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Building Sustainability into Services Marketing: Expanding Decision-Making from a Mix to a Matrix

Author

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  • Alan Pomering

    (School of Management, Operations and Marketing, Faculty of Business, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia)

  • Lester W. Johnson

    (Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, John St, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework that will provide the services marketing manager a systematic, holistic and transparent means of enhancing sustainability performance through the marketing function. We review the literature dealing with the confluence of services marketing and sustainability, identify gaps in current sustainability-services marketing literature and inductively develop a conceptual framework for Sustainability Services Marketing (SSM). We describe services marketing practice examples in order to uncover the implications of a sustainability focus for services marketing and illustrate how to operationalise the framework. The resulting framework, (i) ensures that sustainability is incorporated into the strategic services marketing planning process, (ii) adapts and expands the traditional concept of the services marketing mix, by adding Partnerships to the traditional mix elements, and (iii) cross-references services marketing mix decision-making with the triple bottom line to describe the marketing task in terms of a matrix rather than a mix. This permits sustainability benchmarking and planning across the triple bottom line, and across the range of activities the services marketing manager might be expected to manage in order to enhance sustainability performance. We shift services marketing management attention to a broader and more sustainability-responsible whole-of-business approach. This research provides timely and effective guidance for the services marketing manager seeking to enhance his or her business’s sustainability performance in a systematic, holistic, and transparent way.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Pomering & Lester W. Johnson, 2018. "Building Sustainability into Services Marketing: Expanding Decision-Making from a Mix to a Matrix," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:2992-:d:165295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rita Van Der Vorst & Anne Grafé-Buckens & William R. Sheate, 1999. "A Systemic Framework For Environmental Decision-Making," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(01), pages 1-26.
    2. Chungwon Woo & Yanghon Chung & Dongphil Chun & Seunghun Han & Dukhee Lee, 2014. "Impact of Green Innovation on Labor Productivity and its Determinants: an Analysis of the Korean Manufacturing Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 567-576, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Magdalena Kowalska, 2020. "SME Managers’ Perceptions of Sustainable Marketing Mix in Different Socioeconomic Conditions—A Comparative Analysis of Sri Lanka and Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Ukrit Suksanguan & Somsak Siwadamrongpong & Thanapong Champahom & Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao & Tassana Boonyoo & Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha, 2022. "Structural Equation Model of Factors Influencing the Selection of Industrial Waste Disposal Service in Cement Kilns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Gabriela Koľveková & Erika Liptáková & Ľubomír Štrba & Branislav Kršák & Csaba Sidor & Michal Cehlár & Samer Khouri & Marcel Behún, 2019. "Regional Tourism Clustering Based on the Three Ps of the Sustainability Services Marketing Matrix: An Example of Central and Eastern European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Tomasz Witold Trojanowski & Pawel Tadeusz Kazibudzki, 2021. "Prospects and Constraints of Sustainable Marketing Mix Development for Poland’s High-Energy Consumer Goods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Baifeng Sun & Leon Yongdan Liu & Wilco Waihung Chan & Carol Xiaoyue Zhang & Xingqi Chen, 2021. "Signals of Hotel Effort on Enhancing IAQ and Booking Intention: Effect of Customer’s Body Mass Index Associated with Sustainable Marketing in Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Dan Dumitriu & Gheorghe Militaru & Dana Corina Deselnicu & Andrei Niculescu & Mirona Ana-Maria Popescu, 2019. "A Perspective Over Modern SMEs: Managing Brand Equity, Growth and Sustainability Through Digital Marketing Tools and Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, April.
    7. Erick Kauffmann & Jesús Peral & David Gil & Antonio Ferrández & Ricardo Sellers & Higinio Mora, 2019. "Managing Marketing Decision-Making with Sentiment Analysis: An Evaluation of the Main Product Features Using Text Data Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-19, August.
    8. Pawel Tadeusz Kazibudzki & Tomasz Witold Trojanowski, 2020. "Examination of marketing mix performance in relation to sustainable development of the Poland’s confectionery industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, October.
    9. M.S. Che Rusuli & R. Ruwaida & M. Noraani & J. Takala & M. Nizamuddin, 2019. "Influence of Marketing Mix Strategy in Insurance Business: The Case of Kota Bharu," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(2), pages 88-95, July.

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