Do Environmental Practices of Enterprises Constitute an Authentic Green Marketing Strategy? A Case Study from Mexico

摘要

Private enterprises have responded to the increasing concern about environmental deterioration by implementinggreen actions with different grades of efficacy in terms of environmental and business performance. The aim ofthis work was to outline how firms that operate in a context with weak social and governmental pressures likeMexico are considering environmental issues into their strategies. By using a qualitative research approach, thisstudy collected information of multiple cases comprising multinationals, Mexican firms with internationaloperations and Mexican firms with local operations. Information was analyzed to get a deep understandingabout how 4Ps of product, price, place (distribution) and promotion (communication) of the traditionalmarketing mix are addressed via green practices. The two dominant greening strategies identified, “resourcesavings and waste reduction” and “certification and acknowledgment of environmental responsibility”, reflect ashort-term perspective driven by immediate economic and legitimacy benefits. A well structured greenmarketing strategy was not identified even for large multinationals.