Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

, Volume 39, Issue 1, pp 1–6 | Cite as

Market-focused sustainability: market orientation plus!

Editorial
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The concept of sustainability is increasingly being addressed theoretically by scholars and practically by managers and policymakers. With this growing focus on sustainability efforts, marketing is in a unique position to elevate its focus from managing relationships with customers to strategically managing a broader set of marketplace issues. Overall, an organization achieves market-based sustainability to the extent that it strategically aligns itself with the market-oriented product needs and wants of customers and the interests of multiple stakeholders concerned about social responsibility issues involving economic, environmental, and social dimensions. To set the stage for marketing’s inquiry into sustainability efforts, I briefly review the concept of sustainability, compare it with corporate social responsibility, bring in stakeholders, argue for the notion of “market orientation plus,” and consider the possibility that the notion of what sustainability encompasses is converging in the marketing literature.

Keywords

Sustainability Corporate social responsibility Market orientation Stakeholders Marketing Strategy 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

I appreciate the input provided by O.C. Ferrell, David J. Ketchen, Jr., and Jeannette Mena in the process of composing this paper. The Center for International Business Education and Research in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University provided the resources to engage in this project.

References

  1. Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. von Bertalanffy, L. (1969). General systems theory: Foundations, development, applications. New York: George Braziller, Inc.Google Scholar
  3. Boyd, C. (2001). Sustainability is Good Business. OECD Observer, September, 35. http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/printpage.php/aid/546/Sustainability_is_good_business.html.
  4. Center for Sustainable Enterprise. (2010). http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/cse/cse-overview.cfm. Accessed 1 September 2010.
  5. Chabowski, B. R., Mena, J. A., & Gonzalez-Padron, T. L. (2011). The structure of sustainability research in marketing, 1958–2008: a basis for future research opportunities. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 55–70.Google Scholar
  6. Clarkson, M. (1995). A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 92–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Closs, D. J., Speier, C., & Meacham, N. (2011). Sustainability to support end-to-end value chains: the role of supply chain management. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 101–116.Google Scholar
  8. Connelly, B. L., Ketchen, D. J., & Slater, S. F. (2011). Toward a theoretical toolbox for sustainability research in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 86–100.Google Scholar
  9. Crittenden, V. L., Crittenden, W. F., Ferrell, L. K., Ferrell, O.C., & Pinney, C. (2011). Market-oriented sustainability: a conceptual framework and propositions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 71–85.Google Scholar
  10. Cronin, J. J., Smith, J. S., Gleim, M. R., Martinez, J., & Ramirez, E. (2011). Sustainability-oriented marketing strategies: an examination of stakeholders and the opportunities they present. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 158–174.Google Scholar
  11. Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Engardio, P., Capell, K., Carey, J., & Hall, K. (2007). Beyond the green corporation: imagine a world in which eco-friendly and socially responsible practices actually help a company’s bottom line. it’s closer than you think. Businessweek, January 29, 50.Google Scholar
  13. Ferrell, O. C., Gonzalez-Padron, T. L., Hult, G. T. M., & Maignan, I. (2010). From market orientation to stakeholder orientation. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 29(1), 93–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Marshfield: Pitman Publishing Inc.Google Scholar
  15. Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., Wicks, A. C., Parmar, B. L., & de Colle, S. (2010). Stakeholder theory: The state of the art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  16. Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine, September 13.Google Scholar
  17. Huang, M.-H., & Rust, R. T. (2011). Sustainability and consumption. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 40–54.Google Scholar
  18. Hult, G. T. M., & Ketchen, D. J. (2001). Does market orientation matter? A test of the relationship between positional advantage and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 22(9), 899–906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Hult, G. T. M., Ketchen, D. J., & Nichols, E. L. (2002). An examination of cultural competitiveness and order fulfillment cycle time within supply chains. Academy of Management Journal, 45(3), 577–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Hunt, S. D. (2011). Sustainable marketing, equity, and economic growth: a resource-advantage, economic freedom approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 7–20.Google Scholar
  21. Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Johnson, R. L. (2009). Organizational motivations for going green or profitability versus sustainability. The Business Review, 13(1), 22–28.Google Scholar
  23. Kast, F. E., & Rosenzweig, J. E. (1972). General systems theory: applications for organization and management. Academy of Management Journal, 15(4), 447–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Ketchen, D. J., Hult, G. T. M., & Slater, S. F. (2007). Toward greater understanding of market orientation and the resource-based view. Strategic Management Journal, 28(9), 961–964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). Implicit and explicit CSR: a conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424.Google Scholar
  26. Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Nikolaeva, R., & Bicho, M. (2011). The role of institutional and reputational factors in the voluntary adoption of corporate social responsibility standards. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 136–157.Google Scholar
  28. Peloza, J., & Shang, J. (2011). How corporate social responsibility activities create value for stakeholders? A systematic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 117–135.Google Scholar
  29. Scott, W. R. (1981). Developments in organization theory, 1960–1980. The American Behavioral Scientist, 24(3), 407–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Scott, W. R. (2005). Institutional theory: Contributing to a theoretical research program. In K. G. Smith & M. A. Hitt (Eds.), Great minds in management: The process of theory development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  31. Sheth, J. N., Sethia, N. K., & Srinivas, S. (2011). Mindful consumption: A customer-centric approach to sustainability. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 21–39.Google Scholar
  32. Smith, N. C. (2010). Bounded goodness: marketing implications of Drucker on corporate social responsibility. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37(1), 73–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Strong, C. (1997). The problems of translating fair trade principles into consumer purchase behavior. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 15(1), 32–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. van Dam, Y. K., & Apeldoorn, P. A. C. (1996). Sustainable marketing. Journal of Macromarketing, 16(2), 45–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Varadarajan, R. (2010). Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 119–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Wood, D. J. (1991). Corporate social performance revisited. Academy of Management Review, 16, 691–718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Academy of Marketing Science 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Marketing and International Business, The Eli Broad College of BusinessMichigan State UniversityEast LansingUSA

Personalised recommendations