MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE GREEN MARKETING TOOL

Azenath Alves da Silva¹, Flávio de São Pedro Filho²*, Maria José Aguilar Madeira³, João Artur Avelino Leão⁴ and Tiyao Sui-Qui^{5
    1}Graduated in Administration from the Federal University of Rondônia, Brazil. Studying for a Master’s degree in Public Management at the Education Faculty of Lapa, Brazil. E-mail: nathy_ron@hotmail.com
²PhD in Administration from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. PhD in Business Management from the Universidad Autónoma de Asuncion, Paraguay. Post-doctoral candidate in Management at the University of Beira Interior, Portugal. E-mail: Pedro.filho@ubi.pt
³PhD in Management from the University of Beira Interior, where she is the Advisor on the Post-Doctoral Program in Management, Portugal. E-mail: maria.jose.madeira@ubi.pt
⁴Master in Administration at the Federal University of Rondônia (UNIR), Brazil. E-mail: arturlustosa@gmail.com
⁵PhD student in Urban Studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada. E-mail: tiyaosui@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract

Management strategies have been guided by the organization of entities in response to environmental variables and share the same conditions as the business process in which they exist. Special attention should be given to green marketing as a strategic alternative in achieving organizational sustainability. This research was based on the Contingency Theory, and finds that organizational variables are interrelated in a complex way with external environmental conditions, maintain interchange with them. The research entailed meeting three specific objectives: (1) identifying the environmental variables that influence the decision in Green Marketing; (2) evaluating the perception by social actors of environmental variables; and (3) analyzing the trend in performance by means of the Green Marketing tool. The methodology used was to simulate a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory case study, applying several procedures, with the support of a focus group, so as to produce constructs that would support objective deductions. The variables, competitors, economic, legal and regulatory, socio-environmental and technological variables involved in the marketing mix were identified. The perception of the social actors about the variables was evaluated, reinforcing their importance in the strategic decision making process. Analyzing the applicability of green marketing is a management strategy that confers competitive advantage to achieve organizational sustainability. This study helps those interested in business strategy, since its elements make it possible to construct a tool that can be used by modern organizations with an environmental commitment. It is hoped that this will be a collaborative product to offer to managers concerned with organizational sustainability.