chinese environmental values. A concomitant motivation is top managers’ own strength of nationalistic sentiments to protect the environment and rejuvenate the nation’s influence in the global economy. Policymakers may consider designing public education programmes that highlight such traditional values and nationalistic sentiments. This could be supplemented by further strengthening environmental compliance regulations to coax green behaviour out of less socially responsible managers. Secondly, the scholarly significance of green HRM was not yet fully understood by management and employees. This implies inadequate levels of knowledge and skills for the application of green management. Therefore, it is advisable to use public training or external agencies, such as industry associations, to provide firms with green management implementation at the firm level. With the continued awareness of environmental sustainability, the importance of green people management should not be underestimated. Thirdly, with the continued awareness of environmental sustainability globally, the findings from this research study indicate that firms going green in China show higher levels of environmental awareness than their Western counterparts. This may arise from firms’ sense of philosophical and social responsibility and is closely related to the traditional culture that

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acknowledges the physical environment and the strength of nationalistic sentiment as well as their response to legislative and legitimacy motivation. This contrasting interpretation itself suggests future research perspective to explore the Taoism impact on Chinese firms’ green marketing and sustainability development. On the other hand, it also offers academic scholars’ new insights into examining the local cultural values to the firm’s green behaviours across different countries.

Conclusion In conclusion, a complex array of explanations may be found where Chinese firms adopting green behaviours. These explanations likely stem from both long-held views and perceptions tied to tradition plus leadership activities among key personnel promoting sustainability. Government actions appear to play a secondary, though important supportive role. This study, therefore, presents good news regarding global efforts towards sustainability and environmental protection for benefit of both China and the globe. Acknowledgements  The authors acknowledge contributions made through insightful discussions and comments from Associate Professor Dr Jerry Courvisanos.

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CHAPTER 7

Green Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market Context: A People Perspective Ogechi Adeola, Jude N. Edeh, and Isaiah Adisa

Abstract  Growing concerns on environmental issues have led to several calls for sustainability practices. Organisations are expected to adopt business-related sustainability practices that meet consumer needs without damaging the environment; one such demand is the call to practice green marketing. The quest for a sustainable environment in emerging markets requires strategic and efficient actions; with practices, such as green marketing, businesses can reduce the hazards they create on the environment. Through a review of related literature, this chapter examines green-­ marketing planning in an emerging market context. The authors propose

O. Adeola (*) Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria e-mail: [email protected] J. N. Edeh Kedge Business School, Marseille, France e-mail: [email protected] I. Adisa Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_7

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that with appropriate investments in production processes and people, green marketing goals and objectives can be achieved for a sustainable economy. Keywords  Green-marketing planning • Emerging market • Environmental • People • Strategy

Introduction Globally, the rate of environmental problems calls for conscious efforts, initiatives, and policies to preserve natural resources for current and future usage (Olalekan et  al., 2019; Sarkis & Zhu, 2018). Enterprises are key actors in the creation, adoption, and diffusion of sustainable practices (Azevedo et al., 2012; Pojasek, 2007; Svensson & Wagner, 2015). As an integral aspect of business sustainable practices, green marketing is rapidly attracting the attention of scholars across the globe (Fuentes, 2015). Green marketing is an environmentally conscious perspective to marketing, which takes into consideration consumers, products, processes, and sustainability of the resources. According to Gurău and Ranchhod (2005), it is one of the significant trends in modern business practices. Green marketing is of great interest to stakeholders in different sectors because of the growing rate of green consumers. Despite the contributions of related extant studies, little attention has been paid to green-marketing planning (Lee, 2008; Papadopoulos et al., 2010). To achieve the aim of green marketing, we argue that appropriate strategies and plans must be adopted and implemented. Thus, this chapter assesses green-marketing planning in the context of an emerging market. Different terms have been adopted to conceptualise green marketing, such as organic marketing, sustainable marketing, and eco-marketing (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017; Garg & Sharma, 2017; Nkamnebe, 2011). These terms tend to communicate a similar concept, namely, a marketing orientation that is focused on the satisfaction of the needs of the consumers without compromising the environment and natural resources (Garg & Sharma, 2017). Mukonza and Swarts (2019) describe green marketing as an organisational commitment towards developing safe, eco-friendly services and goods through the use, for example, of easily decomposable and recyclable packaging with measures that prevent pollution and

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promote efficient use of energy. Similarly, Dangelico and Vocalelli (2017) describe green marketing as the integration of environmental sustainability practices into marketing. Green marketing is premised on meeting the product and service needs of consumers while protecting and preserving the natural environment. Interestingly, consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the environmental dangers posed by businesses’ unsustainable practices (Garg & Sharma, 2017). This awareness is substantiated by regulations and strict rules introduced by governments, especially in developed economies (Gurău & Ranchhod, 2005). In emerging economies, similarly, strategic planning of the green-marketing process is essential, not only to resolve the challenges of achieving sustainable development goals, but also to address the emergence of green-consumer behaviour. In other words, in emerging economies, meeting these objectives requires well-coordinated, envisioned, strategised, and internally implemented green-marketing efforts, which will ensure their efficiency and effectiveness (D’Souza et al., 2015). Hence, we argue that effective green-marketing planning enables businesses to grow their consumer base, achieve higher sales target, comply with environmental guidelines, and enhance competitive advantage. Such planning requires strategic mechanisms, which will ensure that green marketing permeates the process of production of goods and services and the logistic and delivery aspects. Secondly, green marketing planning should be designed to meet the stakeholders’ complete needs, not just their economic interests, particularly in the context of emerging economies, with high social and economic-sustainability problems (Amoako et al., 2020; Garg & Sharma, 2017). The remainder of this chapter is organised as follows: Section “Green Marketing Strategy” focuses on green-marketing strategies, while Section “Green Marketing Planning” considers various steps of green-marketing planning and their implications for enterprises in emerging markets. Finally, Section “Green Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market” proposes recommendations and summarises the key discussions of the chapter.

Green-Marketing Strategy As environmental threats increase, several studies that are based on strategic management and marketing data have been conducted to understand the antecedents of business sustainability (Bowen, 2000). More precisely, marketing scholars and practitioners are responding to environmental

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concerns by designing and commercialising strategies that enable businesses to engage in sustainable practices and achieve better corporate reputation and higher efficiency levels. Green-marketing strategies reflect the desire to develop practices aligned with marketing-growth objectives without compromising the natural environment (Kärnä et  al., 2003). While research shows that emerging market firms are expanding into foreign markets, they, however, must adopt strategies embedded in green-­ marketing planning to achieve competitiveness and sustainability goals. For example, Dangelico and Vocalelli (2017) suggest that segmentation, targeting, positioning, and differentiation in marketing strategies must be rooted in ‘greening’ principles to achieve business success. For these authors, segmentation and targeting strategies require that organisations recognise and identify the group(s) of consumers whose needs they intend to meet. Moreover, they argue that designing successful green-­marketing strategies largely depend on understanding ‘why’ consumers purchase particular products, rather than ‘who’ purchases ‘what’. Peattie (2001) suggests that enterprises should position their strategies around consumer wants and needs. This highlights the importance of consumers in greenmarketing strategies; to meet this goal, an enterprise must search for, identify, and respond to consumers’ demands through sustainable actions. D’Souza et  al. (2006) developed a model that assessed consumers’ perception of green products. The authors found that green-marketing segmentation leads to the identification of four classes of consumers, namely, the conventional consumer, emerging-green consumer, pricesensitive green consumer, and environmentally green consumer. The first group, conventional consumers, do not perceive any benefit in a green product; thus, they are indifferent to green-marketing products. The second group of emerging-green consumers understands the benefits of a green product; however, they lack the motivation to purchase them. The third group, price-sensitive green consumers, recognises green values; however, they consider these products too expensive. Lastly, environmentally green consumers are environmentally conscious and are willing to pay a premium on green products in line with this awareness. For enterprises considering a target audience concerned with the preservation of the environment, research highlights the importance of including green features in the marketing of their products to meet their needs. However, these enterprises should not solely focus on environmentally green consumers, but also make efforts to attract the group of consumers that are undecided on green products. Enterprises can utilise tools, such as

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green brands and green advertisement, especially in the context of emerging economies, to create green consciousness (Jain & Kaur, 2006; Polonsky & Rosenberger III, 2001; Rex & Baumann, 2007). In other words, by engaging in these strategies, enterprises in emerging economies can establish appropriate market segmentation and targeting strategies for their green products. Positioning and differentiation are vital marketing strategies that should be adopted when designing green-marketing strategies (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017; Prakash, 2002). Studies suggest that an organisation must be sustainability-conscious to attract different groups of consumers. In other words, it must ‘green-position’ itself to increase the consumers’ perception of its products and, in turn, enhance its market share; consumers’ green perception can lead to a green brand image and green brand equity (Chen, 2010; Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017; Nagar, 2013). A green brand image, when rightly positioned, enables an enterprise to differentiate itself from other competitors. Positioning towards differentiation can be achieved through the functional and emotional characteristics of a product (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017). Functional positioning occurs when an enterprise focuses on the environmental benefits in the usage or consumption of a product, while emotional positioning focuses on individuals’ emotional derivatives from the consumption of a product. Emotional derivatives include a feeling of sensation from contact with nature, feeling of well-being, and projection of green-marketing brand as a status symbol, among others. The most effective impact on brand attitude occurs when functional and emotional positionings are combined in a green-marketing strategy. Ottman et  al. (2006) caution that placing more emphasis on functional positioning over emotional positioning and vice versa leads to ‘green marketing myopia’, a state whereby an organisation focuses on the positioning and satisfaction of consumers (either functional or emotional) and neglect the other. Thus, an enterprise must engage in both positioning strategies to achieve desired results.

Green-Marketing Planning A green-marketing plan is pivotal to achieving green-marketing goals and it differs from green-marketing strategy (segmenting, targeting, positioning, and differentiation). A green marketing strategy answers the ‘whatquestion’ while a green-marketing plan focuses on ‘how to achieve the desired goals’. Gittel et al. (2012) assert that green-marketing plan deals

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with the ideal marketing mix that enables an enterprise to achieve maximum profit while adhering to sustainability practices. Green-marketing planning is proactive and not reactive to environmental regulations on operations, product, or sales (Liu et al., 2012). It predicts and forecasts green-marketing direction while putting in place actions and activities to adopt for success (Liu et al., 2012). In the context of large organisations, Liu et al. (2012) argue that they set clear environmental measures, including key performance indicators, budget for long-term capability development, and environmental practices, which allow them to design and implement green-marketing planning. However, to achieve a successful green-marketing plan, enterprises of all sizes must outline and integrate several steps into their overall marketing objectives. McDaniel and Rylander (1993) identified ten steps of a green-marketing action plan. These steps are further described by Adeola and Adisa (2019) as actions which determine who does what, when, where, and how to achieve the desired goals (see Fig. 7.1). Step 1: Develop a Corporate Environmental Policy The first step to take in green-marketing planning is to develop a corporate environmental policy. To create such a corporate ecological policy, an organisation must have mission, vision, and objectives aligned with social and environmentally sustainable practices. By implication, an organisation consciously integrates sustainability into its core principles. Unlike what exists in developed economies, where there are eco-industries creating green jobs (European Commission, 2011), enterprises in most emerging markets are yet to fully integrate environmental goals and principles into their operations, mainly because of the concomitant costs (Malik & Abdallah, 2019). By integrating environmental principles into business practices, enterprises in emerging markets will be demonstrating their commitments to environmental matters, the government, customers, and other stakeholders (Gangi et al., 2020; Thomas, 2001). As a fundamental step, therefore, it is important to outline and adopt the right environmental policy that responds to the environmental peculiarities of an emerging market (Gerged, 2020).

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1

Develop a Corporate Environmental Policy

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Build Environmental Conscious Leadership

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Develop Internal Environmental Advocates

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Train and Educate Employees

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Understand the consumers’ needs and Government Regulations

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Develop Green Marketing Environmental Action Plan

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Engage all Departments in responding to Environmental Needs

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Allocate Adequate Resources

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Communicate to Customers through Effective Advertising

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Monitor Customer Response

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Ten Steps of Green Marketing Planning

Fig. 7.1  Ten steps of green-marketing planning. (Source: Adapted from McDaniel & Rylander, 1993)

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Step 2: Build Environmental-Conscious Leaders The second step after the establishment of such a policy is the development of environmental- conscious leadership. Green-marketing planning largely depends on the commitment and the leadership of top managers who make and implement decisions that can enhance organisations’ environmental performance. Environmental-conscious leadership entails various managerial practices, ranging from designing and implementing green-management systems to engaging in proactive environmental strategies (Jose & Lee, 2007; Maak & Pless, 2006). The organisation must invest in knowledge, especially in the areas of environmental policies, and actions that can improve its environmental management (Boiral et al., 2014). This has implications for enterprises in emerging markets, given that most of the enterprises originating in these regions are faced with limited resources, which often make it challenging to develop environmental-­ conscious leaders; therefore, these enterprises should engage in environmental practices within their resource capacity. Studies by Avery and Bergsteiner (2011) and Robinson and Clegg (1998) suggest that such investments can lead to competitive advantage as they reflect the commitment to environmental sustainability by an organisation. In addition, this step is not only fundamental in green marketing (Egri & Herman, 2000; Flannery & May, 1994) but it also facilitates the integration of green practices, into the overall organisational strategy. Step 3: Develop Internal Environmental Advocates The third step is to develop internal environmental advocates who will concentrate on positioning an organisation as an environmental-conscious firm. This might even require that an organisation create a department dedicated to planning and carrying out green decisions. The organisational environmental advocates should focus on understanding the drivers and barriers to the successful implementation of green-marketing planning. Such knowledge will extensively address both social and environmental sustainability issues facing their organisations (Doh & Guay, 2004); thus, as internal environmental advocacy adjusts to meet the customers’ demands, organisations should integrate the demands into their green-­marketing planning.

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Step 4: Train and Educate Employees The fourth step is to train and educate employees—from managers to operational workers—on environmental concerns. Organisations should engage in inclusive environmental training that will enhance the accomplishment of green-marketing goals. Environmental training for workers highlights the need to invest in human capital when pursuing green-­ marketing goals. Previous studies show a positive relationship between employees’ environmental training and firms’ performance (Daily et al., 2012). Investing in environmental training is particularly relevant in the context of emerging economies where the level of employees’ environmental awareness in organisations appears to be relatively low. Such initiatives should focus on fostering environmental management practices, goals, targets, and soundness of products and services. In addition, continuous environmental training can be a powerful tool for cultivating a sustainable culture, which can, in turn, enable these organisations to create a successful green-marketing plan (Dasgupta et al., 2000). Step 5: Understand the Consumers’ Needs and Government Regulations In the fifth step, organisations must understand the green needs of the consumers and government environmental regulations. This stage enables organisations to design a green-marketing plan that is in line with private and public stakeholders’ demands. In the face of recent environmental pressures, organisations with good knowledge of stakeholders’ needs are more likely to implement a relevant green-marketing plan and achieve greater competitive advantage (Reddy, 2018). Conversely, organisations failing to meet these stakeholders’ needs are less likely to commercialise successful green-marketing plans and goals. Businesses in emerging markets must recognise the environmental needs of the target audience and design products and services to meet these needs (KQ et al., 2014). Step 6: Develop a Green-Marketing Environmental Action Plan An understanding of consumer needs and government environmental regulations should set the pace for a green-marketing action plan that will be integrated into the various parts of the corporate strategic planning process. The action plan will specify the market, target audience, and

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platforms to be utilised in achieving green-marketing objectives (Taghian et  al., 2015). Strategic actions towards green marketing with the right people enhance competitive advantage, which in turn leads to an improvement in financial performance (Papadas et al., 2019). The right strategic green-marketing environmental action plan will not only benefit the environment and the consumers but also increase financial performance and competitive edge of the organisation. Step 7: Engage All Departments in Responding to Environmental Needs With the recognition of government environmental regulations, organisation must encourage all departments to participate in the overall response to consumers’ green needs. This might require aligning the interest of competing units and departments of an organisation to address the consumers’ social and environmental needs effectively. In other words, all departments must be involved in the greening process, from production to sales. Interconnecting all the organisation’s core activities to align with green actions, such as green marketing will also ensure a uniform firms’ performance which will benefit their stakeholders (Cronin et al., 2011). Step 8: Allocate Adequate Resources The pursuance of green-marketing activities must be supported with the proper allocation of resources, such as finance and personnel. Green marketing is an integral part of an organisation’s objectives, and as such, to reach the desired outcomes, it however requires adequate resources. The additional cost of resources for green-marketing activities is one of the reasons several organisations do not adopt green practices because of the narrative that the process is expensive and requires long-term planning (Arseculeratne & Yazdanifard, 2014), nevertheless, allocating adequate financial and human resources for the actualisation of green goals and objectives is crucial. Step 9: Communicate to Customers Through Effective Advertising Building on Step 8, the availability of human and financial resources facilitates effective green-marketing activities such as advertising, campaign, and others. Organisations must communicate about their products,

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especially their green features to the targeted consumers; they should ensure that they communicate the products’ functional and emotional features to retain and attract more customers. Engaging in effective communication can promote a positive brand image and brand equity (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017). Communication of an organisation’s green products and actions will not only build customer loyalty, but also stimulate customers’ cooperation in an organisation’s environmental sustainability efforts. The success of a green-marketing plan will also depend on how effectively the organisation communicates its actions to the consumers. Step 10: Monitor Customer Response The last step is monitoring the consumer’s response through marketing research programme evaluation. The green-marketing activities initiated through the green-marketing plan must be well monitored to enable organisations to enhance existing sustainable plans as well as develop new products that meet the greening needs of customers. In other words, given the dynamic nature of today’s marketplace, organisations must react to changes by designing and continuously monitoring and improving their green-marketing plans.

Green-Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market Engaging in green marketing highlights the environmental consciousness of an organisation. This consciousness is reflected in an organisation’s production processes, product designs, and services; for example, to achieve the desired goal of environmental sustainability, while satisfying the need of consumers, organisations in emerging economies must reduce wastage in packaging, avoid the use of toxic pollutants, and improve energy efficiency (Iweama, 2014). Organisations must understand the peculiarity of their environment when responding to the green needs of their consumers. Therefore, for organisations in emerging markets, to engage in effective green-marketing planning in line with the ten steps discussed in the previous section, it is important that they identify and seek to understand their customer needs, characteristics, and orientations. Nkamnebe (2011) highlights the importance of sustainable marketing in emerging markets and observes that the pressure from the global market system, unsupportive local conditions, and the prevalence of poverty in emerging markets are hindrances to the achievement of green

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marketing for sustainable development. The author argues that public policies in emerging markets should encourage organisations to adopt environmental sustainability as a strategic tool for social and economic development. Sharma et al. (2015) examined the opportunities and challenges of green marketing in India and concluded that factors such as lack of standardisation, non-cooperation, and green myopia are some of the challenges hampering the success of green marketing in emerging economies. Despite Maziriri’s (2020) findings that green-marketing activities, such as green packaging and green advertising, have a positive influence on business performance and competitive advantage in South Africa, there is still much to be done in emerging markets to achieve green objectives and goals. Emerging markets’ enterprises can promote social and economic sustainability while meeting the customer needs if organisations deliberately invest in green-marketing initiatives.

People in Green-Marketing Planning Planning and executing green-marketing activities largely depend on the people in the organisation; hence, the role of people in the achievement of innovative business practices cannot be overemphasised; this awareness cuts across every organisational activity and, without doubt, is also crucial to green-marketing planning (Ahmad, 2015; Baron & Armstrong, 2007; Ginsberg & Bloom, 2004; Thompson, 2004). The ten steps to green-­ marketing planning discussed in the earlier section reflect the crucial role of people in the strategy as all the stages require people with green orientation who are aligned with organisations’ environmental sustainability’s goals and objectives. Developing a corporate environmental policy, building environmental-conscious leaders and having internal advocates, as well as training employees, are demonstrative of the crucial role of people in green-marketing planning. Planning comes in different stages as evidence in the literature on strategic planning (Adeola & Adisa, 2019), which requires people to carry out various strategic activities; hence, without adequate support from people within an organisation, a strategic green-­ marketing plan will not achieve the desired success (Ginsberg & Bloom, 2004). The leadership of the organisation therefore has a responsibility to ensure that employees actively participate in green-marketing plans and activities to stimulate new ideas and employees’ enthusiasm (Ginsberg & Bloom, 2004); therefore, organisations need their people to support and be aligned to green-marketing initiatives.

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Another crucial role of people in green-marketing planning success is in sales. Sales representatives, when well trained and are knowledgeable about green-marketing values, can educate consumers, promote the organisations’ green actions, and provide the right information needed by consumers to ensure consumer engagement. Any previous experience of consumers arising from greenwashing (false environmental information of an organisation’s product) can cast doubt on other organisations’ sincerity to meet consumer needs and sustain the health of the environment. However, these doubts can be removed when personnel are strategically placed to provide appropriate information to the customers; having the right people, with the needed green orientation, is crucial to achieving green-marketing goals. This can be achieved by investing more in human resources policies and practices, with a focus on Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) (Ahmad, 2015; Jabbour & de Sousa Jabbour, 2016), an aspect that deals with the application of sustainability initiatives in Human Resource Management (HRM) practices.

Recommendations Green-marketing planning, a strategic part of the green marketing, must identify some context-related factors (the environmental concerns, the green product, method of production, renewable resources, availability of people, the consumers, and the cost) before developing any green-­ marketing plan. A green-marketing plan is a response to the environmental and consumer needs of the market and, hence, maps the actions to be taken towards achieving green-marketing goals. The traditional marketing mix of price, place, promotion, and product are context-dependent and consumer-sensitive, and as such, these factors must be put into consideration when developing a marketing plan, particularly in emerging markets. In designing products, the benefits to the consumers and the natural environment must be emphasised. To achieve this goal, green packaging, which is a critical component of the green product, must be harnessed. Also, a product’s affordability must be considered, especially in the context of emerging markets, where customers may be less likely to pay a high premium on green products; thus, organisations in emerging markets must ensure that there is alignment between the price of the products and the consumers’ capacity to pay. In addition, emerging market enterprises must consider not only ease of access of green products to the consumer but also create novel

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distribution channels. When planning for green marketing, organisations in emerging markets must answer the questions of ‘where’ and ‘how’ the products are to be distributed, especially, to meet the demands of customers residing in remote areas. Enterprises, thus, must make green products available at the right locations and distribute them through efficient channels; for example, enterprises in emerging markets can invest in distribution strategies that reduce cost as well as promote social and economic sustainability. Equally necessary, the promotion of green products in emerging markets must take into consideration the cultural requirements of the immediate society where the enterprise operates. This is important because promoting green products involves clear communication of the benefits of the products to the consumers, in particular, and also the society at large. In this respect, labels and packaging are essential promotional tools which can accurately communicate an enterprise’s commitment to environmental sustainability. It is imperative that executives tasked with the planning of green marketing consider country-specific dynamics of the marketing mix, especially in emerging markets where the markets respond to change and influence from various cultural perspectives. Enterprises in emerging markets must always be aware that their profit maximisation depends largely on their ability to meet environmental concerns, cultural peculiarities, and consumer needs.

Conclusion Green marketing is an important aspect of marketing because of its focus, aims, and objectives; likewise, the green-marketing plan is different from the traditional one. In this chapter, we focused on green marketing planning in emerging markets, emphasising the steps that should be considered when designing a green-marketing plan. Although literature has identified hindrances to successful green marketing, there is still need for more studies to explore how enterprises can implement green-marketing initiatives that will meet customers’ demands as well as foster sustainable and responsible business practices in emerging markets. The initiatives would create and encourage a culture of sustainability at the various levels in the workplace and society at large.

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PART III

Green Competencies, Potentials and Engagement in Emerging Markets

CHAPTER 8

Competencies for Green Marketing Success in Emerging Markets Mary Wanjiru Kinoti and Abel Kinoti Meru

Abstract  This chapter addresses the critical competencies that provide the requisite skills and knowledge for championing the development and growth of green marketing in emerging markets. The link between environmental responsibility, social change and sustainable business practices has been the concern for practitioners and environmentalist for the past couple of decades in developed countries, and multi-agency teams have been deployed to address emerging issues if any. Besides, deployment of highly focused and committed environmental conscious personnel, there has been a tremendous improvement of innovative manufacturing processes and efficient technologies, leading to successful green marketing systems and programmes. Though, efforts are bearing fruits in emerging markets, on account of countries affiliation to global agencies, such as United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and many others,

M. W. Kinoti School of Business, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya A. K. Meru (*) Riara School of Business, Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_8

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more need to be done to isolate key soft and hard competencies required to cascade global green marketing solutions to local firms. The chapter illustrates that green competencies, green thinking and rightful employee engagement foster green marketing activities in emerging markets. Keywords  Green marketing • Green competence • Green thinking skills • Green partnerships • Green marketing mix • Green reporting

Introduction Competency is the consistent application of relevant skills, knowledge and abilities in a given work situation (ILO, 2015). In green organisations, green human resource competency is a vital requirement for the fulfilment of green business practices such as green marketing (Cabral & Dhar, 2019). Green competencies, therefore, are technical skills, knowledge, values and attitudes required by workforce to develop and support social, economic and environmental outcomes in business, community and industry (ILO, 2015). Individuals’, collective and organisational competencies are vital for enhancing economic efficiency and environmental and social performance. Zhu and Sarkis’s (2016) study on China shows that there is a positive correlation between individuals’ green competencies and green behaviour. Subramanian et al.’s (2015) study on green competences in successful green firms shows that firms who have personnel with green competencies, operate holistically and work closely with customers and other stakeholders, towards a result dubbed ‘double bottom trickle line’, hinged on social responsibility and environmental concern (Ottman, 1999). To respond to this dramatic shift in business operations, proactive, concerted, sustainable, long-term, radical (business reengineering) solutions (both social and environmental) are needed to cope with ever-­ changing global dynamics. For instance, depletion of natural resources, global warming, pollution, human waste, urbanisation, hunger, poverty and diseases, among others, pose a huge challenge to the rapidly growing youthful population in the emerging markets. Green consumers are more conscious about the planet, health and animals and are cognizant of shortand long-term impact of their consumption of goods and services (Ottman, 1999). Thus, green marketing calls for a more proactive role for marketers to promote greener marketing practices and mitigate the impact of

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traditional marketing activities on the natural environment (Lozada & Mintu-­Wimsatt, 1995), which needs active participation by all stakeholders (society, government and business entities). Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995) underpin the need for the hands-on role of government (regulation and promotion) and corporate marketing in entrenching sustainable marketing, that is, responsible, social and green marketing (UNEP, 2020), by advocating for consumption, redirection of customer needs and wants, re-orientation of marketing mix and reorganisation. This calls for re-orientation of the marketing mix, to refocus on green 7Ps of products, price, place, promotion, people, processes and physical evidence resulting in the total reorganisation, restructuring and redesign of processes and systems through cross-functional teams drawn from all the functional areas (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1995). This is possible through in-depth short- and long-term analysis of environmental, economic, political and social issues affecting a firm’s offerings and consumers (Ottman, 1999), which requires a complex mix of competences, skills and knowledge among green marketing managers and their supporting teams. Green marketing competence enables the performance of either organisation-­ wide, specific task or individual-oriented activities. Cabral and Dhar (2019) observe that six green human resource competencies—namely, green knowledge, green skills, green abilities, green attitudes, green behaviours and green awareness—are essential for a firm to achieve environmental performance. The study examines these green competencies in an emerging market and also provides thoughts on green thinking skills, green marketing mix, green partnerships and green reporting.

Green Competence The ILO (2015) report highlights three green competencies, namely, working sustainably, advocating environmental work practices and promoting environmental management by implementing and monitoring environmental programmes. This is done through internal and external linkages, partnerships and networks aimed at providing solutions to environmental problems. A firm needs to strive to balance environmental, social and economic values to maximise sustainable/green performance. For managers to make informed decisions on green production/consumption methods, they need full knowledge and understanding of the interplay between environmental, economic and social performance (Zhang & Chabay, 2020) and consequences.

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Green Knowledege Green skills Green abilities Green attitudes

Green behavior

Green Awareness

Fig. 8.1  Green competencies needed for green marketing success. (Source: Adapted from Cabral & Dhar, 2019)

Dewi (2020) notes that environmental awareness contributes significantly to existing green practices. Thus, as Subramanian et  al. (2015) observe, environmental/ecological knowledge ought to focus on understanding the industrial activities, stakeholder pressure, regulatory concerns, challenges and opportunities, and the role of human knowledge and skills. Doppelt (2010) observes that for positive sustainable solutions to be feasible, people, teams, organisations and overall society must reorient their thinking and behaviour to systematically change how they imagine, design, build and operate sustainable economic and social systems. That is rethinking the future by questioning the current environmental challenges, beliefs, assumptions and values and still fostering the prosperity and well-being of the people. The green competencies of the human resources needed to achieve the desired green goals and objectives, as categorised by Cabral and Dhar (2019), are discussed in the context of an emerging economy (Fig. 8.1). Green Knowledge Green knowledge whether objective or subjective is used in promoting environmental management systems, drafting environmental emergency plans and measures, and developing a green programme (waste

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management, control of effluents, inventory of pollution sources); this helps organization use less polluting industrial processes and products. Ibrahim et  al.’s (2020) study on green industries in Malaysia identified green technology knowledge, waste management knowledge and problem-solving and critical thinking knowledge as key knowledge competencies. OECD (2019) observes that there is a need for strategic direction and support mechanism for green growth in emerging markets. For instance, Suki’s (2016) study in Malaysia found out that consumers’ knowledge of green brands leads to positive green marketing practices. Green Skills Skills such as energy conservation, skills in recycling, skills in environmental protection and skills in consumption of materials are crucial in implementing green marketing. Jebungei (2020) highlights that green skills positively impact the growth of a sustainable economy in Kenya. Green skills (including design, communication, procurement, leadership, financial and management skills) though not new, have not been fully implemented in higher education curricula in Malaysia (Ibrahim et al., 2020). Green Abilities It refers to the abilities to solve complex environmental issues and provide multiple solutions, that is, the green abilities to scout, exploit and foster environmental conservation. Aykan (2017) added that these green abilities include abilities to undertake environmental protection related tasks, duties and responsibilities; use of teamwork and cross-functional teams to manage environmental issues; implement environmental programmes such as cleaner production and ISO standards; and undertake environmental audit. Green Attitudes These include positive consciousness among employees and the organisation, on the promotion, protection, awareness creation and the value for the conservation of the environment. Liao et  al.’s (2020) study in Cambodia found a positive relationship between green attitudes and purchase intention.

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Green Behaviour Green behaviour is exhibited in the organisation and also in employees’ adoption of eco-friendly practices. This is evident if employees are eager to learn more about sustainable environmental practices; the organisation therefore deploys green processes, reuses materials, utilises energy-­efficient methods, shares best green practices and makes green products. Green behaviour could be in role (job requirement), for instance, disposing of toxic waste or extra role (voluntary), like turning off computers after work to enhance a firm’s environmental performance (Dumont et  al., 2017). The green behaviours could be positive or negative (ungreen) behaviour, which includes transforming, conserving, avoiding harm, influencing others and taking initiatives on environmental sustainability (Ones et  al., 2018). Thus, green behaviour is vital for the implementation of green practices in the workplace (Ibrahim et al., 2020), particularly in emerging markets. Green Awareness This calls for employees and organizations to concern themselves with areas or issues like environmental pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable production and consumption, depletion of natural resources, best environmental process and management systems and ecosystems, among others. Ibrahim et  al. (2020) further observe that in Malaysia, employees’ awareness of eco-friendly green policies and the impact of climate change is crucial in enhancing environmental responsibility. The six green competencies, in turn, shape green thinking competencies and corporate activities for green marketing success in the emerging market.

Competency of Thinking Towards Green Marketing Success Green thinking towards successful implementation of green marketing practices focuses on reengineering the product life cycle thinking, designing, creative and innovative thinking, as well as integrative thinking practices. These concepts are discussed herein.

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Life Cycle Thinking This is a form of competency through thinking that ensures green products’ issues touch on all the phases of a product life cycle, as they impact the overall environmental aspects (Ottman, 1999). To avoid waste, everything is recycled in one way or the other, so thinking shifts from linear ‘cradle to grave’ to circular ‘cradle to cradle’ through recycling/upcycling, reuse, remanufacturing and compostable (Ottman, 1999). Esposito et al. (2017) observe that circular economy is growing rapidly through disassembling, recouping and recovery, reinforcing and repurposing existing resources. The consumption or sustainable consumption and production, call for life cycle thinking (LCT), management (LCM) and assessment (LCA) competency, that is, from use to reuse to recycle and vice versa (UNEP, 2020) to enhance life cycle knowledge and skills. As Belz (1999) notes, this transforms the value chain (linear economy), to a value circle (circular economy), or multiple users or results in shared services. Shared services include product-oriented services (maintenance and disposal services), user-oriented services (renting, leasing, pooling or sharing) and need-oriented services (Hockerts, 1999). Current car-sharing model is a good example, and use of old serviceable reusable passenger vehicles in Ethiopia and Nigeria plus resalable consumer goods. Life cycle thinking leads to remodification of the product value chain (system) or a consumer use system, by thinking like a system (Ottman, 1999). Design Thinking This is another competency thinking that ensures that green design strategies are used to strike a balance between consumer needs and environmental consideration such as to conserve and protect natural resources or to use renewable or recyclable or biodegradable materials (Ottman, 1999). Ottman (1999) further observes that green by design needs a radical transformation in the entire production and consumption cycle. Since the utilisation of resources is unsustainable, it therefore calls for rethinking marketing (Peattie, 1999) function within an organisation, through diverse ways of addressing current and future needs of customers and wants. This could be through design thinking, which is a more proactive approach to promote the success of green marketing—an agile mindset to understand consumer needs and wants through the use of design teams.

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Creative and Innovative Thinking Creative and innovative thinking proposes that green marketing goals can be achieved through continuous improvement and innovation (Roy, 1999) or through continuous learning of knowledge, skills and attitudes for initiating new ideas and methods (Price & Lisk, 2014; UNECE, 2012). Learning to learn is vital for nurturing eco-innovative learning culture since environmental problems require solutions (Hartmann & Beard, 1999). Further, green organisation innovation results in inefficient energy consumption, utilisation of water, waste reduction and less gas emissions (Khan & Johl, 2019). Thinking is a precondition to creativity (Hartmann & Beard, 1999). This can be accomplished through setting of outrageous goals and creative thinking Ottman (1999). Creativity is an out-of-the-­ box thinking, using cross-functional, interdisciplinary teams, as opposed to individual experts (Ottman, 1999). Creative new ideas and services lead to creative disruption with new markets; hence, the need to nurture creativity among employees, suppliers and customers to innovate or perish (Price & Lisk, 2014). Calling for futuristic thinking competences (Bickell, 2013), what Price and Lisk (2014) observe as the ability to anticipate different future scenarios (scenario planning) with green design offerings. Green design addresses product performance, quality, cost and environmental performance (Roy, 1999), through eco-friendly products and services, for instance, eco-bubble Samsung washing machine that uses less energy and water. Integrative Thinking and Practice Integrative thinking helps human resources reflect on the interrelationships of the natural, social and economic systems in the past, present and future, and the creative possibilities they engender (UNECE, 2012) through the involvement of everyone in the society. Ideas and experience can also be shared while creating sustainable green products and services (UNECE, 2012) as a unified system. Systems thinking (Bickell, 2013) competency engenders the holistic focus on green marketing by reflecting on the interdependencies among the subsystems/parts. Kralj (2009) notes that successful practitioners, scientists and artists deploy systems thinking, unlike losers who are one-sided thinkers.

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Engaging Employee Competency in Corporate Activities for Green Marketing Success in an Emerging Market A strategic organisation is expected to harness the competencies within the organisation to create a niche for the business in the market. Green businesses must ensure that they engage the green competencies of their staff to achieve green marketing goals. The first action to take is to engage in green communication and promotion. Green communication and promotion ought to be supported by other corporate activities (Agustini et al., 2019). This is true since green-oriented communication and promotion is a shift from conventional marketing communications strategy and is used to empower (educational) consumers, by reinforcing product’s primary benefits, boost corporate support and ward off legislative requirements (Ottman, 1999). Through in-depth green marketing analysis, or achieved through communication and promotional competencies, conventional consumer needs and wants can be redirected towards sustainable consumption (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1995) by dematerialising, using few materials and little energy to meet consumer needs or rethinking the value of products, or offering functional substitutes (Ottman, 1999). Persuasive communication can influence consumer behaviour and change of attitudes to enhance adoption of green marketing in emerging economies (Patwa et al., 2020), and educate consumers, build credibility, offer solutions, and performance reassurance (Ottman, 1999). Green marketers prefer alternative media as opposed to the conventionally established outlets, such as public relations to build awareness, credibility and affordability (Ottman, 1999) to provide green information (Mehraji & Qureshi, 2020). Secondly, Agustini et  al. (2019) observe that green products utilise recycled or recyclable materials, simple packaging, minimal energy, inexpensive delivery and selling modes, and are non-toxic and durable. Thus, as Sdrolia and Zarotiadis (2019) note, there is a need for assessing the environmental impact or footprint periodically at the design, procurement, production, use, disposal or recycling phases against global benchmarks. Green product, whether tangible or intangible depending on the technological and scientific developments, reduces the direct or indirect impact on the environment through its life cycle (Sdrolia & Zarotiadis, 2019). Thus, a need to continuously have product designers with varying green traits and able to decipher consumers’ green product attributes request (Mayakkannan, 2019) or provide green solutions (Mehraji &

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Qureshi, 2020). That is, designers exploring innovative green process engineering solutions that utilise non-depletable resources, reduce gas emissions and provide renewable energy solutions (Patel et  al., 2014). Zhu and Sarkis (2016) note that green product attribute preferences among Chinese green consumers include energy and water efficiency, cost savings and being organic. Thirdly, Pomering (2017) asserts that employees and customers are co-­ producers and ought to be involved in environmental and social programmes. Service customers are part of the production process; the attitudes and behaviour of people in the service environment (Zeithaml et  al., 2010), influence green service marketing. In a nutshell, green employee engagement in addressing environmental and social concerns is key to the success of green marketing initiatives (Haddock-Millar et al., 2016). Informed people can contribute to the reduction of the environmental footprint (e.g. through shared services) individually or collectively (Pomering, 2017). Pomering (2017) further notes that the principles and promises ought to be stated in the firm’s vision, mission, philosophy and values and used as benchmarks against other firms, and to assess performance and future activities. Fourthly, green partnership is another activity needed for green marketing success. To build green partnerships, the organisation needs direct and indirect relationships from diverse stakeholders to bolster green marketing initiatives (Hartmann et al., 1999). Unprecedented environmental demands resulted in multiple stakeholder views of green marketing, dubbed environmental entrepreneurial marketing, which accommodates other stakeholders’ needs to actualise sustainable economic benefits (Hartmann et al., 1999). The authors further explain that due to disparities in resource endowment, lack of expertise and varied human needs for stakeholders’ collaboration to tackle a common sustainable agenda. The game plan, in a way, is to understand all the direct and indirect stakeholders, their ability, needs and expectations gaps, and adjust a firms marketing, objectives, priorities and actions in favour of stakeholders’ interest. As Pomering (2017) observes, partnerships should be holistic to be able to handle social and environmental externalities both inside and outside the firm whilst solving mutual problems or creating innovative greener solutions. Developing other green marketing mix variables is an important activity too, and Karunarathna et al. (2020) posit that green product distribution should factor in environmentally safe practices both inside and outside the

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firm, including green accessibility, availability, redistribution or even disposal of the products. Green pricing requires determination of social and environmental costs of all the aspects of the product (Karunarathna et al., 2020), and should be reasonable and competitive (Agustini et al., 2019), and factor in green productivity (Mayakkannan, 2019). More so, the green price added value in terms of function, design and performance (Goh et al., 2019), that is, green value (Mehraj et al., 2020). Lastly is green reporting, which is focused on how a firm’s green activities impact on economic, social and environmental issues on a daily basis is a source of competitive advantage. This may not be the case in emerging markets since green reporting is entirely voluntary, with few standards or minimal regulations guiding the practice. Even where it is done there is a lack of integration with global, regional, national and regulatory frameworks, foundations and pillars addressing sustainable development—in simple, there is inadequate disclosure. Thus, reporting facilitates assessment, comparison and communication of green practices within and outside the firm. Clear communication of a firm’s green marketing principles and promises conveys its environmental and social commitment to customers and shareholders (Pomering, 2017).

Conclusion and Recommendations For an emerging market to successfully implement green marketing, they need to re-examine the future business activities and seek potential solutions to address economic, environmental and social sustainability. This calls for the proper understanding of the short- and long-term implications of business activities on environmental and social concerns. This holistic approach needs individual, collective and organisation-wide competencies to develop and support social, economic and environmental outcomes in business, community and industry (ILO, 2015). Further, the focus should be on understanding current industrial activities, stakeholder pressure and regulatory concerns, vis-à-vis green competence requirements to drastically implement the necessary changes. This requires radical rethinking and redesign of traditional business practices to align with green global business practices. Emerging market stakeholders should proactively develop the key competencies in green knowledge, green skills, green abilities, green attitudes, green behaviour and green awareness to achieve environmental performance. Green competences promote green human and financial

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programmes, green production processes and green marketing activities. Green marketing competences promote green thinking skills, green marketing mix, green partnerships and green reporting skills to support positive environmental, economic and social outcomes in emerging markets.

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CHAPTER 9

Harnessing the Potentials of Generation Green for Green Marketing Success in Africa’s Emerging Economies Isaiah Adisa, Ogechi Adeola, and Akin Oparison

Abstract  Environmental concerns, such as global warming and pollution, have heightened the need for sustainable practices. Businesses are required by governments and international organisations to adopt not only practices that safeguard the environment, but also those that meet the demand of the consumers. In Africa’s emerging economies, there has been an increase in environmental problems arising from industrialisation; these have led to health and economic challenges. Green marketing, which involves the marketing of environmental-safe products, is a crucial aspect of sustainable business practices, in the twenty-first century. Through the generational cohort theory, we propose that the adoption of green marketing practices will result in the needed social, economic and

I. Adisa (*) Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria O. Adeola • A. Oparison Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_9

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environmental changes in attitude, towards sustainable development. We conclude that the success of green marketing in Africa’s emerging economies depends on how businesses in these economies harness the potential of the generation green, a cohort of environmentally conscious people. Keywords  Africa • Emerging economies • Generational cohort • Generation green • Green marketing

Introduction The effects of continuous environmental disruption, as a result of activites of businesses, have increased consumer awareness and interest in sustainable business practices, in recent years (Büttner & Grübler, 1995; Mark & Law, 2015; Peattie & Ratnayaka, 1992; Verma, 2017). Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and would desire to do business with organisations adopting green business practices (Singh & Pandey, 2012; Squires, 2019); therefore, to survive and remain competitive, companies worldwide must go green. Green marketing is one of the many approaches in understanding green business practices, and the continuous demand for sustainable products and services has heightened the need for organisations to adopt green innovations and strategies, such as green marketing (Verma, 2017). It is crucial that as the world’s population grows and is mainly dominated by generations born between 1981 and 1996 (Generation Y) and those born between 1997 and 2012 (Generation Z), business organisations must begin to target these generations to achieve successful green marketing goals (Nadanyiova et al., 2020). The generation green (Generations X and Y) provides human resource and marketing opportunities to aid the actualisation of business goals in emerging economies. In Africa, investment in green practices for a green economy (an economy that reduces environmental risks through low carbon, resource-­ efficient and socially inclusive practices; [United Nations Environmental Programme, n.d.]) will help the continent achieve sustainable, transformative and inclusive economic growth (United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], 2017). Recognising the crucial role of green practices towards a green economy and their impact on sustainable economic growth, the European Union’s Technical and Financial Support through its Switch Africa Green project has rendered assistance to six African

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economies in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. These countries are considered as investing in sustainable production and consumption as they were observed to be putting in place plans and strategies to switch to a green economy. Notably, Ghana’s Isaiah, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation corroborates the European Union’s Technical and Financial Support statement on the nation’s quest for a green economy as follows: We have developed policies on Sustainable Development and Green Economy for Ghana to transition to a green economy through the promotion of sustainable consumption and production practices. Switch Africa Green project is supporting us to implement these policies and translate them into action, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng. (UNEP, 2017)

The adoption and implementation of sustainable production pattern, consumption and practices are crucial to a sustainable economy. To implement sustainable practices in emerging economies in Africa, organisations must, however, take advantage of opportunities evident in the green generation (Büttner & Grübler, 1995; Nadanyiova et al., 2020; Naderi & Van Steenburg, 2018; Testa et  al., 2019; Verma, 2017) who constitutes the majority of the current population (Allianz Global Investors, 2011; Ncube, 2017). Examples of emerging economies in Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cabo Verde, Seychelles, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia (Aman et  al., 2018). These countries are regarded as emerging markets or emerging economies or countries because of their high economic transformation levels, population and rapid urbanisation, leading to increased industrialisation. Citizens in these countries are experiencing an improved standard of living (Aman et al., 2018). Büttner and Grübler (1995) adopted the concept “green generation” to refer to the younger people who are replacing the ageing population and are more environmentally conscious in their decisions and choices. Büttner and Grübler (1995) argued that an understanding of consumers, from the lens of generational dynamics, would help interpret and understand consumers’ behaviours. Though Büttner and Grübler (1995) used the term “generation green”, we adopt “generation green” in this chapter to describe individuals who are conscious and find environmental sustainability practices appealing (McDougle et al., 2011; Price, 2018). McDougle et  al. (2011) found that environmental issues are important to the

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generation of young adults, who will not only engage in pro-environmental behaviours but also more likely to volunteer for activities of environment-­ focused non-profits. Increasing pressure from global organisations, government and consumers on businesses to embrace sustainable practices (green movement) requires that regions and economies identify their best path to achieving a sustainable economy (Peattie & Ratnayaka, 1992). For emerging markets, the younger generation and people management practices can be harnessed towards sustainable goal. We refer to this generation as “generation green”. Currently, the largest demographics in the workforce are the generation green, and their activities have informed a changing trend in consumer behaviour (Price, 2018); therefore, the presence of generation green as workforce and consumers promotes sustainability practices (Keve & Bryzek, 2019; Price, 2018). Büttner and Grübler (1995) further asserted that 20% of the world’s population generate and consume 80% of global economic output, use 75% commercial energy and two-thirds of significant bulk material and that difference is larger between individual countries or between the social strata within countries. These figures have implications for embedding the concept “generation green” in the context of green marketing, for developing economies. It is projected that by 2050, Africa will have more than half of the world’s population, with a middle-class population estimated to reach 1.1 billion by 2060 (Ncube, 2017). Africa is expected to benefit from a young demographic structure between 2010 and 2050 with an active population age of 16–65 (Allianz Global Investors, 2011; Ncube, 2017). This population till 2050 will consist of the predominantly “generation green”, which presents an opportunity for businesses in Africa to explore and also, to understand this generation’s interest in sustainable practices. As businesses seek to meet consumers’ needs in Africa’s emerging economies through sustainable practices, they must understand the population subset referred to as generation green to harness their potentials as workers and consumers. In this chapter, we describe the generation green as comprising of individuals born between 1981 and 1996 (Generation Y) and those born between 1997 and 2012 (Generation Z) (Dimock, 2019; Keve & Bryzek, 2019; Price, 2018). Through the lens of the generational cohort theory, we can understand the values these two generations offer as workers and consumers in Africa. Williams et al. (2010) argued for multi-generational marketing strategies, although, other authors have attempted to

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understand the specific needs of Generation Y and also to identify how sustainable business practice can be developed (Bathmathan & Rajadurai, 2019; Nadanyiova et  al., 2020; Synodinos et  al., 2013). However, few studies focus on understanding how green marketing can be successful by harnessing the potentials of green. This chapter attempts to extend the generational cohort theory by applying its principles to green marketing. The chapter also contributes to knowledge on how green marketing can be successfully practised in Africa by focusing on the people (Generations Y and Z). The remainder of this chapter is outlined thus. The next section provides a discussion on generation green followed by the section on green marketing. Next, we offer approaches on how businesses in Africa can harness the potential of the generation green; we then provide recommendations for Africa’s emerging economies; and lastly, we conclude the chapter.

Generation Green (Green Workforce and Consumer) A review of literature shows that the concept “generation green” is not commonly used by researchers, although Büttner and Grübler in 1995 adopted the concept to buttress their argument on changing societal demographics which they assert would influence purchase behaviour. Years after the authors introduced the concept, studies have shown a change in what consumers want, how businesses operate and the importance of meeting the needs of consumers and environmental concerns of the societies (Chaney et  al., 2017). As mentioned earlier, Büttner and Grübler (1995) referred to the “generation green” as the younger populations who are replacing the older people and are more environmentally conscious in their decisions and actions. Therefore, the crux of the concept “generation green” is the narrative of the younger populations’ value for environmental sustainability and their preference for green marketing over traditional marketing initiatives. The generational cohort theory states that individuals who have similar political, social and economic experience in their early stages of life will have similar beliefs, values and behaviour later in life (Thach, Riewe, & Camillo, 2020). The theory argues that people’s beliefs and perception can be understood based on their period of birth, social, economic as well as political events occurring in their developmental years. The generational cohort theory provides a lens to segment society into different

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homogenous strata for socio-economic analysis (Verma, 2017). These generations are observed as portraying different values, perceptions and consumption patterns (Brown, Thomas, & Bosselman, 2015; Mahmoud, Fuxman, Mohr, Reisel, & Grigoriou, 2020; Sima, 2016; Tan, Lew, & Sim, 2019). The three most used classifications of the generational cohort in recent time are the generations X, Y and Z. People in Generation X were born between 1965 and 1980, Generation Y were born between 1981 and 1996, and Generation Z were born between 1997 and 2012 (Dimock, 2019; Nadanyiova, Gajanova, & Majerova 2020; Tugend, 2020). Generation X are digital immigrants and largely prefer traditional marketing to green marketing initiatives. In contrast, Generations Y and Z are digital natives and are observed to be tech-savvy, youthful, socially conscious, innovative and change-seeking (Verma, 2017). Generation Z were born in the digital world and, thereby, have grown with access to information and a technology-driven life which places them higher than every other generational cohort in terms of digital exposure (Verma, 2017). According to Verma (2017), Generation Z are most times called Gen Next customers, Gen I customers or Echo Bust customers. Generation Y consumers are also called the Echo Boomers (Lu, Bock, & Joseph, 2013), most likely born by the Baby boomers, a generation preceding Generation X. The exposure of Generation Y and Z consumers to digital skills, innovations and change initiatives are the reasons these generations are called generation green because their practices encourage sustainable development (Vermillion & Peart, 2010). For instance, Nadanyiova, Gajanova, and Majerova (2020) found that the Millennials (Generation Y) and Post Millennials (Generation Z) in Slovakia prefer and buy products of high ecological standards than Generation X. As workers in an organisation, the generation green (Y and Z) offer different values which drive their commitment and desire to work, which managers must understand (Mahmoud et  al., 2020). They also provide green skills and abilities which are needed for green marketing success in emerging markets. For instance, most Generation Y individuals are highly qualified in digital skills, are flexible to change, have virtual socialisation, can easily accept cultural difference, are multi-tasking and have an excellent online presence (Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós, & Juhász, 2016). On the other hand, Generation Zs are always online, intelligent, brave and like to lead, are innovative and look for solutions to problems through the internet (Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós, & Juhász, 2016; Nadanyiova, Gajanova, & Majerova, 2020). These are competencies that businesses in Africa and

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other emerging markets need to drive green marketing practices. Generations Y and Z are crucial as workers in organisations because they are the future human resources. Generation Y workers and customers have attracted the most attention (Leask, Fyall, & Barron, 2013; Mahipalan & Sheena, 2018; Tan, Lew, & Sim, 2019). This is because, presently, they are the most active population in societies, although Generation Y is already part of the labour force as they currently work with Generation X (Nadanyiova et al., 2020). Although, in a few years, the work environment will be dominated by generations Y and Z.  It is, therefore, crucial that organisations harness the potentials of a workforce whose majority constitutes the “generation green (Y and Z)” for a successful green marketing and other green business practice.

Green Marketing As businesses realised that consumers are becoming more interested in environmental-friendly consumption, their marketing pattern also began to change (Bathmathan, & Rajadurai, 2019). Sustainable marketing practices have increased in the past few decades as businesses respond to consumer and government calls for sustainable practices; thus, green marketing is a crucial aspect of organisations’ corporate strategy towards sustainable business practice (Singh, & Pandey, 2012). It is also known as sustainable marketing, ecological marketing and environmental marketing (Katrandjiev, 2016; Polonsky, 1994). The crux of the concept is that it is an organisation’s conscious effort to offer products and services that promote social, economic and environmental sustainability. In green marketing, organisations introduce different activities that include, but not limited to, product modification, changes in advertising, packaging and changes in the production process (Singh, & Pandey, 2012); therefore, green marketing is an activity that cut across all organisations’ functions since the government, consumers and the organisations’ internal resources are key actors in green marketing success. For example, organisations must design products that meet the consumers’ need, protect the consumers’ social environment and also respect government policies on sustainable practices. At the same time, the organisation must think of cost and profit while aligning its internal resources to sustainable goals. The cost of green marketing, at the operational level, is a major reason why different organisations have not been able to adopt green marketing innovation as the processes are found to be costly (Bhatia & Jain, 2013).

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Similarly, some millennial consumers were also avoiding green products despite an understanding and appreciation of their benefits (Lu, Bock, & Joseph, 2013); the reasons for the avoidance include cost, lack of trust and perception of inferiority of some products. Green consumers, usually, have the intention and desire to purchase green products; however, they still would not because of these identified reasons. On the part of the firms, Bathmathan and Rajadurai (2019) posit that although green marketing is costly, it cannot be compared to traditional marketing processes. The authors offered that traditional marketing is not concerned with the losses or damages products and services bring to the environment, rather it is largely focused on business profits and the provision of goods and services at the right place and time. On the other hand, green marketing takes into consideration environmental safety throughout all the stages of production, until the goods reach the final consumer. As is obtainable in traditional marketing, marketing mix (green marketing mix of product, price, promotion and place) is also an essential aspect of green marketing, crucial in decision making. Organisations in Africa’s emerging economies must adopt green marketing to mitigate environmental challenges. For instance, in South Africa, Anvar and Venter (2014) observed that environmental awareness, social factors and price influence consumers’ attitude towards green products. The authors found that Generation Y consumers play an important role in green marketing success and the development of emerging economies, like South Africa. In Nigeria, manufacturing companies are regarded as sources of environmental pollution and degradation (ThisDay Newspaper, 2017); these pollutions are manifested in the form of product packaging, in the process of production and the product itself. These challenges have necessitated the call for green marketing to enable the production of an eco-friendly product that will help preserve the environment (ThisDay Newspaper, 2017). Continuous awareness of the dangers of global warming, harmful pollutants and non-biodegradable solid waste has drawn the attention of government, producers and consumers to the importance of green products; this is resulting in policy changes gradually beginning to take effect. The health and environmental challenges, like malaria and flooding, are results of non-adoption of green marketing practices in Africa. With the generation(s) of the millennial and post-millennial population estimated to be high, Africa has the resources it can harness to drive her sustainability goals. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consist of 17 global goals that are expected to be achieved by 2030 and Goal 12 of the

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SDGs is focused on “responsible consumption and production” (United Nations, 2011). If Africa’s emerging economies will adopt green marketing practices, among other sustainable business practices, responsible consumption and production can also provide answers to the challenges in other goals, such as Goal 3 (good health and well-being), Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth), Goal 9 (industry innovation and infrastructure) and Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities). By harnessing the opportunities in generation green, both internally (as a workforce) and externally (as consumers), businesses in Africa will benefit economically, socially and ecologically from green marketing.

Generation Green and Innovation in Africa’s Emerging Economies Events in some of Africa’s emerging economies have provided evidence that the adoption of innovative practices lies with millennials; innovation is a crucial competence needed to drive green success in Africa. For instance, the agitation for better policing and an end to police brutality, tagged #EndSARs by the Nigerian Youths between September and October 2020 across the country, was regarded as an innovative action through technology to put an end to police brutality in the country (Babalola, 2020). It was an action that turned bloody on 20 October 2020; however, the younger generation in the process proved their audaciousness to bring about the desired changes, innovatively. Through social media platforms (mostly Twitter), the organisers of the protest showed the strength of their online presence, digital skills and virtual socialisation, identified by Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós and Juhász (2016) as key competencies of the generation green. Also, the manner in which they helped each other in police custody, through pro-bono services and cleaning of the protest grounds in Lekki shows the generation’s acceptance of cultural differences and sensitivity to environmental cleanliness, respectively (Gafaar, 2020). The attitude they showed towards finding a solution to police brutality, through cooperation on the internet, confirms the position of Nadanyiova, Gajanova and Majerova (2020) that the generation green are innovative and they look for solutions to problems through the internet. Millennials in Nigeria are already exhibiting, through their actions, their readiness for the green movement and it is

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important that other emerging economies in Africa take a clue by harnessing the potentials in the generation green for sustainable development.

Harnessing the Potentials of the Generation Green in Africa’s Emerging Economies This chapter’s proposition is premised on the narrative of the potentials of the generation green, as workers for business innovation and also as consumers, and although there is a growing interest in Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) (Chaudhary, 2018), the literature has mostly laid emphasis on the green consumer with less attention paid to the green workforce (Chan, 2000; Naderi, & Van Steenburg, 2018; Testa, Sarti, & Frey, 2019). Therefore, we advocate that organisations should leverage the opportunities generation green presents, both as workers and consumers, to drive the success of green marketing and other green practices. Generation Green as Employees For Africa’s emerging economies, it is crucial that they are aware of the availability of talent (people and skills) (Gallardo-Gallardo, Dries, Gonzalez, 2013) needed to have a successful green marketing practice in the context of the high Generation Y and Z estimated population on the continent (Allianz Global Investors, 2011; Ncube, 2017). Businesses can harness generations Y and Z’s innate potentials to promote green marketing activities and other sustainable practices by appropriately engaging them in organisations. Organisations in Africa can, through the availability of a green workforce achieve the following:  educe the Cost Associated with Green Training and Development R To pursue sustainable practices such as green marketing, the organisation will need to train the employees on sustainable production and services if the majority of the workforce belongs to the Generation X cohort. Generations Y and Z are more aligned with sustainable practices and, thus, would need less training to drive any sustainable plans of the organisation (Lu et  al., 2013; Nadanyiova, Gajanova, & Majerova, 2020). The “greener” an organisation’s workforce, the less the management would spend on training to develop the workforce on green knowledge.

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 tilise Digital Skills to Drive Sustainable Practices U Generation Y and Z individuals are digitally inclined and have their lives revolving around digital tools. Specifically, Generation Z builds social relations through virtual channels, while Generation Y spends most of their times on digital devices (Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós, & Juhász, 2016; Vermillion & Peart, 2010). Generation Y and Z individuals are not alien to digital tools and skills and, thus, are comfortable with them. Activities such as digital marketing are a crucial aspect of green marketing practice, as this type of marketing encourages sustainable approach, whereby, the environment is not endangered; hence, a green workforce (Generations Y and Z) will help the businesses drive their sustainable practices, through digital skills. Respond to Change Another crucial characteristic of Generation Y and Z individuals is their flexibility to change, a value which is needed in today’s constantly changing world (Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós, & Juhász, 2016; Nadanyiova, Gajanova, & Majerova, 2020). It would not be difficult for an organisation to initiate a change in product or service delivery when the bulk of the workforce is flexible and responsive to organisational changes. It gives room for new idea and innovation, as the market demands. I nitiate Innovative Ideas to Meet the Need of the Market Specifically, Generation Z is reported to be innovative and always seeking a better way to get things done (Verma, 2017). This attribute is also needed for an organisation seeking to pursue green marketing and other sustainable practices. Innovations in technology, product, price, packaging and other critical aspects of marketing are needed to attract green consumers, who are the primary target segment in green marketing.  nderstand the Market Dynamics U A green workforce understands a green consumer; this is an advantage for an organisation. Businesses in Africa must endeavour to have a green workforce to understand the growing green consumers since they are of the same generation. This workforce would understand the orientation, beliefs and approaches of the consumers in the market. The majority of the world population is, currently, generations Y and Z, which will still be the case until 2050. Therefore, it is a strategic approach to have a green workforce who will understand the green consumers for the next 30+ years.

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Generation Green as Consumers Organisations can also harness the opportunities in green consumers by understanding why they would or would not be willing to purchase green products (Naderi and Van Steenburg, 2018; Testa, Sarti, and Frey, 2019; Lu et al., 2013). This knowledge is crucial as it provides the organisation with the needed information to approach green marketing the right way to achieve the desired goals. Businesses in Africa and other emerging economies must understand the following about green consumers:  hey Are Interested in Product Attributes T Green consumers are not just interested in a green product, but the product’s attributes too. Lu et al. (2013) found that product attributes correlate significantly with purchase intention among millennial consumers; such products’ attributes include re-usability and biodegradability. They are also conscious of the health outcomes from consumption of eco-­ friendly products. In the marketing of the green product, it is, therefore, essential that businesses in the emerging markets promote the health benefits of their product.  hey Are Responsive to Price and Business Image T Despite studies showing that green consumers are pro-environmental products, these consumers can avoid green products. Green consumers avoid green brands and products when they are perceived as expensive, there is lack of trust in the green products/brands and there is no difference between the green and non-green products (Lu et  al., 2013). Therefore, businesses have the responsibility of communicating trust, fixing prices that align with the social and economic realities of their environment and ensuring that there is product differentiation between the green and non-green ones, through quality and packaging.  hey Are Rational and Self-Oriented Towards Green Products T Green consumers have rational and self-oriented motives rather than emotional and other-oriented motives towards green products; therefore, they will choose products and services that communicate their personal and environmental needs (Naderi & Van Steenburg, 2018); it is self-first and the environment, second. This implies that businesses in emerging African economies must not just be focused on the environment needs in the product development while ignoring the consumer needs—a situation

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called “green marketing myopia” (Ottman, Stafford, & Hartman, 2006). Businesses in emerging African economies must ensure that their products respond to the need of the consumers while conforming to and promoting environmentally sustainable practices.  hey Demand Effective Communication on the Benefits T of Green Products Comprehensive communication on products to consumers is an essential aspect of ensuring green consumers purchase green products; businesses must utilise the right channel to engage the right consumers. Product communication must effectively inform the consumer of the environmental benefits of the product to encourage consumer purchase. Clear communication that promotes products’ attributes and benefits to consumer and the environment allows consumers to distinguish between green and non-green products and this will increase consumers’ awareness and demand for green products (Lu et al., 2013).  onscious Green Marketing Strategy Promotes Purchase C With a conscious and clearly articulated green marketing strategy that explains the what and how of the businesses’ marketing activities at every stage, it will also enhance and sustain green marketing success. It is not sufficient to promote green product and services without making plans for customer engagement. Customer engagement, customer feedback, customer rewards and many other related programmes should be prioritised to ensure that customers are actively involved in the green marketing process. The generation green clearly provides social and economic opportunities for organisations seeking to adopt sustainable business practices. Therefore, the success of green marketing is primarily dependent on how organisations can effectively harness the potentials of the generation green, as a workforce and consumers. Figure 9.1 explains the interaction between green marketing and generation green which should lead to green marketing success in emerging economies. The figure shows that green marketing strategies must focus on the generation green to achieve their desired success. The generation green strengthens the relationship between the green marketing strategy and green marketing success.

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Green Workforce

Green Marketing strategy

Generation green

Green Marketing Success

Green Consumers

Fig. 9.1  Interaction between green marketing, generation green and green marketing success. (Source: Authors)

Recommendations for Green Marketing Success in Africa’s Emerging Economies To achieve successful green marketing, businesses in Africa’s emerging economies must, First have a green marketing strategy that is focused on meeting the green needs of the consumer and the environment. Businesses must avoid the danger of green marketing myopia (focusing on the environmental need with less interest in consumer needs). Hence, businesses must understand the green consumer’s demands and design their internal system (people, technology and structure) to respond to these needs. Secondly, businesses must attract and retain green workforce. Sustainable production and consumption through green marketing cannot be achieved in Africa’s emerging economies without the availability of green people in the organisation. Green people are individuals who have green orientation and appreciate green business practices. Businesses in Africa must, therefore, adopt practices like Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) (adoption of human resources management approaches to promote sustainable practices and stimulate employees’ commitment to issues related to environmental sustainability) to initiate green people management techniques, which will ensure green personnel are attracted and retained. With the right stock of green talent (people and skills), the organisation can put in place appropriate policies and practices for green marketing success.

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Thirdly, businesses in Africa must comprehensively and accurately communicate green products’ attributes and benefits to erase any form of doubt in green consumers’ minds about their green products. Consumers are conscious of “greenwashing” (a deceitful way of an organisation branding itself as “green-friendly” without reducing the negative environmental impact of their production process) by organisations and therefore will want to understand the products’ attributes and benefits; organisations need to demonstrate a high level of transparency in their sustainable practices. This is crucial as studies have shown that green consumers avoid green products for various reasons. Fourthly, businesses must identify the target market and adopt the right communication channel (digital platforms) to appeal to green consumers and continually engage them. Customer engagement is crucial to green marketing success as it creates a platform for partnership and value co-­ creation between the green organisation and green consumers. Lastly, the availability of the generation green (Generations Y and Z) in the workplace is essential to green marketing success, and organisations must ensure that they attract and retain green-conscious people to respond to green consumers’ continually changing needs. This will help businesses in Africa’s emerging economies to build a green corporate image that attracts green investors and promote a green economy.

Conclusion Harnessing the potentials in generation green provides limitless opportunities for businesses in Africa’s emerging economies in their quest for sustainable business practice. Through the generation green capacities, businesses can adopt innovative ideas that will make their business profitable and provide product and services that promote environmental sustainability. The availability of a green-oriented workforce allows organisations to create a digital space for their businesses, build internal dynamics that allows a creative response to change, social and economic uncertainties (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic) while the needs of the markets are still being met. Additionally, organisations in Africa’s emerging economies, through market research targeted at green consumers, can effectively develop product attributes that make their organisations relevant, with the right business image. The right green marketing strategy can also be developed when the organisation is able to harness the potentials of green consumers

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through research. Generation green provides dual opportunities, as consumers and workers, for businesses in Africa’s emerging economies; this must be sufficiently harnessed for green marketing success on the continent.

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Tugend, A. (2020). Higher Ed’s multigenerational work force: Perceptions and realities about age groups—And how to manage them. The Chronicle of Higher Education. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2011). Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication - A Synthesis for Policy Makers. https://www.unep.org/greeneconomy United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2017). Six African Countries Switch to Green Business Development for Sustainable Growth. Retrieved from https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/six-african-countriesswitch-green-business-development-sustainable-growth United Nations Environmental Programmes. (n.d.). Green Economy. https:// www.unenvironment.org/regions/asia-­a nd-­p acific/regional-­i nitiatives/ supporting-­resource-­efficiency/green-­economy#:~:text=A%20green%20economy%20is%20defined,r esource%20ef ficient%20and%20socially%20 inclusive.&text=UN%20Environment%20promotes%20a%20 development,livelihoods%20depend%20on%20natural%20resources Verma, S. (2017). Niche level segmentation of green consumers. South Asian Journal of Business Studies, 6(3), 274–293. Vermillion, L. J., & Peart, J. (2010). Green marketing: Making sense of the situation. In Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Marketing Studies. Proceedings (Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 68). Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc. Williams, K. C., Page, R. A., Petrosky, A. R., & Hernandez, E. H. (2010). Multi-­ generational marketing: Descriptions, characteristics, lifestyles, and attitudes. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 11(2), 21.

CHAPTER 10

Green People Management, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement Esmond Naalu Kuuyelleh, Desmond Tutu Ayentimi, and Hossein Ali Abadi

Abstract  The notion of green management is progressively securing an important spot within recent academic and practitioner literature in different domains. Green People Management (GPM) recognises the relationship between employee attraction, employee engagement, retention and environmental stewardship. GPM practices and strategies can generate greater efficiencies and improve employee engagement and talent

E. N. Kuuyelleh (*) Department of Secretaryship and Management Studies, Bolgatanga Technical University, Bolgatanga, Ghana e-mail: [email protected] D. T. Ayentimi School of Management and Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia e-mail: [email protected] H. Ali Abadi School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_10

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retention. Though the concept of GPM is gaining both theoretical and conceptual support, little attention has been paid to how internal communications and employee engagement through a GPM lens can be positioned to advance green marketing. This chapter focuses on how GPM can drive employee engagement through robust internal communication routines and how these empowered or engaged staff, in turn, deliver outstanding customer service. Advancing this new corporate insight and corporate orientation can induce green behavioural values to build a corporate culture of green marketing in emerging markets. This chapter offers areas of further reflection to inspire future GPM pathways in emerging markets. Keywords  Employee engagement • Environment • Emerging markets • Internal communications • Green people management

Introduction There is a rising need for the incorporation of environmental management orientation into Human Resource Management (HRM)—sustainable HRM or green HRM. Indeed, top practice workplaces and organisations are able to inspire employees to be environment-friendly in performing their activities and functions, which, in turn, help deliver on corporate environmental goals. The interest of business enterprises in environmental issues and sustainability trajectories has been intensifying in both developed and emerging markets (Ren & Jackson, 2020). The notion of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is synonymous with Green People Management (GPM) or sustainable HRM, which is progressively securing an important spot within recent academic and practitioner literature in different domains. The transition to GPM has proven to be valuable for corporate organisations (Pham et al., 2019). GPM practices and strategies can generate greater efficiencies and improve employee engagement and talent retention, which, in turn, reinforce business enterprises’ commitment to promoting sustainable marketing practices. GPM supports the use of Human Resource (HR) practices to promote sustainable resource utilisation and largely encourages the principles of sustainability within an organisation. It supports the formation of a workforce that appreciates, understands and

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engages in green practices and policies (Jerónimo et al., 2020). Through HRM functions of recruitment, selection, talent development, compensation and employee engagement, organisations are able to uphold their green strategies and objectives. The key to nurturing environmental and social innovation is to advance GPM initiatives. Drawing from recent literature, Chaudhary (2020) found that the adoption of Green HRM practices in an organisation can predict both employees’ task-related and voluntary green behaviour. The author’s evidence underscores the contribution of GPM practices in accomplishing an organisation’s environmental and sustainability goals. This explicitly calls for organisations to establish corporate sustainability principles in their HR processes and practices. Indeed, for organisations, GPM initiatives have been acknowledged to contribute to gaining a reputation as an employer of choice or best employer (green employer). Prior green management literature provides documented evidence to suggest that employer reputation constitutes an important driving force in talent attraction and talent retention (Chaudhary, 2020). For example, developing HR systems that support employees and help address bullying, dementia, depression, domestic violence, obesity and sexual harassment in the workplace is reflected in employee health, safety and well-being, thus contributing to the long-term well-being of employees and the wider community. GPM recognises the relationship between employee attraction, engagement, retention and environmental stewardship (Masri & Jaaron, 2017). Establishing a friendly employer–employee relationship represents an important aspect of the HR function, especially at this crucial time of union decline and increasing non-unionised organisations (Ayentimi et al., 2019). Employee engagement as a psychological state in which people are engrossed with the work role (Kahn, 1990, 1992) can be nurtured through HR policies and practices, organisational culture, and the company’s work systems and processes. Within the growing strategic HRM literature, employee engagement has emerged as a strategic corporate priority which is closely linked to employee commitment which implicitly or explicitly underpins corporate competitive advantage—human capital as a source of corporate competitiveness (Nel et al., 2017; Renwick et al., 2016). This chapter focuses on how GPM drives employee engagement through robust internal communication routines, so these empowered or engaged staffs, in turn, deliver outstanding customer service. The chapter further contributes to debates in the literature on whether internal

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communication should remain with corporate communication or become a shared responsibility with the HR department. Primarily, this chapter makes the case that internal communication is a shared responsibility since GPM needs specialised communication routines, and therefore, the HR department must be actively involved. Finally, this chapter offers areas of further reflection to inspire future GPM pathways in emerging markets. Advancing this new corporate insight and corporate orientation can induce environmental behavioural values to build a corporate culture of green marketing in emerging markets. Conceptually, developing organisational environmental culture can influence employee behaviour and also help to empower employees through environmental and social values towards business sustainability in emerging markets.

The Concept of Green People Management There is a growing demand towards green strategic management thinking—incorporating environmental considerations into HRM. Historically, financial performance of any corporate entity was benchmarked as the standard of corporate accomplishment and corporate success, but in recent times, this benchmark of corporate success is gradually diminishing and making way for an extended view of corporate performance and success (Chaudhary, 2020). These include the rising attention to environmental and social performance of business enterprises in addition to economic outcomes. GPM is relatively new in its conceptualisation. Interestingly, typical GPM activities are performed to promote sustainability consciousness among employees and their organisations. It extends beyond the creation of environmental awareness among employees, but also the economic and social well-being of employees and the organisation at large. This new corporate people management thinking and orientation directly coincide with the sustainable development agenda. Therefore, the financial success of a corporate organisation is expected to correspond with the minimisation of its environmental footprints in line with societal expectations (Singh et al., 2020; Guerci & Carollo, 2016). It is within this notion that GPM emerged, which denotes the conception of employees’ commitment and awareness towards the promotion of green business practices. GPM represents the consolidation of environmental considerations into human resources management within corporate organisations (Ren et al., 2018).

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The idea of GPM highlights the role and contribution of targeted HR practices and policies towards environmental objectives of corporate entities. It supports HR initiatives that are environment-friendly, leading to improved employee engagement and better efficiencies. It has become a significant consideration by forward-thinking managers and business leaders across the globe. Practically, it assists organisations in the utilisation of alternative approaches to minimise costs and create value to customers and other key stakeholders. The strategic initiative of GPM supports business sustainability practices and help firms to maintain their top talents whilst reducing costs. GPM is influential in the application of green behaviour and attitudes towards corporate environmental agenda by translating into the HR functions of recruitment, training and development, employee engagement and compensation. For example, HRM practices such as online training, virtual interviews and teleconferencing reduce employee carbon footprints on the environment. By aligning HR policies and practices with sustainability principles and goals within an organisation, the HR function becomes the pillar of social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Green Employee Engagement Green employee engagement denotes the establishment of a friendly employer–employee relationship by providing employees with a voice to actively engage in environmental issues within the organisation (Haddock-­ Millar et al., 2016). As a psychological state, engagement is ‘the simultaneous employment and expression of a person’s preferred self in task behaviours that promote connections to work and to others, personal presence (physical, cognitive, and emotional) and active full role performances’ (Kahn, 1990, p. 700). Employee engagement facilitates employee morale and motivation and increases employee productivity (Haddock-­ Millar et al., 2016). Employee engagement signifies employee participation and empowerment. Engaged employees actively participate in the work environment (Benn et  al., 2015), demonstrate organisational citizenship behaviour and enthusiastically offer discretionary effort to assist an organisation to be successful by helping to improve greater functioning and organisational efficiency (Nel et al., 2017). Employee empowerment and engagement boost their participation in green initiatives as it aligns with their organisational citizenship behaviour—motivations with green initiatives. Organisational citizenship

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behaviour may potentially align with individual employee behaviours and actions that are not required or critical to the job but may help the organisation to achieve its environmental goals. Green employee engagement initiatives are expanded to include environmental engagement initiatives where employees’ morale towards environmental issues can be boosted within an organisation (Opatha & Arulrajah, 2014). This kind of engagement produces greater consciousness on green matters and offers a platform to generate new eco-friendly ideas from employees. Haddock-Millar et al. (2016) found that people-centred initiatives and a range of operational initiatives supported proactive environmental management in multinational corporations. Other aspects of green employee engagement, especially involving workplace health and safety issues, can help to improve employee health and well-being, which directly correspond with the social performance of organisations. Green employee engagement encourages employees’ voice in relation to an organisation’s environmental management processes by stimulating their active involvement in addressing corporate environmental challenges.

The Underpinning Drivers of Green People Management in Emerging Markets Corporate social responsibility and, by extension, corporate sustainability have become of critical concern for managers and key stakeholders across the corporate world (Podgorodnichenko et al., 2020). Reflecting on several corporate scandals and their economic, social and environmental impact highlights the inseparable link between business operations and the wider community. This link occasioned state regulatory intervention to restrain the economic, social and environmental impact of these business activities (Stahl et al., 2020). Notwithstanding, not everyone subscribes to the notion that organisations have any social responsibility other than maximising shareholder value—economic responsibility. This assertion has been affirmed by free market thinkers including the likes of Milton Friedman (1970) who argued that ‘there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud’. Interestingly, over the last few decades, these ideals propagated by Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, have received

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less recognition into the broader business domain. Corporate social responsibility originally centred on minimising the environmental impact of corporate operations, expanding to a much broader scope of corporate citizenship behaviour and corporate sustainability. The responsibility of a business is now strongly linked to issues of corporate ethics, corporate citizenship behaviour and corporate sustainability (Stahl et al., 2020). This broader view of corporate responsibility allows for the prospect of integrating social, economic and ecological considerations into corporate functioning. This last decade has witnessed a strong convergence in search of reasonable sustainability management orientation and drive across the globe. This progressive trend is reinforced by the growing detrimental effects of climate change, and pollution, which the corporate sector being the foremost perpetrator has constantly drained the natural resources as a result of its activities. This follows growing pressure from stakeholders and key actors to address sustainability concerns and the negative consequences of business activities on the environment (Podgorodnichenko et al., 2020). The increasing demand for business sustainability or sustainable people management implies a major shift in HRM focus and orientation from the Michigan HRM model (hard HRM) to the Harvard HRM model (soft HRM). While the former is driven by cost reduction, and greater efficiency, and views employees as resources that must be managed as such, the latter is inspired by the human relations movement which strengthens employee engagement and commitment and views employees as capital assets and a source of achieving and sustaining competitiveness (Aust et al., 2020). According to Jerónimo et  al. (2020), despite many businesses being compelled to make some adjustments to their business models and corporate culture, sustainability orientation is an important source of organisational long-term success. For Ahmad (2015), incorporating GHRM practices into organisational operations helps to gain competitive advantages. The emerging literature provides strong support for green people management initiatives due to their contribution to organisational success (Wagner, 2013; Renwick et  al., 2013). For example, green recruitment which often aligns with environmental management principles provides organisations with opportunities to differentiate and enhance their chances of talent attraction and retention (Renwick et  al., 2013). Essentially, e-learning and training technologies reduce employee travel requirements, printed materials, energy and carbon footprints while producing greater

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flexibility, better content consistency, greater cost advantage, greater efficiency and greater convenience (Stone, 2017). In addition, e-performance management and e-appraisal systems support the use of internet-based appraisal systems to lessen printed material requirements and reduce the carbon footprints while giving managers and employees precise and timely information.

Positioning Green HRM to Promote Employee Engagement and Internal Communications The outcome of green people management surpasses the strategic positioning of environmental sustainability. However, the integration of green attitude in an organisational culture creates a pathway for effective employees’ green participation. This signals the proactive role of HR in embracing sustainable green business strategies. The alignment of green people management initiatives to the strategic goals of an organisation is fundamental in advocating green business sustainability. The intensity of employees’ engagement in green functions demonstrates how well the concept permeates into the organisation’s philosophy, values and culture. Employee engagement denotes employee involvement, participation, commitment and voice. Employee engagement can be nurtured through HRM policies and practices, organisational culture and its work systems and processes (Haddock-Millar et al., 2016). Overall, employee engagement signifies the way an organisation manages its employees. This, indeed, highlights the contribution of HRM in areas of job design, training, career development and employee health, safety and well-being. Engaged employees are not just psychologically attached to the organisation; they are inspired to support the organisation to be successful by performing and doing their jobs appropriately (Masri & Jaaron, 2017). Employee engagement is further closely linked with the nature of the psychological contract between them and their employers. This contract, though not written in a document, highlights the expectations that are exchanged in an employment relationship. The HRM literature points to two forms of psychological contract: transactional and relational. The former is centred on specific economic exchange of benefits with no guarantee of job security, or career advancement, whereas the latter is centred on working partnership, built on affective involvement and mutual obligation, guaranteed job security and career development opportunities.

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Primarily, employee engagement can be nurtured by the relational psychological contract. However, the increasing trend in casualisation, part-time employment and zero-hour contracts are far away from the relational psychological contract (Nel et al., 2017). With these evolving trends in the employment relationship, it presents a key challenge for many businesses. Notably, if organisations legitimately want to foster green behaviour and deliver outstanding customer service, the focus on robust internal communication routines to drive employee engagement remains important. Green engagement or empowering employees who demonstrate sensitivities and behaviours for the environment helps them to abide by sustainability objectives because they are inclined to participate in environment-friendly pursuits to boost their organisation’s sustainability image and performance (Jerónimo et al., 2020). Green employee engagement increases employee environmental engagement and motivation and generates organisational fit between the employer and employee values about environmental maintenance. This is where internal communication routines help to articulate a clear corporate environmental vision and circulate information using appropriate channels (formal and informal) which in turn help in guiding employees to engage in corporate environmental initiatives. The linkage between internal communication and employee engagement, born out of green people management initiatives, enables employee interactions which encourage green engagements in an organisation. In practice, green people management functioning aims to promote green engagement among employees, while internal communication promotes the mutual exchange of information and green ideas with management—demonstration of a shared responsibility.

Internal Communications: A Shared Responsibility Internal communication (IC) units are tasks with the core responsibility of ensuring successful communication among key actors and employees in an organisation. While the scope of responsibility may vary from organisation to organisation, internal communication generates campaigns and delivers messages to facilitate dialogue and promote communication between employees and management (Cheney & Christensen, 2001). Internal communication must be carried out appropriately to be effective, so employees can be productive, which also could add to their positive work experience within the organisation. By contrast, internal communication routines when carried out inappropriately can leave employees

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disconnected from corporate initiatives and, in most instances, may lead to an unproductive and even a confused workforce. The changing nature of the current workforce coupled with technological advancement poses a new set of challenges and, at the same time, offers opportunities for internal communications. The growth of ‘the internet of things’, especially intranet systems within organisations, has shifted and transformed internal communication from traditional communication channels to web-based platforms. Not long ago, the arrival of social media has further heightened the shift in internal communication. According to Huang et al. (2013, p. 112), ‘While many organisations may only partially and selectively incorporate certain aspects of the array of applications and features available, the growing incorporation of social media in organisations has led to a further significant reshaping of internal communication’. Indeed, with these developing changes and challenges, internal communications will need to be effective and efficient and now has to focus on employee engagement and experience. The achievement of any organisational initiative generally hinges on whether employees are willing to support their organisations to meet their corporate green objectives. This is genuinely important during this period of green revolution that is being propagated in every sphere of life. If employees are disconnected from the organisation’s green initiatives, such initiatives may fail. However, effective internal communication routines help to stimulate employee engagement that drives desired green and sustainable outcomes. Green people management practices necessitate employee engagement with eco-friendly initiatives and strategies at the organisational level. They support engendering green consciousness and behaviour among employees for the enhancement of a green organisational culture (Wagner, 2013). Green people management practices influence employee environmental behaviours and attitudes and directly contribute to an organisation’s environmental performance. Drawing from employee motivation theories, and increasing employee green motivation and opportunities, helps to promote green behaviour and awareness (Jerónimo et al., 2020). This is where internal communication routines have a responsibility to contribute to advancing green behaviour through green people management initiatives in an organisation. To advance employee engagement, internal communication routines need to correspond with employee and organisational expectations. As such, organisations are expected to explore new possibilities to incorporate emerging internal communication routines that help to shape employee engagement.

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Reflecting on recent organisational and employee dynamics, internal communication routines need to keep the workforce informed and connected to ensure they create a mutual sense of direction around corporate values, principles and goals. Importantly, internal communication routines are the gateway to streamline communication among the various units, facilitate trust and a voice of autonomy and keep the workforce well informed on new initiatives (Welch & Jackson, 2007). If the workforce is not getting important information within the organisation, they may not even be aware of the corporate strategic goals and direction. On the one hand, when internal communication routines are carried out effectively, it practically offers organisations the opportunity to engage with the workforce at all levels and give them a voice. This requires a shared responsibility between the HR department and corporate communication and support in developing an engaged (empowered) workforce, which in turn increases their incentive to pursue green behaviour. Green people management practices are found to be related to organisational citizenship behaviour in relation to the adoption of eco-friendly practices (Roscoe et  al., 2019). Thus, internal communications involvement is especially key in reaching out to employees, propagating environmental messages and campaigns and persuading employees to accept green behaviour.

Discussion of Future Green People Management Pathways and Recommendation for Emerging Markets Over the last decade, corporate organisations are harmonising their people management practices into systems that are commonly consistent with their business strategy and culture. Green people management initiatives are part of the broader propagation of sustainable development and also as part of the social responsibility of corporate organisations (Aust et  al., 2020). This is why, today, corporate organisations, large and small, are incorporating green initiatives into every sphere of their operations. As HR managers are making significant efforts to contextualise the need for green people management initiatives, equally are marketing practitioners’ efforts directed at delivering outstanding customer service through green marketing initiatives. In order to gain competitiveness, corporate organisations are implementing green initiatives which necessitate changes to existing managerial orientation and employee behaviour. This emerging corporate trend actually demands some co-operation between employees

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and managers towards the adoption of eco-friendly practices. This implies that the HR department and line managers need to foster support by helping to create a workforce that is mindful and appreciative of green business orientation and culture. This does not only help to maintain green objectives, but also informs the execution of the HRM functions, such as job design, recruitment, training and development, performance management, employee engagement and talent retention (Haddock-Millar et al., 2016). Green people management strategies can be instrumental in crafting and promoting sustainable green culture in an organisation. Interestingly, we do admit that the intersection of green people management and corporate communication is a shared responsibility. Advancing green employee engagement initiatives through internal communications have not been fully substantiated and propagated in the literature. It, however, offers prospects whose aims and communication mechanisms are aligned with each other in order to intensify the possibility for organisations to empower their workforce, which in turn increases their incentive to pursue green behaviour. While the HR department works to stimulate employee environmental behaviour and develop its environmental technical competencies, internal communication routines may focus on reinforcing the organisation’s environmental values through messaging and campaigns. On the one hand, reflecting on future green people management pathways in emerging markets, organisations may need to introduce green values and eco-friendly HR initiatives that help to build better employee engagement to generate greater efficiencies (Nel et al., 2017). There is a strong business case for green marketing initiatives, including boosted business opportunities. It is now becoming noticeable that state institutions, non-profit-based organisations and even profit-driven corporate organisations are requesting their suppliers and contractors to meet specific green protocols. Similarly, affluent customers and environmentally conscious customers also demand to transact business with only organisations that pursue environment-friendly operations in producing their goods and services. This is where the promotion of green marketing values may generate outstanding customer service and improve customer satisfaction. While there is a strong business case for green marketing in emerging markets, conceivably the drawbacks of going green include increased capital costs, uneven competition and employee indifference and unwillingness.

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Conclusion It is becoming evident from the emerging sustainability literature that green people management practices guarantee some possible advantages for both employees and their organisations. For employees, green people management practices offer improved employee health, safety and well-­ being as well as creating opportunities to improve workplaces or work environments and potentially satisfying the needs of ecologically conscious employees. For corporate organisations, environmental performance has been found to be positively related with a firm’s economic outcomes. It offers organisations greater efficiencies, differentiating power, brand equity, corporate image and social legitimacy. All these benefits are strongly linked with attractiveness to customers, while corporate image and social legitimacy support the attraction and retention of a talented workforce. Green people management practices potentially create a better employee engagement with a focus on environmental issues which is useful for the achievement of organisational environmental performance. The green people management literature is generally a western lens, and given the position of emerging and developing economies towards green marketing behaviour, this is an important area for the corporate sector to achieve competitiveness. This is where green people management can drive employee engagement through robust internal communication routines, so these empowered or engaged staff, in turn, deliver outstanding customer service. In a nutshell, this may offer opportunities for corporate organisations and business leaders to examine various green people management practices that can possibly accelerate the attainment of green marketing goals in emerging markets.

References Ahmad, S. (2015). Green human resource management: Policies and practices. Cogent Business & Management, 2(1), 1030817. Aust, I., Matthews, B., & Muller-Camen, M. (2020). Common good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM? Human Resource Management Review, 30(3), 100705. Ayentimi, D. T., Burgess, J., & Dayaram, K. (2019). Union suppression and union substitution strategies of multinational enterprises in Ghana. Industrial Relations Journal, 50(4), 379–398. Benn, S., Teo, S. T., & Martin, A. (2015). Employee participation and engagement in working for the environment. Personnel Review, 44(4), 492–510.

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Chaudhary, R. (2020). Green human resource management and employee green behavior: An empirical analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27, 630–641. Cheney, G., & Christensen, L.T. (2001). Organizational identity. The new handbook of organizational communication. In Advances in Theory, Research, and Methods (pp. 231–269). SAGE Publications. Friedman, M. (1970, September 13). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. The New York Times, pp. 32–33 & 122 & 126. Guerci, M., & Carollo, L. (2016). A paradox view on green human resource management: insights from the Italian context. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(2), 212–238. Haddock-Millar, J., Sanyal, C., & Müller-Camen, M. (2016). Green human resource management: a comparative qualitative case study of a United States multinational corporation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(2), 192–211. Huang, J., Baptista, J., & Galliers, R.  D. (2013). Reconceptualizing rhetorical practices in organizations: The impact of social media on internal communications. Information & Management, 50, 112–124. Jerónimo, H. M., Henriques, P. L., de Lacerda, T. C., da Silva, F. P., & Vieira, P. R. (2020). Going green and sustainable: The influence of green HR practices on the organizational rationale for sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 112, 413–421. Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. Kahn, W. A. (1992). To be fully there: Psychological presence at work. Human Relations, 45, 321–349. Masri, H. A., & Jaaron, A. A. M. (2017). Assessing green human resources management practices in Palestinian manufacturing context: An empirical study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 474–489. Nel, P., Werner, A., Fazey, M., Millett, B., du Plessis, A., Wordsworth, R., Mackinnon, B.  H., & Suseno, Y. (2017). Human resource management in Australia (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. Opatha, H.  H. P., & Arulrajah, A.  A. (2014). Green human resource management: Simplified general reflections. International Business Research, 7(8), 101. Pham, N. T., Tučková, Z., & Jabbour, C. J. C. (2019). Greening the hospitality industry: How do green human resource management practices influence organizational citizenship behavior in hotels? A mixed-methods study. Tourism Management, 72, 386–399. Podgorodnichenko, N., Edgar, F., & McAndrew, I. (2020). The role of HRM in developing sustainable organizations: Contemporary challenges and contradictions. Human Resource Management Review, 30(3), 100685.

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PART IV

Conclusion and Recommendations

CHAPTER 11

Conclusion and Implications for Theoretical Adoption, Policy Formulation and Managerial Decision-Making in Emerging Markets Robert E. Hinson, Ogechi Adeola, and Isaiah Adisa Abstract  Implementation and the achievement of positive green-marketing outcomes are crucial to the quest for a green emerging economy. As green marketing in the twenty-first century is an integral aspect of business sustainability practices, the authors in the chapters have advocated that appropriate green people management practices will drive the achievement of green-­ marketing goals in emerging markets. This chapter

R. E. Hinson (*) University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana O. Adeola Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria e-mail: [email protected] I. Adisa Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9_11

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highlights the findings of the authors in this book and discusses the implications for theory, ­policy formulation and managerial decision-making in emerging markets. Keywords  Green marketing • Green human resources management • Business sustainability • Policy formulation • Managerial decision-making

Introduction Rapid growth in the establishment of industries in emerging markets has heightened environmental challenges. These unintended outcomes, if not effectively minimised through appropriate business practices, the resultant effect might likely be severe health, social and economic concerns, which ultimately may lead to the death of millions (Shaw, 2012). Hence, continuous growth in economic activities in emerging markets must be accompanied by sustainable business practices. Green marketing is a crucial aspect of sustainable business practices; it is an important approach to achieving sustainable production and consumption, globally. Sustainable production and consumption (Goal 12) is a crucial aspect of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are expected to be achieved globally, by 2030 (United Nations, n.d.). Green marketing offers approaches that encourage sustainable products and services, provide profit for businesses and also protect the environment from production hazards (Peattie, 2001). The successful outcome of the green-marketing action plan is not exclusive of crucial resources and activities, such as people and people management. This chapter examines how businesses in emerging markets can achieve green-marketing goals through people and people management. Green marketing offers an environmentally conscious perspective to marketing; it considers consumers, product processes and the sustainability of the resources. The concept represents an organisational commitment towards developing safe, eco-friendly services and goods through the employment of easily decomposed and recyclable packaging with measures that prevent pollution and promote efficient energy use (Mukonza & Swarts, 2020). It is also an encompassing management practice that identifies and puts forward ways to meet consumer needs profitably and

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sustainably (Peattie, 2001). In other words, it is a concept that is focused on meeting social, economic and ecological needs in societies. Green marketing is a complex activity that must be integrated across all organisational functions if it is to be successfully implemented and achieve long-term benefits. Green people management practices are essential to achieving all green objectives, including green marketing. In recent times, green-marketing discussions have neglected the importance of green people practices, ignoring the fact that people (human resources) will carry out green oriented strategies. Thus, it is essential that human resource have the needed green skills towards the achievement of green goals. Overall, this book’s chapters have discussed how organisations in emerging markets can achieve green-focused goals through people. Human resources are at the core of successful innovations and changes in an organisation. Businesses must, therefore, understand how to manage people from a green perspective to achieve green-focused goals. This is because traditional human resources management approaches do not conform to green practices needed for green innovation. Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) utilises human resources management approaches to promote sustainable practices and stimulate employees’ commitment to issues related to environmental sustainability (Masri & Jaaron, 2017). GHRM applies ecological management principles in human resources practices to promote green activities in an organisation. The chapters in this book outlined the implications of the concept for theoretical development, policy formulation and managerial decision-­ making in emerging markets. The study’s findings are tabularised in the next section; the third section explains the book’s theoretical contribution to business practices; the fourth section provides the implication for policy formulation in emerging markets, while the fifth section presents a conclusion.

Summary of the Findings We present findings of the chapter authors who have provided theoretical and empirical perspectives on the role of people in green marketing success. Chapters 1 and 11 are not included in the summary of findings as they constitute the introductory and concluding aspects of the book. The findings of featured chapters are highlighted in Table 11.1.

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Table 11.1  Summary of findings in the book Chapters and titles

Findings and recommendations

Chapter 2: Green Business Practices in Emerging Economies

 • The outcome of the implementation of green business practices in emerging markets has received less attention from researchers, government and firms in emerging markets.  • There are contextual constraints (domination of economic informality and weaknesses in regulatory institutions) apart from the cost that hinder the adoption of green practices in emerging markets.  • Green investment will help businesses in an emerging market to build dynamic capability and support business performance even during challenging economic times.  • GHRM is an innovation in HRM, and research is still evolving to concretise the practice.  • Stakeholders’ demands and the availability of resources to an organisation determine the rate of going green.  • Implement a green code of conduct to regulate behavioural changes that will support the green strategies. HRM activities must align to green agenda and create a green working environment and awareness too.  • Through social practice perspective, corporate organisations in emerging markets can promote green people management and sustainable development.  • Corporations in less-developed economies could focus on how their products or services influence the socio-material arrangements of social practices.  • There is need for green transformational leadership and striking of a balance between the twin objectives of profitability and sustainability, as well as the need for concerted efforts by stakeholders in the implementation of green marketing in emerging markets.

Chapter 3: Green Human Resources Management as an Innovation Mechanism

Chapter 4: Green Marketing and Social Practices: Managing People as Carriers of Sustainability Practices

Chapter 5: Driving Green Marketing in Emerging Markets Through Green Leadership

(continued)

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Table 11.1 (continued) Chapters and titles

Findings and recommendations

Chapter 6: Green Leadership Approaches and Motivations for Green Practice Implementation Among Marketing Firms in China

 • Chinese firms reduce environmental impacts through innovation while avoiding superficial window-dressing.  • Green human resource presents a sustainable avenue to promote firms’ productivity and competitive advantage in the green economy.  • Managers have nationalistic sentiments to protect the environment and rejuvenate the nations’ influence in the global economy.  • Government and policymakers can consider implementing comprehensive training and education in green human resource development while organisations can also increase awareness of environmental sustainability.  • Green-marketing planning is a strategic part of the green-marketing process.  • Organisations in emerging markets must ensure that there is no gap between the price of the products and the consumers’ capacity to pay.  • People and people management are crucial factors in the success of the green-marketing plan.  • Green competencies, green thinking and appropriate employee engagement will foster green-marketing activities in emerging markets.  • More still needs to be done to improve soft and hard competencies needed to cascade global green-­ marketing solutions to local firms.  • Emerging markets in Africa have heightened environmental issues leading to health and economic challenges for their people.  • Organisations in Africa’s emerging markets must have a green marketing strategy that responds effectively to the green consumer and environmental needs.  • The success of green marketing in emerging markets in Africa depends on the extent to which businesses in these economies harness the opportunities in green generations.

Chapter 7: Green Marketing Planning in an Emerging Market Context: A People Perspective

Chapter 8: Competencies for Green Marketing Success in Emerging Markets

Chapter 9: Harnessing the Potentials of Generation Green for Green Marketing Success in Africa’s Emerging Economies

(continued)

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Table 11.1 (continued) Chapters and titles

Findings and recommendations

Chapter 10: Green People Management, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement

 • Green People Management (GPM) recognises the relationship between employee—attraction, engagement and retention—and environmental stewardship.   • Green people management strategies can be instrumental in crafting and promoting sustainable green culture in an organisation.   • Green people management offers benefits for employees and organisations.

Implications for Theory Adoption The findings in this book emanate from diverse perspectives on theory and practice. The theoretical contributions stem from the firm’s resource-­ based theory, the triple bottom line theory, the institutional theory, stakeholder theory, social practice theory and the generational cohort theory—which were applied in the discussions. The firm’s resource-based theory was used to emphasise the importance of building strong internally dynamic capabilities, which makes organisations in emerging markets flexible to change and resistant to social, economic and ecological challenges. As applied in this book, the tenet of the resource-based theory provides that organisations must harness and reconfigure their internal capacities and competencies to meet their business, social, economic and environmental needs. Based on the theory’s proposition, organisations must develop and harness green competencies in their workforce through green people management practices to achieve green-marketing goals. Similarly, the triple bottom line theory with its three Ps—profit, people and the planet—although borrowed from the accounting discipline, the theory was used to elucidate the outcome of green business practices, such as green marketing on the organisation (p-profit), the role of people in its success (p-people) and the preservation of the planet (p-planet) as a crucial goal it seeks to achieve. With the theory’s application in this book, its flexibility and diverse applicability are emphasised. Through the lens of the institutional and stakeholders theory, the book was also able to extend its application to explain the necessity of organisations conforming to institutional regulations, such as green marketing by

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harnessing the stakeholders within and outside the organisation. In this book’s context, the institutional regulations are environmental sustainability practices, while the internal stakeholders are managers, leaders and employees. In contrast, the external stakeholders are customers, the government and the larger community. The theories, institutional and stakeholder, are applied to concretise the crucial role of obeying ecological regulations and the proper management of people (workers and consumers) towards the successful implementation and outcome of green marketing. While the institutional and stakeholders theory identifies institutions’ role in green-marketing practice, the social practice theory focuses on the range of activities that order and give meaning to social living. The social practice theory identified three interconnected elements (materials, meanings and competencies) crucial to green marketing success in emerging markets. Lastly, the generational cohort theory focused on competencies that the social practice theory identified as crucial to green-marketing success. Therefore, it posits that the organisation can harness the green generation’s workers and consumers’ competencies for green-marketing success in emerging markets. The generational cohort theory was adopted in this book. The theory recognises the diversities in a different generation and how these can be harnessed for green-marketing success in an emerging market. The applicability of the theories used in this book has been extended beyond their domain to explain green marketing, management and the crucial role of people and green people management practices towards the successful implementation. Therefore, this edited book contributes to knowledge of the domains in which the theories can be applied.

The Implication for Policy Formulation in Emerging Markets The findings in this book provide implications for policy formulation in emerging markets. In this context, policy formulation is for government, public organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to take necessary steps to implement sustainable development. First, emerging markets’ national governments must identify regulatory institutions’ weaknesses that serve as constraints for the success of green practices. The findings in this book have shown that cost is not the only challenge to green success in emerging markets but also weaknesses in regulatory

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institutions; hence, the government must put appropriate policies in place to strengthen weak regulatory institutions. Second, government and policymakers may consider implementing comprehensive training and education in green human resource development. It is observed that few individuals with GHRM knowledge are available for managing people in the green context. Also, governments of emerging markets must intensify green awareness at the local and national level. The people must be well oriented on the benefits of complying with green practices and the dangers to the environment in failure to comply. Lastly, the government must provide an enabling business environment that encourages green business practices and also show commitment to the green initiative by making social and environmental policies that stimulate green compliance by an organisation and the larger society.

Implications for Management Decision-Making Management and leaders of organisations in emerging markets are key drivers of sustainable business practices. They must be aware of key decisions needed to improve their green practice and performance towards sustainable development. First, leaders and managers must invest in innovative green research to improve their understanding of the green needs of their immediate environment and consumer needs to respond appropriately. Second, managers must implement a green code of conduct to regulate behavioural changes to support green-marketing strategies. Through HRM activities, managers and organisations must align employees to the green plan and create a green working environment that will enable employees to perform optimally. Managers in organisations must create a green awareness tool for both current and newly recruited employees to establish a green-driven pool of talent. Third, managers and leaders’ personal drive towards green goals has been proven to positively influence green innovations and outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial that managers are knowledgeable on green practices and can also promote green people management towards sustainable development. Lastly, managers should have nationalistic sentiments to protect the environment and rejuvenate their nations’ global economic influence through green business practices. The benefits of green business practices are enormous, and managers must take the lead in the pursuit of sustainable development through business practices.

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Conclusion Green marketing is an integral part of the movement for global sustainability, and it focuses on achieving sustainable production and consumption through marketing practices. The literature on green marketing has shown that green marketing, when appropriately implemented, leads to enormous economic, social and ecological benefits for an organisation and society. In this book, authors have contributed to the literature on green marketing by making salient arguments for the crucial role of people management in the successful implementation of green marketing in emerging markets, where there are heightened environmental challenges due to increased industrialisation. To this end, we conclude that people (managers, leaders, consumers and employees) and Green People Management practices are crucial to green marketing in emerging markets. The success of green marketing in emerging markets is a precursor to achieving critical aspects of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as Goal 3 (good health and well-being), Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth), Goal 9 (industry innovation and infrastructure) and Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities). Organisations in emerging markets, therefore, must adopt green marketing as a strategic plan of action, capable of achieving both business and sustainable environmental goals through people and green people management practices.

References Masri, H. A., & Jaaron, A. A. (2017). Assessing green human resources management practices in Palestinian manufacturing context: An empirical study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 474–489. Mukonza, C., & Swarts, I. (2020). The influence of green marketing strategies on business performance and corporate image in the retail sector. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(3), 838–845. Peattie, K. (2001). Towards sustainability: The third age of green marketing. The Marketing Review, 2(2), 129–146. Shaw, W. (2012). Will emerging economies repeat the environmental mistakes of their rich cousins? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/2012/03/01/will-­e merging-­e conomies-­r epeat-­ environmental-­mistakes-­of-­their-­rich-­cousins-­pub-­47307#:~:text=Rapid%20 growth%20in%20the%20major,likely%20millions%20of%20premature%20 deaths United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 Goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Index

A Africa’s emerging economies, 135 American Marketing Association (AMA), 4 AWA Bike, 54 B Business image, 142 Business sustainability, 14 C Capabilities and competencies, 22 China, 116 China’s economy, 88 Chinese firms, 75 Climate change, 46 Competency, 116 Competitive businesses, 30

Corporate competitive advantage, 153 Corporate Ecological Response (CER), 76 Corporate environmental initiatives, 159 Corporate marketing, 117 Corporate philosophy, 30 Corporate social responsibility, 157 Corporate social responsibility commitment, 25 Corporate strategic thinking, 17 Creative and innovative thinking, 122 Cross-functional, 117 D Design thinking, 121 Digital skills, 141 Double bottom trickle line, 116

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. E. Hinson et al. (eds.), Green Marketing and Management in Emerging Markets, Palgrave Studies of Marketing in Emerging Economies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73007-9

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E Eco-friendly initiatives, 31 Eco-innovation practices, 15 Ecologically conscious employees, 163 Ecological marketing, 4 Economic benefits, 31 Emerging markets, 9 Emotional derivatives, 99 Employee empowerment, 155 Employee engagement, 155 Employee green behaviour, 63 Employment relationship, 30 Environmental advocacy, 102 Environmental challenges, 6, 74, 170 Environmental-conscious leaders, 102 Environmental considerations, 46 Environmental disruption, 132 Environmental excellence, 63 Environmentally conscious, 60, 96, 132 Environmentally green consumer, 98 Environmental management, 36, 102 Environmental management practices, 102, 103 Environmental outcomes, 116 Environmental performance, 117 Environmental problems, 96 Environmental protection, 74 Environmental regulations, 23 Environmental sustainability, 76 Environmental uncertainty, 31 European Union’s Technical and Financial Support, 133 F Financial performance, 14 Firms’ reputations, 15

Forward-thinking managers, 155 Friends of the Earth International and African Impact, 54 G Generational cohort theory, 175 Generations, 132 Generations X and Y, 132 Global warming, 116 Governmental support, 31 Green abilities, 117 Green Africa Youth Organisation, 54 Green attitudes, 117 Green awareness, 117 Green behaviors, 30, 117 Green brands, 99, 119 Green business practice, 14 Green competencies, 116 Green consumers, 116 Green economy, 132 Green employee engagement, 156 Green firms, 116 Green generation, 133 Greenhouse emission, 60 Green human resource competencies, 117 Green Human Resources Management (GHRM), 7 Greening approach, 75 Greening initiatives implementation, 75 Greening strategies, 75 Green knowledge, 117 Green leadership, 61 Green-management systems, 102 Green marketing, 5, 116 Green-Marketing Environmental Action Plan, 96, 103–104 Green marketing myopia, 99 Green-marketing planning, 9, 96

 INDEX 

Green marketing strategy, 143 Green motivations, 75, 83 Green movement, 36 Green people management, 5 Green products, 121 Green skills, 117 Greenwashing, 49 Green workforce, 5 H Harnessing, 135 HR function, 153 Human capital, 153 Human waste, 116 I Industrialisation, 74 Innovative ideas, 141 Institutional theory, 63 Integrative thinking and practice, 122 Internal environmental advocates, 102 L Life cycle thinking, 121 M Managerial corporate thinking, 17 The market dynamics, 141 Ministry for Environmental Protection, 74 Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), 74 Multinational corporations, 156

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O Open-ended timeframe, 46 Organisational citizenship, 155 P Packaging, 137 Philosophical and social responsibility, 76 Pollution, 60 Post-millennial, 138 Proactive environmental strategies, 102 Product attributes, 142 Product modification, 137 Profit, people and the planet, 174 Q Quasi-strategic (or business strategic) greening, 77 R Recycling facilitation, 55 Regulatory pressure, 31 S Service marketing mix, 48 Social Accountability, 20 Social practices, 48 Social well-being, 46 Socio-economic consequences, 55 Socio-environmental, 48 Stakeholders, 61 Stakeholders theory, 63 Strategic greening, 77 Sustainability challenges, 46

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Sustainability programmes, 86 Sustainable business practices, 5, 132 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 170 Sustainable policies, 63 Sustainable production and consumption, 170 Sustainable production pattern, 133

Traditional economies, 64 Traditional human resources management, 171 Traditional marketing, 46 Transformational leadership, 63 Triple bottom line theory, 17, 174

T Tactical greening, 77

V Voluntary green behaviour, 153

U Unchecked production, 46