Understanding the Impact of Green Marketing on Blue Star & Philips Corporate Strategy - Research Proposal Example

Understanding the Impact of Green Marketing on Corporate Strategy: A study on two companies Research proposal Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Research background 4 Research Problem 4 Relevant Research Context 5 Brief Literature Review 6 Guiding Assumption 8 Research Question 8 Research Hypothesis 9 Research Approach 10 Design of the Research 10 Description of key constructs & measures 11 Sampling of the study 11 Methodological Procedure 12 Strengths & Limitation of the Proposal 16 References 18 Appendix 19 Executive Summary Blue Star & Philips have been using green marketing strategy for a period of time but haven’t been able to gauge the manner in which it will help to create positive impact on the corporate strategy. Further the manner in which green marketing has an impact on customer perception and attraction is unknown. The research proposal aims at exploring the manner in which green marketing impacts both organizations and consumers. To achieve this objective the strategies which has been taken Blue Star & Philips with regard to green marketing is observed. This is backed by a qualitative study which focuses on gathering information from managers through an in-depth interview which will be conducted through a semi-structured questionnaire. Using the content analysis different factors and variables will be identified which will help to understand the impact of green marketing on organization and at the same time will facilitate a comparison between both the organization. This will help to understand the impact and provide future directions for the company as similar strategies based on it can be developed for the future. Introduction This section examines the research which has to be carried out along with identifying the research problem, relevant research context, literature review looking into past studies, the guiding factors which resulted in the research, the research questions and the development of the hypothesis based on which the research will be tested and carried out. Research background The proposal sets out a plan which will look at determining the impact green marketing has on corporate strategy which further lead towards improved profitability, retention of customers and better productivity. This will also help to understand the customer perspective and the manner in which green marketing strategy will help to determine the manner in which it influences customers. The main participants in the research will consist of managers from two different organizations as the focus is on conducting a research over two organizations. The proposed methodology that is to be used includes in-depth interview which will be through a process of semi-structured questions and it will be evaluated through content analysis. This will be backed through survey questionnaire which will help to identify the manner in which green marketing has an influence on organizational corporate strategy and the perception of the customers. Research Problem The proposal to conduct a research to find out the manner in which green marketing has an impact on the corporate strategy was identified when organizations using those strategies wanted to know the changes they have witnessed. In addition to it, the research will also help to understand the customer expectation and perception regarding the manner in which green marketing influences them and the manner it helps to improve the retention of customers. The overall need for the research is thereby established to find out the manner in which the relevance and importance of different factors associated with green marketing will be identified. Relevant Research Context The growing importance of green marketing and increasing relevance of different methods through which better understanding of the impact green marketing can create, the study aims at studying two companies who already have green marketing strategy in place. This will help to understand the impact better and will help to find out the overall relevance and impact it has on further studies. For this prime reason the study looks to be conducted over Blue Star and Philips Blue Star is one of the largest single sources of air conditioning and relies on CFC chillers for the majority of the business. The organization has aimed and used the technology of green marketing which has brought some changes in the manner they carry out business and has helped them at different areas to bring the required transformation and change in their process of carrying out activities. Philips is one of the leaders in the electronic business and has continuously made changes and developments through which the business efficiency has improved. The organization has been using green marketing but the impact it has been able to create on the changes and style of working is something which is unknown. Carrying out a research which focuses on both Blue Star and Philips will help to understand the manner in which green marketing has influenced and brought the required changes in the business. This will facilitate a comparison between both the organization and highlight the differences and similarities based on which better decisions and the impact it has on the overall performance of companies can be identified. Brief Literature Review The review of different literature will provide different scientific findings which are relevant to the research as it will highlight the different strategies which were adopted by organization in the context of green marketing strategies. Ginsberg & Bloom (2004), highlights that the most important aspect for green marketing is to understand the perception of consumers by understanding their preference towards green marketing so that the different attributes which the product has can become as a selling point to target the correct customers. Different studies have supported the above fact that to understand the targeted green market segment, it is important to understand the tendencies of the customers (Fuller, 1999, p330-331; Coddington, 1993, p.83). Further, no single strategy fits all companies and the strategies have to be decided based on the objectives, market and other external and internal factors (Polonsky & Rosenberger, 2001). Studies have highlighted that green marketing strategies helps to bring the required innovativeness and creates a differentiation with other players so that the chances of achieving success increases (Grant, 2007, p.10). Some authors have proposed the use of green marketing grid (Grant, 2007, p.10, 59) and green marketing strategy matrix (Ginsbgerg & Bloom, 2004) to develop the models which will help in green marketing. Companies can only look to translate their concerns into actions if the marketing mix developed by the organization is aimed towards the environment. This has been stateb by supporting those strategies which are environmentally superior helps to provide a competitive advantage as it helps to target the correct customer and retention of customers becomes easy (Porter & Van der Linde, 1995; Elkington, 1994). Fuller (1999, p.39), supports the above proposition by suggesting that organizations which are not innovative and look towards better green marketing strategy will suffer in the competitive environment. The same has been supported by Jacquelyn Ottman (1993), which states that organizations using green marketing strategies are able to develop their market share and bottom line. Developing different models which uses green marketing strategies helps to reduce health and safety impacts, improves relation with the employees and the society, and provides a framework where interference from government and other external agencies reduces (Kuhre, WL, 1995). To understand the response UK and German companies have towards green marketing strategies a research was conducted by Pujari and Wright (1996). The research highlighted that organization laid importance on green marketing strategies as it provides the supportive structure through which implementation of the different strategies becomes effective. Walley and Whitehead (1994) has strengethened the fact by stating that green marketing is difficult to be actually implemented and requires development of strategies which will help to ensure that the investment which is made in that direction transforms the environmental investment into source of competitive advantage (Orsato, 2006). Thus, there is an urgent need to conduct a study which will help to understand the manner in which developing green marketing strategies will act as a sustainable advantage and provide the organization with the required directive to improve the performance. Further, the study will look at the marketing strategy from the perspective of both the organization and the consumer and will help to improve the overall understanding of green marketing strategies. Guiding Assumption The literature which has been included in the study has been developed based on the method which uses survey and interviews. Using the process of interview was seen more effective in comparison to survey as it helped to gather different information pertaining to different aspect of green marketing. This has thereby determined that a mixed method approach which consist of 1A) Qualitative method: through in-depth interview that will underpin interpretivist assumptions to deeply understand the manner in which developing green marketing strategies will act as a sustainable advantage to improve the performance of firms; and 1B) Quantitative method: through survey questionnaire that be guided by positivist assumptions to focus on measuring key constructs and exploring their inter-relationships is being used. Further, questionnaire provided an opportunity to test and check the validity and cross check the answers. This also helped to clarify the different issues which were seen and based on it helped to develop a model which aims at determining the different aspects of green marketing strategies. Also, in-depth interview which will provide better understanding and provide with the relevant information. The present research has thereby been guided by the same motive and proposes to use in-depth interview through a semi-structured process and quantitative survey so that the different inter-relationship which exists can be highlighted and based on it a restructuring regarding the different impact green marketing has on the organization and the customers can be ascertained. Research Question The research to find out the impact of green marketing strategy on the overall strategy adopted by the companies and the manner it impacts the companies performance with regard to profitability, customer retention and others is as RQ 1: The manner in which both the organization segment their market based on the consumer perception towards green marketing strategies? RQ 2: The manner in which green marketing has been adopted by both the companies? RQ 3: The manner in which marketing mix gets influenced by the green marketing strategy adopted by companies? RQ 4: The manner in which green marketing strategy provides advantage to both the companies which has adopted them in their planning process? Research Hypothesis The research question which the research aims at carrying out has further helped to develop a hypothesis for the same and is as H0: Organizations using green marketing strategies are benefitted more in comparison to organizations not using green marketing strategies H1: Organizations not using green marketing strategies are benefited more in comparison to organizations using green marketing strategies H2: Customer perception and tendency has a positive influence on the green marketing strategy adopted by business H3: Customer perception and tendency doesn’t have an influence on the green marketing strategy adopted by business The above hypothesis will help to answer the different research questions which have been formulated and will provide required direction based on which the research is to be carried out. Research Approach The section looks at examining the manner in which the research methodology has been developed by laying stress on different areas so that better understanding of the entire process of research can be found out which will help to improve the validity of the research as it adopts a mixed methods approach: through sequential method. That’s mean that the qualitative approach will come first, then the quantitative approach. The qualitative method will be through in-depth interview (semi-structured process) that will underpin interpretivist assumptions to deeply understand the manner in which developing green marketing strategies will act as a sustainable advantage to improve the performance of firms. This will be followed by quantitative method which be conducted through survey questionnaire that be guided by positivist assumptions to focus on measuring key constructs and exploring their inter-relationships. Design of the Research The overall research method that will be used is a case study method so that better and deeper insights can be formulated to find out the different ways and reasons which make organization adopt green marketing strategies. Since, the approach focuses on one or a few research units case study is the most preferred approach and will provide useful information pertaining to the study (Denscombe, 2000, p.43). The proposed method for data collection will be thereby based on interviews and will aim at using the qualitative method to understand and interpret the different nature of the data (Holme and Solvang, 1997). Step 1 will involve the qualitative portion of the research which will be aimed at gathering information through the process of in depth interviews. Step 2 will involve using the qualitative data and transforming those into quantitative data so that findings based on those will provide conclusive direction and help to understand the impact it creates on organization through the data which has been collected in Stage 1. The prime goal of stage 2 will be to provide the different environmental issues within the marketing mix and the strategies which are used by organizations reduce the impact and gain better benefits. This will thereby help to understand the pattern of the data which has been gathered in Stage 1. Prior to Stage 1 and 2 complete information will be gathered about both the companies so that the marketing strategies chosen by the companies can be understood and will form a part of Stage 0. Description of key construct & measures The appendix clearly highlights the semi-structured process which will be used for the research and further shows the different participation which is expected from both the organization. The questionnaire has been kept short because of the fact that it remains simple and since it is semi-structured it will be aimed at developing questions and looking to gather the relevant information and answers based on it. Some of the key measures which thereby look to be gathered are as Stage 1: Involves in the collection of useful green marketing strategies which have been adopted by both the organization Stage 2: Conducting the in-depth interview to find out the relevant information and help to direct the method through which information can be gathered from the managers at different levels Stage 3: Analyzing the data through the use of content analysis which will help to develop different findings and recommendations by ensuring a comparison between both the organizations Stage 4: The questionnaire will conducted through a semi-structured process where in-depth interviews will be conducted on managers which icludes middle and senior level managers Stage 5: Analyzing the data of questionnaire through the use of content analysis which will ise different tools like ANOVA, MANOVA, and others which will aim at finding the variance between different groups and will help to find the variation which exiust due to different statistical data. Sampling of the study The sampling focuses on gathering data through a process of semi-structured interview which will be conducted in both the organization to find out the impact it has on green marketing strategies. The survey will look towards equal participation from both the organization so that the sample space doesn’t becomes biased which will not provide conclusive evidence. The entire composition of different employees within the organization consist of 9 senior and 13 middle level managers in Blue Star and 10 senior and 14 middle level managers in Philips. It has been suggested that around 20-40 minutes of in depth interview is required for a qualitative research (Walker, 1985). To ensure consistency and have a proper stratum of population representing the survey the research will be conducted on 19 senior level managers and 27 middle level managers of both the companies. This will ensure that the entire in depth interview is conducted over 46 respondents who will be chosen randomly from the entire population so that the sample is properly defined and has equal representation from both the organization. The second stage will focus on converting the qualitative data into quantitative one. In addition to it the 10 respondents including both the senior and middle level managers for both the company, who had taken part in the study will be interviewed again to gauge their response and to check the validity of the answers providd by them. This will facilitate the research and will ensure that the research provides conclusive evidence based on which the quantitative study will highlight the correct result. Methodological Procedure Gathering, Recording & Safeguarding the Information: Stage 0 will look towards evaluating the books of both the organization and identifying the different strategies which has been adopted by both the organization in relation to green marketing strategies. In addition to it the stage will look at determining the total process through the different aspect of marketing mix has been changed from time to time so that environmental concerns are being highlighted and the manner it has benefitted the organization to improve their productivity, market share, customer satisfaction and profits. Stage 1 will aim at conducting the in-depth interview which will be semi-structured and will involve a face to face communication between the respondents and interviewer so that new insights, discussion of the different topic in depth, flexibility, clarification with regards to questions and answers, and the different manner in which the respondents react can be understood. Further, the interview questions will vary for both the organization which will depend on the strategies which have been adopted by the organization and have been collected in stage 0. Te entire process of the interview will be recorded and at the same time the interviewer will take notes which will help to understand the different reactions and behavior of the respondents. The entire process will be carried out over a period of 2 months and steps will be taken to ensure that the different inputs which are provided are kept confidential. The respondents will also be reverted back with a thank message for taking part in the interview and will be done within a period of one week after the respondent had taken part in the interview. Stage 2 will start with a pilot testing where randomly selected managers from both the senior and middle level and will be asked similar questions by making certain modification in the pattern or order or some changes in the question to gauge the authenticity and validity of the information which has been provided previously (Fuller, 1999). The stage will further look towards analyzing the data which has been collected and will be done through the process of content analysis. After collecting the required data in stage 1 data reduction method will be used which will help to develop the different pattern and themes based on which useful insights and understanding will be formulated of the different inputs which have been provided during the research. The process will also involve the process of data coding, examination, comparison and categorizing based on the different research questions which have been asked (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005). In case more information is required further data will have to be gathered by conducting interviews as done in stage 1. While looking to gather and analyzing the result comparison will be made between both the organization to find out the similarities and differences and the different implications it has will be analyzed. Managing Key Stakeholders: The research will further look at ensuring that the different stakeholders who are involved during the process of the research like the senior managers and executives, the middle level managers and others will be treated with dignity and respect. In addition to it the necessary permission will be obtained from the required authority to inspect and gather the relevant information about both the organization and after seeking permission from the concerned bodies’ steps will be taken. Care and precaution will be taken to ensure that the research doesn’t goes against any stakeholders and is able to justify the research. Ethical Issues: The research will look at displaying the actual data and information which has been gathered and no changes will be made to it. Further, the different information which has been collected from the different managers at different level will be concealed and ensured that it is not leaked. Further, the required permission from the management will be taken and all aspect will concentrate on ensuring that the entire research remains ethical and provides complete and true picture of the actual research which has been undertaken. Data Analysis: The stage will further look towards analyzing the data which has been collected and will be done through the process of content analysis. To code the different inputs which has been provided a coding method will be used which is as Blue Star will be coded as 1 and Philips will be coded as 2 Male will be coded as 1 and females as 2 Senior level managers will be coded as 1 and middle level managers as 2 The different response which has been provided by the different respondents will passed through a process that will ensure data coding, examination, comparison and categorizing based on the different research questions which have been asked. This will thereby help to provide the relevant heads based on which different points will be ascertained. Then using the process of content analysis the major factors will be ascertained. This will help to determine the governing factors and provide the required comparison will be made between both the organization to find out the similarities and differences and the different implications it has will be analyzed. Discussing the Instrument: The entire process will also use different secondary data which will be gathered from websites, annual reports, journals, newspaper, magazines, case studies and others. This will help to improve the validity of the research as it will provide the required framework through which better data will be gathered and will help to back the primary research with secondary findings. Timeline: The entire research is proposed to be completed within a period approximately of 30 months which will be divided among the different aspect and parts and will focus on ensuring that the research provides useful information and is as 1 Task Date Note 2 Finish proposal 10/5/2012 3 Doing confirmation 25/5/2012 4 Starting data collection 5/6/2012 5 Result of data 15/11/2012 6 Writing the thesis 15/12/2012 7 Finishing writing 15/3/2013 8 Submitting thesis 15/8/2013 Thus, the entire process will gain effectiveness and will be aimed at different parts so that the research provides maximum advantage and helps to answer the questions that were asked in the research. Strengths & Limitation of the Proposal The strength of the proposal is It will help to understand the different dimensions which have a positive or negative influence on green marketing strategy and will help to understand the manner in which customers can be attracted and retained The findings of the research will be valid as the research is carried on senion and middle level managers and in addition to it a pilot testing is done to gauge the authenticity of the information provided by the managers The reearch will help to develop previous research provide better consclusive evidence on the manner green marketing influences customers. The sample size which has been selected is large and is appropriate for in-depth interview which will thereby ensure proper presentation of the entire population The limitations of the proposal are It is difficult to gauge the authenticity of the information supplied which might make the entire research to be incorrect Very few factors have been considered and mght not be true for all organization and might be specific to some The research proposes to be conducted over two organization which might result in a situation where the findings might not be valid for other organization thereby raising doubts on the entire research applicability to other organization References Denscombe, T. (2000), ‘Differences in Large and Small Firm Responses to Environmental Context: Strategic Implications from a Comparative Analysis of Business Formations’, Strategic Management Journal, 19 (8), 47-53 Ottman, Jacquelyn (1998), Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation, 2nd Ed., Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books. Polonsky, M.J., eds., Greener Marketing: A Global Perspective on Greening Marketing Practice, Sheffield, U.K.: Greenleaf Publishing. Fuller, A. (1999), Sustainable Marketing: Managerial-Ecological Issues, London, Sage Publications Coddington, W. (1993). Environmental marketing: positive strategies for reaching the green consumer. New York, NY: MCGraw-Hill, Inc Grant, J. (2007). The green marketing manifesto. Cornwall:TJ International Ltd. Pujari, Devashish and Wright, Gillian (1999), “Integrating Environmental Issues into Product Development: Understanding the Dimensions of Perceived Driving Forces and Stakeholders,” Journal of Euromarketing, 7,4,43-63 Kuhre, WL. (1995). ISO 14020s Environmental Labelling – Marketing. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Walley, N. & Whitehead, B. (1994). It’s not easy being green. Harvard Business Review 72 (3), 46-51 Orsato, R. (2006). Competive environemtal strategies: When does it pay to be green? Californina Management Review, 48(2), 127-143 Appendix Appendix A Semi-Structured Question 1. What is the core business of the organization? 2. Does the organization uses any environmental standards in the business? What are those standards? 3. How are the existing products different from green products? 4. Which products seem to attract more customers and contribute towards the bottom line? 5. Who are your customers? 6. How have been customers attracted and retained in your organization? 7. Future strategies that the organization looks to develop in relation to green marketing? Appendix B Sample Space for research Company Blue Star Philips Population Size 83 senior and 142 middle level managers 79 senior and 156 middle level managers Sample Space Selected 25 senior level managers and 40 middle level managers 25 senior level managers and 40 middle level managers Read More