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Drawing on the service-dominant logic and taking a multi-stakeholder brand value co-creation perspective, this paper aims to investigate whether positioning a place brand around sustainability helps or hinders stakeholders’ ability to co-create value for themselves and the brand.

This paper is based on a case study of Bristol’s city branding following its award of European Green Capital, drawing on 29 in-depth interviews with key informants from multiple stakeholder groups. These interviews are supported by secondary material and field observations.

The findings evidence a “tale of two cities”. When sustainability is used as a positioning device, tensions are identified across three elements of brand co-creation: brand meanings; extraordinary versus mundane brand performances; and empowerment and disempowerment in branding governance. These tensions create stakeholder experiences of both engagement and estrangement.

This paper is based on one case study and evaluates face-to-face stakeholder interactions. Future research could access further stakeholders, across multiple cities and also examine their digital engagement.

Positioning a brand as sustainable (i.e. green) requires strong commitment to other ethical principles in practice. Brand practitioners and marketers may benefit from advancing stakeholders’ everyday brand performances to reduce disillusionment.

Rallying around virtuous associations, i.e. sustainability, does not in itself facilitate the generation of value for stakeholders and the brand, but instead can illuminate power imbalances and tensions in stakeholder interactions that result in a co-destruction of value.

Environmental sanctions and pressure from governments and customers can play an essential role in driving the manufacturing industry to adopt more sustainable practices and reduce their environmental impact. Thus, this study explores how pressures from customers and governments influence sustainable firm performance and customer satisfaction through green production, green creativity, green brand innovativeness and green brand image in the Chinese manufacturing industry? Further, the moderating role of green knowledge was analyzed.

640 valid responses from the Chinese manufacturing industry were collected through web-based and physical surveys and later assessed through structural equation modeling.

The findings of this study validated the direct relationship between the proposed construct. Mediation analysis found the mediating role of green brand innovativeness, green brand image green and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the moderating impact of green knowledge was also proved.

The empirical findings of this research filled the literature gap on cleaner production and sustainable firm performance by focusing on green production, green creativity and green knowledge in the Chinese manufacturing industry context.

The case is meant for teaching business management students at the Postgraduate and Executive levels. It can be incorporated in the marketing management, entrepreneurship and international business course curriculum.

Since its inception in 2015, VAHDAM India had carved a niche for itself in the Global Tea Industry in a span of just seven years. The 29-year-old Founder-CEO, Bala Sarda was the first to create India’s largest born-global direct-to-consumer (D2C) premium wellness brand by bridging the gap between demand and supply of the country’s finest teas and superfoods globally. The venture also became a poster child for sustainability by strengthening its green credentials over the course of time.Having attained profitability in FY21, VAHDAM now aims to become a ₹500 Cr. brand by FY24. To push the goal across the line, channelisation of marketing will take centre stage. The case highlights the management’s dilemma of using green marketing as the pivot for increasing its market share in the emerging economies and boosting revenue. The underscored opportunities and challenges have to be addressed so as to formulate a green marketing mix suitable for the emerging market scenario.

Participants will develop an understanding about the evolving consumption landscape inclining towards eco-friendly wellness products and the relationship between green marketing mix, brand equity and its channelisation towards revenue generation. They will also get an overview of marketing challenges faced by a premium D2C wellness brand while entering an emerging market. The readers shall be able to analyse and suggest ideas for the formulation of an effective green marketing mix to meet the consumer expectations and achieve desired brand positioning.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

Utilizing the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework, this study examines how stimuli such as green sustainability efforts and brand image affect organisms namely brand experience and brand trust, leading to brand-related outcomes such as brand affinity, brand satisfaction and purchase intention in the soft drink industry in Singapore.

An online survey was administered to a total of 243 members of several Singapore-based Facebook groups. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results show the positive effects of green sustainability efforts on brand image, brand experience and brand trust. Brand experience affects brand satisfaction, brand affinity and purchase intention, whereas brand trust affects brand satisfaction and purchase intention. Moreover, the mediating roles of brand experience and brand trust are verified.

To build strong consumer-brand relationships, managers can elevate brand experience and brand trust through the implementation of green sustainability efforts.

This study adds to the body of green sustainability literature by verifying the mediating effect of brand experience and brand trust in the relationship between green sustainability efforts and brand-related outcomes. The study clarifies the direct and indirect antecedents of brand affinity, brand satisfaction and purchase intention.

The concept of positioning is fundamental to how a company approaches and succeeds in a market. Despite a growing body of literature on positioning, existing research has focused mainly on larger companies and brands. This paper aims to apply the concept of positioning to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) companies to explore how SME entrepreneurs understand and approach the positioning of their company, and what differences exist compared to large companies and brands.

Using a qualitative research approach, this study is based on focus groups involving 13 SME entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed using a qualitative structuring content analysis, which resulted in a newly developed and empirically based typology of SME positioning strategies.

The results indicate that SME entrepreneurs view positioning as highly relevant but differ from larger companies in terms of market and brand orientation. Building on the interviews, an empirical matrix of four positioning strategies was developed which SME entrepreneurs typically use: specialization, differentiation, conviction and opposition.

Based on the developed positioning typology, this study proposes a two-step approach for SME entrepreneurs: gaining clarity on the basic positioning dimensions and exploring four strategic fields of action.

Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of SME entrepreneurs' positioning strategies as important building blocks for market and brand success. The new positioning typology provides a conceptual contribution for further research in the marketing/entrepreneurship interface.

The current study was developed in response to the profound impact of ethical practices on the beverage industry. It aims to examine the mediating role of perceived brand trustworthiness in the relationship between brand social responsibility and brand positioning in the Tanzanian beverage industry.

The study adopted a post-positivist approach, as it encompasses a deterministic perspective where causes are believed to determine outcomes or effects. The study focused on customers of two major beverage companies in Tanzania, namely Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Data were collected from 458 customers and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The findings indicate that brand social responsibility serves as a valuable intangible asset, capable of establishing a competitive edge when integrated into the value proposition. Additionally, the results reveal that brand trustworthiness plays a mediating role in the connection between brand social responsibility and brand positioning.

The study employed a convenience sampling technique; hence, generalization of the findings should be approached with caution.

This study represents one of the few scholarly endeavors that explore the role of social responsibility at the product brand level in establishing brand positioning. By doing so, it contributes to the advancement of knowledge concerning the impact of brand social responsibility on building competitiveness within the context of today's competitive business environment.

This study aims to determine the antecedents that influence attitudes towards the use of environmentally friendly household appliance products and consumers' green purchase intention among consumers in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Data were collected from 329 consumers in Harare, Zimbabwe's commercial capital who were served from five using a structured questionnaire via an online web-based cross-sectional survey. Hypothesised relationships were tested through structural equation modelling with the aid of Smart PLS software.

Green product awareness, social influence, perceived benefit and attitude towards green appliances were found to have a significant positive effect on green purchase intention.

The study's findings may not be generalised to other contexts as sample data was only collected in Zimbabwe. Complementary cross-sectional research studies can be done in other parts of the world to enable cross-cultural comparisons and methodological validations.

The green appliance and energy saving practices are vastly growing, with many multinational appliance companies introducing green products within their product lines and adopting the concept of sustainability through modifications in production, design and consumption of household appliance products that encompass fewer harmful consequences on the environment in response to their concerns about the scarcity of natural resources, environmental well-being and the potential detriment of future generations.

Notwithstanding the limitations of the current study, the results have the potential to contribute to an improved understanding of influence attitudes towards the use of environmentally friendly household appliance products.

In the light of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, it is imperative for firms to adopt green practices. Green marketing is currently attracting the attention of people all over the world due to the growing awareness of the link between environmental catastrophes and unsustainable human activities. However, some aspects of green marketing, including green product experience, trust, satisfaction and loyalty, remain underexplored. This study aims to assess how green product experience and trust in green labelling influence perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty towards green products.

Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was used to analyse data collected from a survey of 578 consumers in Ghana.

The results indicate that consumers’ green product experience influences their green product satisfaction, perceived value and loyalty; and that consumers’ trust in green labelling influenced their green product satisfaction and perceived value.

This study contributes to the literature by providing useful insights into green product experience, trust in green labelling, green satisfaction and loyalty. The findings can assist brand and marketing managers in devising communication strategies that will generate the most beneficial perceived values of green products among targeted customers.

The study is among a few to examine the influence of green product experience and trust on perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty towards green products, particularly in the context of a developing economy.

This comparative research examines the factors influencing individuals' purchase intention toward green housing. By examining these factors, this study provides fruitful insights into the purchase intentions and behaviors for greenhouses among individuals of different age groups in India.

Data were gathered from Generation (Gen) X (313) and Generation (Gen) Y (297) using self-administered questionnaires. The “partial least squares structural equation modeling” was used to test the hypotheses.

The outcome shows that attitude and green trust substantially impact the green purchase intention of Gen X and Y. More specifically, environmental knowledge insignificantly influences the green purchase intention of Gen X while significantly influencing Gen Y. However, perceived risk insignificantly affects the purchase intention of both Gen X and Y. Consequently, green purchase intention substantially impacts the green purchase behavior in both studies.

This research focuses primarily on India; future research may be conducted in different geographical contexts. This study could also be extended to all age groups individuals.

The findings of this article facilitate policymakers, real estate developers and professional bodies in formulating strategies for sustainable nations in the future.

The current article is the initial empirical attempt to examine the home-buying decisions of individuals in India. Moreover, the role of Generation X and Generation Y in green housing purchase decisions will provide fruitful insights into how different age groups impact the decision-making process of green housing.

This study aims to investigate the intervening role of lean management (LM) in the direct relationships between green market orientation, green value-based innovation, green reputation and enterprise social performance.

Data for the study is carefully garnered from 217 managers in Ghanaian small- and medium-sized enterprises. The methodological technique used to validate all hypothesized relationships is partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The empirical results of the study suggest that although green market orientation has a positive impact on green value-based innovation, the effect is not significant. However, the results confirm that green market orientation has a significant positive impact on green reputation and enterprise social performance. The results further suggest that LM has a significant positive impact on green value-based innovation, green reputation and enterprise social performance. The mediation analysis provides empirical evidence to suggest that LM fully mediates the relationship between green market orientation and green value-based innovation. Lastly, the results of the mediation analysis suggest that LM plays a complementary partial mediation role between green market orientation, green reputation and enterprise social performance.

Despite the flourishing research on green market orientation in marketing management and environmental literature, no study has been carried out to explore the intervening role of LM in the relationships between green market orientation, green value-based innovation, green reputation and enterprise social performance. Thus, considering LM as a missing link between green market orientation, green value-based innovation, green reputation and enterprise social performance is a noteworthy research gap which this study fills.