The dynamics of marketing ethical products: A cultural perspective

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide a cultural perspective on the organisational processes through which products with substantial ethical dimensions are developed and marketed. Drawing on qualitative research analysing one company's attempts to implement green marketing initiatives, the author illustrates the tactics that executives adopt in securing support and commitment for activities aimed at the marketing of ethical products. The emergent themes — image making, moral framing and narrative surfing — are considered to be important explanatory variables in understanding the internal dynamics of the marketing of ethical products. Moreover, they appear to provide considerable insight into the strategic and tactical choices made by organizations in implementing marketing plans in the marketplace.