Developing environmentally conscious product strategies: a qualitative study of selected companies in Germany and Britain

Abstract

With the rise in environmental concerns among the stakeholders of businesses, firms are responding with strategic environmental marketing activities designed to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly processes, products and packaging. Part of an ongoing major research project being undertaken in Bradford Management Centre, empirically analyses the development of environmentally conscious product strategies (ECPS) in the broader framework of strategic environmental marketing. A multi-case study approach is applied and qualitative methods are used for the data collection in the UK and Germany. The data collected are analysed in terms of strategies (corporate and product level) and structure and processes (internal and external). Suggests that companies in the UK have started internalizing the ecological externalities into their product strategies and a few of them have actually achieved success. Identifies and discusses key factors for the achievement of both environmental and commercial success of ECPS.