مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد استراتژی نوآوری محیط زیست قابلیت بازاریابی

مقاله سال 2017

It is widely accepted that firms face pressures from various stakeholders (e.g. government, customers and suppliers) on implementing environmental initiatives (Delmas and Toffel, 2008; Sarkis et al., 2010; Yu and Ramanathan, 2015). However, the outcome of taking proactive environmental initiatives on the performance of firms is often contradictory. Traditionally, it has been argued that there is an inherent con- flict between environmental protection and firm performance (Eiadat et al., 2008). Porter and van der Linde (1995, p. 98), however, argue that “properly designed environmental regulation can trigger innovation that may partially or more than fully offset the costs of complying with them”. In other words, discovering win-win solutions to environmental regulation requires firms to perform proactive search for innovative solutions (Porter and van der Linde, 1995). To generate winwin solutions that promote economic and environmental benefits, firms have begun to place a heavy emphasis on innovation, and in particular, on environmental innovation strategy (Amores-Salvadó et al., 2015; De Marchi, 2012; Doran and Ryan, 2012; Eiadat et al., 2008). Environmental innovation strategy is defined as “a class of manufacturing practices that include source reduction, pollution prevention, and the adoption of an environmental management system” (Eiadat et al., 2008, p. 133). The literature has recently given increased attention to the important role of environmental innovation strategy in helping firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage (Ambec et al., 2013; Eiadat et al., 2008; Lanoie et al., 2011). However, research examining the environmental pressures–environmental innovation strategy–performance relationship has been limited (Eiadat et al., 2008), and to date there has been little empirical investigation of the mediating role of environmental innovation strategy.

In addition, the influence of environmental innovation strategy on firm performance is not straightforward. For example, a firm that has higher capability to utilize its scarce resources to achieve the desired outcomes is likely to achieve higher performance (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000; Teece et al., 1997). Such “inimitable” capabilities often include superior knowledge about the market, customers, and supply chain network that is imperative to design and implement any environmental innovation strategy. Marketing capability, defined as the integrative process in which a firm uses its market knowledge, customer and supplier-sensing abilities, and relationship building with all its stakeholders is one such significant differentiator for the firm to achieve superior performance (Nath et al., 2010; Yu et al., 2014). Extant literature is rather limited to explore how marketing capability can moderate the environmental pressures–environmental innovation strategy–performance relationship.

To address the two research gaps, this study draws on two distinct theories. In order to understand the mediation role of environmental innovation strategy, this study uses contingency theory (CT). The fundamental premise of CT is that a firm can achieve superior performance by selecting an appropriate organizational strategy (such as environmental innovation strategy) to fit the environment (such as environmental regulation and stakeholder pressures) (Van de Ven and Drazin, 1985; Walker and Ruekert, 1987). Although CT has been widely used in the strategic management literature, its application to understand the mediation role of environmental innovation strategy is scarce (Eiadat et al., 2008). To explore the moderating role of marketing capability, this study uses dynamic capability view (DCV) theory. DCV states that a firm can achieve better performance if it can respond quickly to the dynamic changes in the environment (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1998; Teece et al., 1997). As changes in the environment represent the changes in competition, customer needs and other stakeholder demands, therefore understanding the influence of marketing capability is critical. Extant studies in DCV to explore the role of environmental pressures on firm performance often overlook the potential role of organisational capabilities such as marketing (Mariadoss et al., 2011; Weerawardena, 2003).