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Turning corporate environmental ethics into firm performance: The role of green marketing programs

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  • Meini Han
  • Han Lin
  • Jiangyan Wang
  • Yunzhen Wang
  • Wan Jiang

Abstract

In this study, we develop a better understanding of the mechanisms by which corporate environmental ethics influences performance through the adoption of substantive actions. The empirical results of a moderated mediating analysis show that firms with higher environmental ethics are more likely to implement green marketing programs, consisting of the green production, pricing, distribution, and promotion programs and then improve firm performance. It is also observed that closure mechanism negatively moderates the mediation effect of green marketing programs because it leads to low trust and unwillingness to internal cooperation. These findings indicate that the value of corporate environmental ethics could not be determined in a vacuum, both strategy and people do matter when pursuing environmentally driven performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Meini Han & Han Lin & Jiangyan Wang & Yunzhen Wang & Wan Jiang, 2019. "Turning corporate environmental ethics into firm performance: The role of green marketing programs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 929-938, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:28:y:2019:i:6:p:929-938
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2290
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Maria de Lurdes Calisto & Jorge Umbelino & Ana Gonçalves & Cláudia Viegas, 2021. "Environmental Sustainability Strategies for Smaller Companies in the Hotel Industry: Doing the Right Thing or Doing Things Right?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Lin, Han & Chen, Lu & Yu, Mingchuan & Li, Chao & Lampel, Joseph & Jiang, Wan, 2021. "Too little or too much of good things? The horizontal S-curve hypothesis of green business strategy on firm performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Tai-Wei Chang, 2020. "Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy: Effect of Green Shared Vision on Organization Members’ Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Tai-Wei Chang & Yen-Li Yeh & Hung-Xin Li, 2020. "How to Shape an Organization’s Sustainable Green Management Performance: The Mediation Effect of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Guiyu Bai & Delin Meng, 2022. "Assessing Influence Mechanism of Management Overconfidence, Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Corporate Value: The Moderating Effect of Government Environmental Governance and Media Attention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Sayantan Khanra & Puneet Kaur & Rojers P Joseph & Ashish Malik & Amandeep Dhir, 2022. "A resource‐based view of green innovation as a strategic firm resource: Present status and future directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1395-1413, May.
    8. Xiaohong Chen & Jiefu Zhang & Huixiang Zeng, 2020. "Is corporate environmental responsibility synergistic with governmental environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3669-3686, December.
    9. Lorenzo Dal Maso & Rodrigo Basco & Thomas Bassetti & Nicola Lattanzi, 2020. "Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1548-1562, March.
    10. Vera Mirovic & Branimir Kalas & Ines Djokic & Nikola Milicevic & Nenad Djokic & Milos Djakovic, 2023. "Green Loans in Bank Portfolio: Financial and Marketing Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-14, March.
    11. Han Lin & Lu Chen & Ming Yuan & Mingchuan Yu & Ye Mao & Fuwen Tao, 2021. "The eco‐friendly side of narcissism: The case of green marketing," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1111-1122, November.
    12. So Ra Park & Jae Young Jang, 2021. "The Impact of ESG Management on Investment Decision: Institutional Investors’ Perceptions of Country-Specific ESG Criteria," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-27, September.
    13. Di Luan & Hongjun Cao & Tongkun Qu, 2023. "How Does Corporate Green Innovation Strategy Translate into Green Innovation Performance Based on Chain Mediation?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-20, August.
    14. Colin B. Gabler & Omar S. Itani & Raj Agnihotri, 2023. "Activating Corporate Environmental Ethics on the Frontline: A Natural Resource-Based View," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 63-86, August.

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