Philip J. Rosenberger

Reevaluating green marketing: a strategic approach

A lot of companies today are asking, “Can we be green, clean, and profitable all at the same time?” While many have been trying to promote a greener image, some have been unable to live up to their claims. So consumer skepticism of “green hype” is an understandable reaction, especially when firms attempt to associate themselves with environmental issues without substantially improving their environmental performance or that of their products. Opportunistic tactical greening, notes Peattie (1999b), often results from a view that “Commodities which have no market are assumed to be worthless” and “Market mechanisms can correct environmental problems.” Although such opportunism is on the decline, its early use caused long-term damage to genuine environmentally responsible activities. Of course, this is not to suggest that all tactical greening is inappropriate or exploitative; rather, firms need to realize that there may be limited long-term benefit to this approach, unless tactical activities are supported by broader organizational greening. Additional complications with greening also arise from the fact that traditional marketing and management tools, such as the marketing audit or PEST (political/economic/social/technological) analysis, fail to fully integrate the environmental implications of actions into the marketing process. Even when marketers do attempt to include environmental issues in their activities, they rarely do so in a sustainable long-term approach. Responsible green marketing has evolved into a complex, integrated: strategic, and tactical process. As such, it is a holistic approach rather than the simple “marketing hype” or tactical opportunism practiced by some. It expands on the basic transaction concept by minimizing a transaction’s negative impact on the natural environment. At a fundamental level: green marketing becomes part of the “cultural fabric” that binds an organization together, flowing from the spirit A complex and integrated stfutegic too/, “true *’ green marketing has moved beyond the simple ecological posturing of 20 years ago. of the firm into its strategic approach and on into its tactical implementations. The altered corporate mindset that results is seen as presenting new opportunities to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in an entrepreneurial or “enviropreneurial” fashion. With the shift from marketing hype to this holistic mindset, one might exclaim: “Green marketing is dead. Long live green marketing!” When adopting the new mindset, a firm must reevaluate the very nature of the business-consumer transaction process, even questioning how to create value. As Peattie (1999a) notes, this might involve going so far as to challenge established assumptions and ways of thinking by asking: Do consumers need to actually “own “products, or are there other ways of delivering wantsatisfying capabilities? For example, working with the Japanese government, Toyota is trying out a program whereby people purchase “transportation” without owning a car. Instead, they buy access to an electronic automobile fleet that can be used to travel short distances to shops and/or connect with traditional public transportation, which is also accessed as part of the transportation package. In this fashion, Toyota is removing the need for individual ownership while still meeting consumers’ core need for transportation. Greening has provided the impetus for Toyota to develop new products and profits, as well as reducing their negative environmental impact. Why should firms engage in green marketing? What are the various levels of greening? What does implementation involve? And what are its

The Effect of Corporate Image in the Formation of Customer Loyalty: An Australian Replication

Abstract Using a mall-intercept survey of 116 female Grace Bros. customers who had had a shopping experience at the upmarket department store in the previous six months, Andreassen and Lindestads (1998) model of corporate image and its influence on customer loyalty was evaluated using path analysis. The results are generally consistent with the previous study, with corporate image having a significant impact on core service and customer satisfaction perceptions. Corporate image was found to have only a marginally significant direct influence on customer loyalty, though the total effects of corporate image (both direct and indirect) on customer loyalty are much more substantial.

Developing green products: learning from stakeholders

The complexities of environmental issues require that when developing new green products marketers have to seek‐out, involve and learn from stakeholders with environmental expertise. These stakeholders have information that lies outside the organisation’s main area of expertise and can assist the firm in developing less environmentally harmful products. This article examines US and Australian markets’ perceptions of stake‐holders’ potential to influence the green new product development (NPD) process and what strategies can be used to involve stakeholders in this process. The findings suggest that marketers believe some stakeholders with “high” influencing abilities should be involved in the green NPD process, although it appears that in practice, firms use very basic methods to include these stakeholders. It also appears that there is limited formal interaction between the firm and its stakeholders and that respondents are not engaging and learning from others with green product expertise.

The influence of involvement, following sport and fan identification on fan loyalty: an Australian perspective

Sport has evolved into one of the largest industries in Australia and there is a corresponding increased interest in the factors influencing fan loyalty. This paper presents a theoretically developed conceptual model which empirically tests the relationships between fan identification, sports involvement, following sport and fan loyalty. Survey results indicate that fan identification, following sport and involvement positively influence fan loyalty, while following sport was found to mediate the involvement-fan identification relationship.

Australian Undergraduate Biotechnology Student Attitudes towards the Teaching of Ethics

In recent years, ethics has become part of most tertiary biotechnology curricula. There is, however, considerable variation in the extent and manner of ethics education provided to students in different institutions. In addition, the perceived need that students and employers have regarding ethics education, and the aims and expected outcomes of ethics education, are rarely made clear. This research reports the findings of a questionnaire administered to 375 undergraduate biotechnology students from 19 Australian universities to determine their attitudes towards the teaching of ethics. The results suggest that undergraduate biotechnology students generally regard ethics education to be important and that ethics should be included in undergraduate biotechnology curricula. Students tended, however, to emphasize the professional and industrial side of ethics and not to recognize the personal effects of morals and behaviour. We provide suggestions for rethinking how ethics should be taught.

Examining the influence of different levels of sexual-stimuli intensity by gender on advertising effectiveness

Abstract Sexual appeals grab attention and elicit emotional responses, yet the existing literature surrounding this area of research has yielded inconsistent findings with regard to their ability to influence consumer liking and preference. Little attention has also been given to investigating sexual appeals beyond the scope of the effects of gratuitous sexual stimuli (nudity), and as such, most of what is known about sexual appeal advertising is centred on the effects of nudity alone. The current study examines sexual-stimuli intensity (explicit vs. mild) in print advertising and assesses its influence on advertising effectiveness and how this varies by gender for Australian consumers. An experiment is conducted as a test of the hypothesised relationships, with findings indicating that the level of sexual-stimuli intensity in print advertising is more effective in influencing consumers’ attitudinal and behavioural responses when depicted at a mild intensity level than at an explicit intensity level. These findings offer important insights for marketers in the design and configuration of sexual appeals used in advertising to maximise the effectiveness of ads to achieve favourable consumer behaviour outcomes.

Cultivating group-oriented travel behaviour to major events: assessing the importance of customer-perceived value, enduring event involvement and attitude towards the host destination

Abstract Major events, such as the Olympics and Glastonbury music festival, attract tourists and result in increased consumer spending in host economies. The purpose of this study is to gain insights into the key determinants driving future intentions of travel consumers to participate in group-based travel to major events. An integrated theoretical model is empirically tested with 424 travel consumers who have had prior experience travelling in a group to a major event. The results substantiate the model showing that customer value perceptions of a past group-travel consumption experience conceptualised with multiple benefit dimensions has the largest relative effect on future intentions to engage in group-travel behaviour to major events, followed by attitude towards the host destination and enduring event involvement. The results provide managers with holistic insights into components that are used as the basis upon which group-travel consumers develop their choice behaviour which can be used to effectively cultivate more attendees to major events.

A hierarchical model of perceived value of group-oriented travel experiences to major events and its influences on satisfaction and future group-travel intentions

ABSTRACT This study seeks a deeper understanding of the forms of value that travel consumers derive from a group-travel experience to a major event. We focus on specific group-travel value dimensions of social, hedonic, monetary, functional – major event, functional – event-destination tourism infrastructure, epistemic, and convenience. A sample of 389 consumers is used to substantiate our framework. We also empirically examine this model with satisfaction and future group-travel intentions – with satisfaction found to fully mediate the relationship between the perceived value of the group-travel experience and future group-travel intentions. This framework can serve to advance further theory development in this domain.

Understanding communal and individual customer experiences in group-oriented event tourism: an activity theory perspective

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study, grounded in activity theory, is to empirically investigate the communal and individual mechanisms that simultaneously shape the customer experience in group-oriented event tourism. Based on a survey of 389 respondents with group travel experience to major events, the results confirm the research model, suggesting that the customer-experience construct constitutes a multidimensional structure comprising second-order components reflecting individual and communal experiences, with each containing first-order constructs. The results further confirm that the customer-experience construct predicts post-consumption evaluations of perceived value and satisfaction. Limitations of the study are outlined, and implications for research and managerial practice for the creation of customer experiences that are valuable and satisfying for group-travel consumers to events are discussed.

Factors affecting smart working: evidence from Australia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse data from the New South Wales Government’s Pilot Programme of establishing Smart Work Hubs (SWHs) for enabling teleworking in two busy commuter corridors. The paper analyses the relationships between various firm, job and personal factors and the perceived value, attitudes and expected usage by users of the SWHs. Design/methodology/approach Employing a cross-sectional survey design, the characteristics, values and attitudes of 117 SWH users were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) method of structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM-PLS approach is considered appropriate especially in prediction-based studies and to estimate an endogenous target construct. Findings Results revealed that perceived SWH value significantly influenced attitude towards the SWH, which then had a significant influence on SWH usage intentions, with personal, job and firm factors also playing a role. Further analysis revealed four variables that significantly influenced the perception of family-value benefits (age, income, hub commute distance, work commute distance), however, there were none that significantly influenced the perception of work benefits. Research limitations/implications The small sample size limits statistical inferences and generalisations to be drawn. Further, this paper also discusses how the low and uneven uptake of teleworking at a SWH raises several managerial and policy implications needing attention. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study analysing the expected values, attitudes and usage intentions of teleworkers in a SWH context. This study adds to the emerging body of human resource management studies on an outward-looking approach. The novel context will provide a useful base for subsequent studies.