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Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Industrial Marketing Management

Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective☆

V. Kumar ⁎, Angeliki Christodoulopoulou 1
Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Center for Excellence in Brand & Customer Management, 35 Broad Street, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Sustainability is increasingly drawing the attention of scholars, policy makers, and companies, as the latter are
Received 15 January 2013 recognizing the necessity and opportunities of implementing sustainable practices in their operations. Marketing
Received in revised form 21 May 2013 plays a substantial role in both applying such initiatives and promoting them, which can be greatly supported
Accepted 15 June 2013
through brands. We suggest that firms can use their brands to promote the value of sustainability to their indus-
Available online xxxx
trial customers, consumers, and other stakeholders. This may be achieved through branding activities that em-
Keywords:
phasize the firm's sustainability practices and their impact on stakeholders. Expressing sustainability actions as
Sustainability the measurable and relatable outcomes they yield and associating them with brands have the potential to further
Branding facilitate this integration of sustainability and branding. A framework and guidelines for sustainability practices
Industrial marketing that may be employed in this process of integrating operations and marketing are discussed.
Integration framework © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction imperative, and corporations and individuals who are in a position to

help should do their share. Contrary to social concerns, environmental
More than 25 years ago, the Brundtland report emphasized the issues have been addressed more extensively, but the results are still
importance of sustainability for future prosperity, defining it as develop- poor. For example, although products have increasingly become more
ment that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the environmentally friendly and recyclable, the actual recycling that occurs
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World is minimal. As reported recently in the Washington Post, the plastic
Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 8). There is being recycled in the United States amounts to only 7% of total plastic
growing interest from firms in learning more about sustainability, used (Palmer, 2013).
which has driven the formation of a great number of organizations Operating in competitive markets requires businesses to develop
like the Sustainability Consortium that support such initiatives and contemporary, modern and state-of-the-art capabilities using enor-
provide useful information. MIT Sloan Management Review also has a mous amounts of energy, infrastructure and resources. However, over-
dedicated section with news and advice on sustainability. In addition, display of infrastructure, excess use of natural resources, or con-
the Global Reporting Initiative assists companies in reporting their ac- sumption of energy by any business raises sustainability concerns in
tivities towards sustainability and keeps records of these reports in its the minds of researchers and policy makers. While businesses rational-
Sustainability Disclosure Database. ize their excessive use of resources based on survival reasons, careful
Despite the fact that many companies from diverse industries – attention is needed to balance consumption and avoid crossing the
like Nokia, Caterpillar, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, and Starbucks – line to exploitation. “Organizations that are driven primarily by profit
recognize and embrace the concept of sustainability in their business, maximization will… eventually suffocate to death. Profit and purpose
there are plenty of social and environmental issues that still need to need to go hand in hand for an organization's survival and prosperity”
be addressed. The following statistics were reported in a recent Finan- (Govindarajan & Srinivas, 2012, p. 2). According to the authors, firms
cial Express article: The richest 1% of adults worldwide control 4% of should have a purpose to contribute value to the society, and therefore,
the world's assets, while the bottom 50% access only 2% of the assets shift from shareholder capitalism to responsible capitalism. Embracing
(Malhotra, 2012). It is important for companies to recognize that their this responsibility to the society and the environment, in addition to
actions or inactions impact the future prospects and that sustainability the shareholders, is at the core of sustainability.
is a passport to a secure future. Bridging the rich-poor gap is a business Differences in the needs of businesses and individuals require man-
agers to focus on the core concepts of sustainability and researchers to
consider the multidimensional nature of the field. Programs such as
☆ The authors thank Suraksha Gupta and Peter LaPlaca for the opportunity to work on The World Bank's Millennium Development Goals enable managers to
this study. The authors also thank Renu for copyediting the manuscript. identify future business objectives while considering policy-related is-
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 404 413 7590; fax: +1 832 201 8213.
E-mail addresses: vk@gsu.edu (V. Kumar), achristodoulopoulou1@gsu.edu
sues such as sustainability and influencing the quality of life of stake-
(A. Christodoulopoulou). holders. The anecdotes present the managerial perspective of market
1
Tel.: +1 404 413 7591. conditions and customer requirements, but their recommendations

0019-8501/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
2 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

lack academic rigor. This area of research is still gaining momentum and Linde (1995) explain how environmental practices can be very benefi-
practitioners are looking at academics for strategic directions to manage cial for firms, as they enhance resource productivity and foster innova-
sustainability while considering businesses on a global slant. As firms tion, and thus, lead to improved competitiveness. Furthermore,
race towards sustainability, the concerted efforts of operations and mar- stakeholders have been shown to play an important role in shaping
keting can provide substantial benefits and secure the external support sustainability actions of firms. The characteristics and environmental
of customers and other stakeholders. Therefore, we propose that such attitudes of communities where firms operate have an impact on envi-
support and increased firm performance can be achieved by integrating ronmental performance (Kassinis & Vafeas, 2006), while pressures by
the sustainability-geared actions of operations with a firm's branding external stakeholders can even affect environmental policy decisions
efforts, focusing in the business-to-business (B2B) context. about global standardization in multinational companies (Christmann,
2004). In addition, different environmental commitment levels – termed
2. Current research on sustainability as proactive, accommodative, defensive, and reactive – are associated
with different relative importance of stakeholder groups (Henriques &
Sustainability has been extensively researched by academics from Sadorsky, 1999).
many business disciplines, including management, marketing, and Further, extant research has focused on corporate social responsibil-
operations. The multidisciplinary nature of scientifically established ity (CSR), which closely relates to sustainability, but to a greater extent
knowledge on sustainability has generated a number of different to the social component than to the environmental component. Carroll
terms to describe some or all of its components, including sustainable de- (1979) described CSR as the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary
velopment, triple bottom line, green business, environmental manage- duty of companies towards society. He also introduced a corporate
ment, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate citizenship. social performance model that incorporates defining CSR, identifying
Responding to the need for sustainable practices, the International Orga- the related issues, and specifying a response. Another relevant theory,
nization for Standardization has developed the ISO 14000 family, a group corporate citizenship, views the social involvement of companies in a
of standards that provides guidance regarding environmental manage- more holistic way, conceptualized as “the role of the corporation in ad-
ment (International Organization for Standardization, 2004). ISO 26000 ministering citizenship rights for individuals” (Matten & Crane, 2005,
was also introduced in 2010 with an aim of offering guidance to compa- p. 173). CSR practices are becoming commonplace, even for small and
nies that want to implement social responsibility initiatives. It describes medium enterprises (Hsu & Cheng, 2012), as they are associated with
the main elements of social responsibility, which include: organizational positive outcomes. For example, CSR has an impact on multiple stake-
governance, human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operat- holder relationships, as research has shown that CSR initiatives are re-
ing practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and devel- lated with positive company associations and increased willingness to
opment (International Organization for Standardization, 2010). These purchase from, work for, and invest in the firm (Sen, Bhattacharya, &
components can be summarized as pertaining to the society and the Korschun, 2006). CSR is also related to better financial results; for exam-
environment. The theory of triple bottom line includes an additional ple, it was found to be positively related to market capitalization value
focus on the economy, in order to emphasize the financial benefits that (Pätäri et al., 2012). In addition, corporate social performance (CSP),
result from sustainability. According to the triple bottom line, companies which is the performance of a company in CSR initiatives relative to
should conduct their business in a way that respects the environment the competition, has a negative effect on firm-idiosyncratic risk (Luo &
and the society, while being profitable (Elkington, 1998; Savitz & Bhattacharya, 2009). Furthermore, a recent study found that the quality
Weber, 2006). In this paper, we refer to sustainability in accordance to of CSR reporting is negatively related to the cost of equity capital
the theory of triple bottom line, with social, environmental, and econom- (Reverte, 2012), especially for companies operating in industries that
ic dimensions. face environmental issues. These results indicate that both superior
A large body of literature revolves around the environmental aspect CSP and comprehensive disclosure of CSR activities can further boost
of sustainability, as it relates to corporate environmental policies, i.e., firm value, by reducing the risk associated with the firm as assessed
actions of businesses to mitigate their negative influence on the envi- by the investor community.
ronment, and the motivations behind them. For example, according
to González-Benito and González-Benito (2005), a transformation to- 2.1. Sustainability and operations
wards environmental sustainability can be done by implementing prac-
tices in three areas of an organization: planning and organizational Extant work on sustainability in operations is aimed at including en-
practices in the management area, operational practices in the opera- vironmental practices as a part of the overall operations strategy, to bet-
tions area, and communicational practices in the marketing area. They ter address issues like pollution control, waste minimization, reusing,
show that the areas of environmental transformation have different and recycling (Angell & Klassen, 1999). Research has shown that
determinants: ethical, competitive (operational or commercial), and re- reporting of environmental management practices (recycling, waste
lational motivations. Alternatively, Bansal and Roth (2000) identified reduction, remanufacturing, environmental design, and surveillance
three reasons why firms implement environmental initiatives as a re- of the markets) has a positive impact on firm performance, mainly
sponse to ecological concerns, namely competitiveness, legitimation, through improving product and process innovation indicators
and ecological responsibility. (Montabon, Sroufe, & Narasimhan, 2007). Further, Jacobs, Singhal, and
Researchers have also studied the impact of environmental sustain- Subramanian (2010) find evidence that environmental performance is
ability on firm performance. Research by Russo and Fouts (1997) re- associated with firm value. Specifically, they find that the stock market
vealed that firms that exhibit high environmental performance enjoy exhibits varied reactions following specific announcements of Corpo-
higher profitability, as expressed through their higher return on assets, rate Environmental Initiatives, which are self-reported, and Environ-
and this effect is stronger for those operating in fast-growing industries. mental Awards and Certifications, which are granted by third parties.
Furthermore, Bansal and Clelland (2004) found that firms that have While, increases in firm value result from environmental philanthropy
high environmental legitimacy – that is, firms that meet stakeholders' announcements and ISO 14001 certifications, there are decreases in
expectations for corporate environmental performance – show less firm value when firms publicize their actions pertaining to voluntary
unsystematic risk, compared to firms with low environmental legitima- emission reductions. Sarkis, Gonzalez-Torre, and Adenso-Diaz (2010)
cy. In addition, the latter firms can actually lower this risk component by found that there is a relationship between stakeholder pressures and
publicly expressing their environmental commitment, as supported by environmental practices, and it is mediated by employee environmental
their findings about firms that operate in industries with high environ- training, as seen in the context of environmentally oriented reverse lo-
mental impact (like chemical and paper industries). Porter and Van der gistics practices in the automotive industry.

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 3

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has also received con- Consumer environmental and social concerns are posited to drive
siderable attention in the operations literature. It has been shown preference for sustainable products and companies. In contrast to favor-
that GSCM practices have a positive influence on both environmental able consumer preferences for sustainable products, another stream of
and economic performance expectations of managers of Chinese research suggests that their perceptions about them are not equally
manufacturing and processing firms (Zhu & Sarkis, 2004). Moreover, positive, which is usually due to certain trade-offs (Barone, Miyazaki,
Rao and Holt (2005) find evidence that green supply chains are posi- & Taylor, 2000; Olson, 2013). Lin and Chang (2012) found that environ-
tively related to both competitiveness and economic performance. mentally friendly products are perceived as less effective than regular
Their concept of GSCM includes environmental initiatives in “inbound products, and this leads to their increased usage as a means to compen-
logistics, production or the internal supply chain, outbound logistics, sate for their perceived lack in efficacy. The effect is stronger for envi-
and reverse logistics,” in a firm's interactions with materials suppliers, ronmentally conscious consumers, but it disappears when the green
service contractors, vendors, distributors, and end users (Rao & Holt, product is supported by a credible endorsement. Similar perceptions
2005, p. 899). Further evidence of the positive impact of GSCM activities seem to hold for ethical products. Specifically, ethical products are not
(green purchase, investment recovery, and customer cooperation) on preferred when consumers place a higher importance in strength-
performance was evidenced by Chan, He, Chan, and Wang (2012). related attributes, but this effect can be countered by explicitly promot-
The authors found that this effect is driven by internal and external ing the product's effectiveness (Luchs, Naylor, Irwin, & Raghunathan,
environmental orientation, which highlights the role of managerial 2010). In addition, promoting a product through its ethical attributes
support in fostering pro-environmental corporate culture. Greener sup- can be beneficial in situations when self-accountability is entailed, as
ply chain operations can also be supported by incorporating sustainabil- evidenced in research by Peloza, White, and Shang (2013). Their find-
ity criteria into inventory models for reducing carbon emissions ings demonstrate how ethical benefits can enhance product preference
(Bouchery, Ghaffari, Jemai, & Dallery, 2012), and into life-cycle assess- in situations where buyers are accountable for their purchases, such as
ment tools, used in optimization of closed-loop supply chains, that can in public settings. We expect that this finding should hold to a great ex-
guide decision making while considering environmental, social, and tent in organizational buying too.
economic concerns (Matos & Hall, 2007).
3. Current research on branding for business-to-business firms
2.2. Sustainability and marketing
The dynamic environment of industrial markets indicates that a
Marketing research on sustainability has largely been related to ei- powerful brand, when supported by smooth operations, can drive suc-
ther the environmental or the social aspect of sustainability, which is cess in competitive markets. Research by Mudambi (2002) showed
sometimes referred to as green marketing and social or cause-related that branding may not be important for all industrial purchases, but it
marketing, respectively. In addition to sustainable practices in general, can be more than traditionally credited for. Specifically, branding was
marketing literature has also focused on sustainable products, which found to be important for buyers who are large and complex, and
include environmentally friendly or green products, and socially con- make purchases of high importance and risk. Further research in the
scious or ethical products. A list of organizational theories that may area indicates that B2B firms can benefit more from branding.
be applied in marketing sustainability research was proposed by Bendixen, Bukasa, and Abratt (2004) found that, although brand is con-
Connelly, Ketchen, and Slater (2011), which include transaction cost sidered less important than delivery, price, and technology, it still has a
economics, agency theory, institutional theory, population ecology, re- relative importance of 16%, which is a considerable amount. In addition,
source dependence theory, the resource-based view of the firm, upper the authors found that the presence of a strong brand can yield a price
echelons theory, social network theory, and signaling theory. premium, positively affect new product introductions, and boost will-
An extensive review of sustainability-related issues and research ingness to recommend among B2B customers. The relationship be-
streams in marketing is provided by Chabowski, Mena, and Gonzalez- tween price premium and brand image was also studied by Persson
Padron (2011). They develop a typology of sustainability capabilities (2010), who investigated brand image dimensions (like service and
that categorizes such resources based on their focus (internal vs. exter- company associations) as drivers of price premium.
nal), emphasis (social vs. environmental), and intent (discretionary, In a related study, Backhaus, Steiner, and Lügger (2011) found that
ethical, or legal), and suggest that sustainability initiatives can have an brand relevance, or the relative importance of the brand in the
influence on marketing assets. Indeed, research has indicated that CSR decision-making process, is positively related to the perceived risk of
can have an influence on consumer responses and firm value. Through the purchase and information search costs in B2B settings. In addition,
a series of experiments, Brown and Dacin (1997) found that CSR associ- their study, which spanned across 20 industries, showed that brand rel-
ations have an influence on the evaluation of new products. Moreover, a evance is slightly higher when the exchange requires high specific in-
study by Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) on the financial impact of CSR re- vestments from the buyer. Therefore, industrial customers place more
vealed that CSR initiatives have a positive effect on customer satisfaction importance in brands in order to reduce the information costs and
and, through it, on firm market value. In addition, they found that risks associated with the purchase, especially in important situations
returns on CSR depend on product quality (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006). that require higher dedicated investments, and they are willing to pay
In subsequent research, they further showed that higher CSP reduces a premium for it.
firm risk, especially for firms with higher investments in advertising
(Luo & Bhattacharya, 2009). 4. Integration of sustainability and branding
Another camp of researchers has discussed the role of marketing
in addressing sustainability through the environmental dimension 4.1. The need for integration
(Cronin, Smith, Gleim, Ramirez, & Martinez, 2011; Sharma, Iyer,
Mehrotra, & Krishnan, 2010), and through challenges such as responsi- Being characterized as the new business megatrend (Lubin & Esty,
ble consumption (Huang & Rust, 2011; Sheth, Sethia, & Srinivas, 2011). 2010), sustainability is clearly a matter of strategic importance. There-
Recognizing the need for restructuring marketing in response to fore, implementing sustainability practices should be guided by a com-
environmental concerns, Kotler (2011) predicts that the number of con- prehensive plan in the form of a sustainability strategy. This strategy is
sumers preferring to purchase from companies that care about sustain- the response of the firm to sustainability issues and a part of the compa-
ability is growing. We expect that B2B firms are also subject to pressures ny strategy. The strategy, structure, and performance (SSP) model can
from their distributors and customers, driven by this trend in consumer be applied to show how a sustainability strategy can lead to desirable
preferences. outcomes. Specifically, according to the SSP paradigm, strategy should

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
4 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

be supported by a suitable structure so as to drive performance 4.2. Integration through branding

(Chandler, 1962). For example, Miller (1988) showed how different
competitive strategies are related to specific organizational structures Integrating sustainability into branding can enable firms to appeal to
and environment conditions, especially for companies that perform clients that are concerned about sustainability, and thus, grant a com-
well. Chandler (1962) explains how changes in the environment of a petitive advantage. Research shows that CSR initiatives influence new
firm create the need for changes in strategy which, in turn, requires product evaluation through their impact on company evaluations
changes in the firm structure. Consequently, in order to respond to the (Brown & Dacin, 1997). We believe that this should impact the corpo-
sustainability megatrend, firms need to include sustainability in their rate brand as well. Similarly, sustainability initiatives, which may
strategy and support this strategy with an appropriate, improved struc- include social or environmental practices, can have an impact on the
ture; thus, they can reap the benefits of superior performance. corporate brand by creating sustainability associations. Such associa-
Developing a sustainability-capable structure requires making radi- tions are typically related to values of responsibility, social and environ-
cal changes across all of the departments of a firm, including research- mental stewardship, and morality. Therefore, industrial firms can have
and-development, production, finance, and marketing (Kotler, 2011). a better appeal to sustainability-oriented customers by implementing
Firms need to coordinate the implementation of sustainable practices sustainability practices in their operations, communicating these prac-
across these units in order to trigger synergistic effects and, thus, maxi- tices to their customers, and transforming them to associations that be-
mize returns. Moreover, they can gain a competitive advantage by pub- come a part of their brand image.
lishing information about these practices, regardless of whether they Ensuring that sustainability becomes an integral part of the brand
involve activities implemented in the firm's operations (production, can be realized through several marketing applications. For example,
supply chain, etc.) or activities performed outside of the firm (commu- it may involve communication of sustainability efforts and their out-
nity, stakeholder groups, etc.). Communicating these activities and their comes in advertisements, product packaging, and other promotional
outcomes to stakeholders is a function of marketing, whether it is real- material. Also, these efforts may be translated into sustainability attri-
ized through sustainability or CSR reports (Nikolaeva & Bicho, 2011) or butes of products, when possible. These tactics should certainly be
other communication devices. Therefore, it is suitable to support a sus- complemented with disclosure of sustainability efforts, including their
tainability strategy with a structure established on the integration of op- outcomes, in both company reports and dedicated sustainability re-
erations and marketing. ports. Through this process, firms can create sustainability-oriented
Indeed, current research indicates that integrating operations with brands and enjoy the recognition that follows them. Indeed, sustainable
the marketing activities of a company enables businesses to be, and be brands are increasingly being acknowledged. For example, Interbrand
seen as, more sustainable (Sharma et al., 2010), although this is a com- recently published its second annual report of the Best Global Green
plex issue for managers. One of the main reasons of this complexity for Brands. These rankings feature the top brands based on their environ-
B2B firms regards the organizational objectives of intermediaries. In mental sustainability performance and the associated consumer percep-
other words, apart from managing the adaptation and standardization tions. Such advantages further enhance the importance of employing the
of the marketing mix based on suppliers' functional requirements, in- brand to support the sustainability efforts of the firm.
termediaries need to consider their own rational requirements. Func- As demonstrated earlier, research shows how the sustainability
tional integration can facilitate this. Coordinating sustainable supply practices adopted by a company for managing its operations become
chain management and green marketing has been discussed by Liu, determinants of its strength, being positively related to indicators of
Kasturiratne, and Moizer (2012). In their proposed hub-and-spoke competitiveness and performance (Bansal & Clelland, 2004; Jacobs
model, marketing and supply chain are integrated though six points, et al., 2010; Porter & Van der Linde, 1995; Rao & Holt, 2005; Sen et al.,
called the 6P's, which include “product, promotion, planning, process, 2006). Firms can enjoy additional advantages by enabling their cus-
people, and project” (Liu et al., 2012, p. 583). tomers to understand these sustainability practices as brand-related
Still, businesses are struggling to clearly understand ways to values that have an influence on their lives. Brands should assess the
operationalize the integration of marketing and operations for becom- ecological and social requirements of customers and other stakeholders,
ing sustainable. We propose that such integration can be achieved and communicate the methods they adopt to create value through their
through branding. Various research studies that reflect on the operation effort to create a sustainable environment for people to live in. Interme-
of brands in competitive industrial markets are available, including diaries of brands that operate through industrial markets also engage
those previously cited. However, there is very little research that iden- themselves in co-creation and delivery of brand value to consumers,
tifies and discusses this gap in academic research and managerial by participating in sustainable practices adopted by the company.
practices from the perspective of business sustainability. Associating sus-
tainability to the brand is how marketing can support and promote 4.3. Branding to the skeptics
sustainability-oriented activities in operations, as illustrated in the frame-
work in Fig. 1 and further explained in the following section. Table 1 also It is clear that most companies are starting to appreciate the value of
provides a brief overview of past literature related to our framework. focusing on sustainability and have increasingly embraced it. Con-
sumers, on the other hand, are not always interested in such initiatives.
They may report caring about the environment, but they do not use in-
formation regarding sustainability policies of companies in their actual
Sustainability structure purchase behavior regularly because they perceive them as irrelevant
to them (Stafford & Hartman, 2013). This notion can be extended to in-
Operations dustrial customers as well; that is, sustainable actions of suppliers are
not always perceived as having an impact on business customers' and
Sustainability Sustainability intermediaries' bottom line and sustainability efforts. This can partly ex-
strategy Marketing performance plain why green practices in B2B supply chains are not as widespread as
in B2C supply chains (Hoejmose, Brammer, & Millington, 2012).
Companies operating in B2B settings need to transform this indiffer-
Branding ence of their clients into positive attitudes toward sustainability and
promote socially responsible organizational buying. This purchasing be-
havior is defined as one that “attempts to take into account the public
Fig. 1. Integration for sustainability — framework. consequences of organizational buying or bring about positive social

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 5

Table 1
Integration for sustainability — past literature.

Framework principles Relevant literature Key findings

Strategy, Structure, and Chandler (1962) When changes in strategy are required, changes in structure are needed in order to be profitable.
Performance (SSP) paradigm Lenz (1980) Environment–strategy–structure combinations are different between high vs. low performing firms.
Miller (1987) Organizational structure and formation of strategy are dependent and complimentary, and they contribute
to performance.
Wasserman (2008) The SSP paradigm can still be applied and explain firm performance in contemporary business settings.
Sustainability in operations Angell and Klassen (1999) Overview of the research in environmental practices in operations management and proposal of a research
agenda.
Dekker, Bloemhof, and Mallidis (2012) Comprehensive review of operations research focused on the area of green logistics.
Tang and Zhou (2012) Overview and classification of recent sustainability research in operations, with a focus on quantitative
models studies.
Sustainability in marketing Achrol and Kotler (2012) The sustainable marketing concept adopts a “biocentric” approach to balance consumption and resources
throughout the product life cycle.
Chabowski et al. (2011) Overview and classification of sustainability research in marketing and proposal of a research agenda.
Hunt (2011) Sustainable marketing from the perspective of economic growth and its intersection with resource-
advantage theory.
Menon and Menon (1997) Marketing can address entrepreneurship and environmental and social issues through an enviropreneurial
marketing strategy.
Sustainability in branding Ellen et al. (2006) CSR efforts that fit with the company's activities are perceived more positively by consumers, and lead to
higher purchase intentions.
Henderson and Arora (2010) Social cause programs enhance brand preference, especially in corporate brand vs. house-of-brands settings.

change through organizational buying behavior” (Drumwright, 1994, 4.5. Framework and implementation guidelines
p. 1). Sustainable organizational buying is being implemented slowly,
with public procurement being one of few such occasions, as evidenced In order to implement our framework of integration for sustainabil-
by Oruezabala and Rico (2012) in a public hospital setting. Promotion ity, we propose following the process outlined in Fig. 2. Table 2 also in-
efforts that publicize manufacturers' sustainability activities can help dicates some of the past literature that has discussed these elements
build a sustainability-oriented brand. In turn, this can enable the and how they are related that can provide further recommendations.
focal firm to be a part of their clients' socially responsible organizational We explain how to apply this implementation in the following steps.
buying.
Step 1 The first step includes assessing the issues the firm plans to ad-
Applying the suggestions by Stafford and Hartman (2013) on popu-
dress through its sustainability actions and creating a sustain-
larizing green activities, marketing can also focus on positioning
ability strategy based on them. Both the industry in which the
sustainability-implied characteristics into valued benefits, which may
company operates and the social and environmental concerns
even be unrelated to environmental or social concerns. Some examples
of all stakeholders should be taken into consideration when
of such benefits include: “cost and energy savings, health and safety,
better performance, status and prestige, convenience, bundling or
adding consumer value” (Stafford & Hartman, 2013, p. 32). Combining
such associations with sustainability associations has the potential to
further improve the brand. Identify Sustainability Issues

Strategy
4.4. Reporting measurable sustainability outcomes Form Sustainability Strategy

Companies should respect and preserve the communities, cultures,

and environments in which they operate through sustainability actions.
In addition, they should publicize these actions, as research suggests Apply Sustainability Initiatives
that reporting environmental activities (Jacobs et al., 2010; Montabon Operation
et al., 2007) and CSR activities (Reverte, 2012) improves firm perfor-
mance. When announcing these activities, companies traditionally re- Measure Sustainability Outcomes
port the amount of money they have devoted towards improving a
cause. However, we suggest that it is better to report the specific results
of their sustainability endeavors, instead of the monetary investment. Marketing Communicate Sustainability Initiatives
For example, in one of the states in India, 65% of the schools do not and Outcomes
have electricity, 95% of the schools have shared toilets for boys and
girls, and only 36% of the toilets have water (Pandey, 2012). A company Brand Sustainability
that has contributed in improving these conditions should communi- Create
Associations
cate its actions by focusing on the outcomes, using messages like Branding
“now X schools have electricity,” “we built X toilets in local schools,”
or “we provided water in toilets that serve X students.” Focusing on Build Brand Value
measurable and relatable outcomes can convert the sustainability
activities of a firm into values that are more familiar and relevant for
stakeholders. Thus, reporting sustainability outcomes can provide addi-
Firm Performance
tional value to the brand. Incentivizing outcomes rather than just ex-
penditures is a key to driving business innovations for a societal value
creation. Fig. 2. Integration for sustainability — implementation.

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
6 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Table 2
Integration for sustainability implementation — past literature.

Implementation steps Relevant literature Key findings

Sustainability strategy functions Henriques and Sadorsky (1999) The intensity and nature of environmental practices undertaken by firms is associated with the
(identifying issues) relative importance of their stakeholders.
Kassinis and Vafeas (2006) Environmental performance is influenced by the characteristics and environmental attitudes of the
communities where firms operate.
Zimmer, Stafford, and Stafford (1994) A summary and typology of consumer environmental concerns that can facilitate the formation of
green strategies.
Sustainability strategy functions Cronin et al. (2011) Firms can follow one of the following green strategies: green innovation, green alliances, and greening
(forming strategy) the organization.
Lubin and Esty (2010) Forming a sustainability strategy is one of the five critical areas that firms need to address so as to
succeed in the sustainability megatrend.
Sustainability operations functions Beard et al. (2011) Sustainability initiatives may be applied to many areas in a firm, as illustrated by some successful
(applying initiatives) company examples.
Merad, Dechy, Serir, Grabisch, Selecting the optimal sustainability initiatives for a firm can be facilitated through multi-criteria
and Marcel (2013) decision aid methodology.
Unruh (2008) The Earth's biosphere is a model for sustainable operations, providing three simple rules to guide
sustainability implementation.
Sustainability operations functions Keeble, Topiol, and Berkeley (2003) Measuring sustainability performance may be facilitated through the use of specialized indicators.
(measuring outcomes) Montabon et al. (2007) Measuring environmental performance is not uniform, and as such, it is challenging; MEPI project.
Sustainability marketing functions Maignan and Ferrell (2004) Marketing communications are important in enhancing the positive effects of CSR efforts on
(communication) stakeholder-firm identification.
Nikolaeva and Bicho (2011) Voluntary reporting of CSR activities is influenced by institutional pressures and communicators of
corporate identity.
Pomering and Dolnicar (2009) Firms should educate their customers about the CSR issues they are tackling, as consumer awareness
of CSR issues and initiatives are low.
Sustainability branding functions Brown and Dacin (1997) CSR initiatives create corporate CSR associations that can influence new product evaluation through
(creating brand associations) their impact on company evaluation.
Ellen et al. (2006) CSR efforts that fit with the company's overall activities lead to the formation of desirable corporate
associations.
Sustainability branding functions Henderson and Arora (2010) Social cause programs yield increased ROI compared to traditional promotions, especially in corporate
(building brand value) brand vs. house-of-brands settings.
Simmons and Becker-Olsen (2006) Social sponsorships that align with a firm's current associations have the potential to reinforce its
brand positioning and equity.
Brand value and firm performance Madden, Fehle, and Fournier (2006) High-value brands create shareholder value through increased financial returns and with lower risk.
Simon and Sullivan (1993) Brand equity accounts for a large portion of the market value of many firms.
Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey (1998) Brand value, as a market-based asset, can increase shareholder value through its positive influence on
cash flows.
Sustainability initiatives and firm Chan et al. (2012) GSCM activities have a positive impact on firm performance, especially for firms operating in highly
performance competitive markets.
Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) CSR efforts have a positive effect on customer satisfaction and, through it, on firm market value.
Montabon et al. (2007) Reporting of environmental management practices has a positive impact on indicators of product and
process innovation.

defining these issues. It is important to address issues that are efforts should be aligned with the firm's activities in order to re-
relevant to all stakeholder groups – including customers, em- inforce current and desirable corporate associations. Next, man-
ployees, investors, suppliers, and communities – in order to be agers should measure the outcomes of the sustainability
truly market-focused (Hult, 2011; Smith, Drumwright, & initiatives they apply. Besides providing a record to keep track
Gentile, 2010). After obtaining this information, managers can of these actions, this information can be used for reporting and
form a strategy that outlines the principles around which their facilitate the function of the brand, as outlined in the following
sustainability practices should be centered. Table 3 offers some step.
examples of sustainability principles and relevant literature. Step 3 The final step focuses on communication and managing the
Step 2 As the subsequent step, firms need to plan, implement, and mea- brand in order to connect the sustainability strategy of the
sure the results of their sustainability actions. First, specific envi- firm to superior performance. First, research has shown that
ronmental and social initiatives need to be employed. For “consumers' personal support of a CSR domain appears to be a
companies in B2B settings, sustainability can be implemented key determinant of their sensitivity to a company's CSR efforts”
through various practices, both in their operations and as sepa- (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001, p. 238). This implies that marketers
rate activities. Some examples that include sustainability in op- should identify the sustainability outcomes that are relevant to
erations and literature that has examined them are listed in stakeholders, based on their social and environmental concerns.
Table 4. This list is not exhaustive and new business practices This information should ideally be at their disposal in the first
that are geared towards sustainability are constantly invented. step of this framework, as it is useful for guiding the sustainabil-
Potential activities should be evaluated based on their integrated ity strategy formation. After the important sustainability prac-
viability and impact regarding operations, marketing, and sus- tices and outcomes are specified, they need to be consistently
tainability. Thus, selecting the most appropriate practices to sup- reported in all communications, such as company reports, spe-
port sustainability should consider their total impact to the firm. cial sustainability and CSR reports, advertisements, product
For example, research has shown that CSR efforts that fit with packaging, etc. Thus, customers and other stakeholders can be
the firm's overall activities lead to higher purchase intentions informed about the sustainability outcomes of the firm and con-
(Ellen, Webb, & Mohr, 2006), while social sponsorships that do nect them to the brand, thereby creating brand associations of
not align with a firm's current associations dilute its positioning sustainability, responsibility, and consideration. These associa-
(Simmons & Becker-Olsen, 2006). Therefore, all sustainability tions have the potential to enhance the brand image and build

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 7

Table 3
Sustainability principles — past literature.

Sustainability principles Relevant literature Key findings

Treating employees well Beard et al. (2011) Incorporating labor relations practices as part of a sustainability strategy is a valuable endeavor, as showcased by
Southwest Airlines.
Berger, Cunningham, and Employees of firms that form social alliances identify more closely with their employers and develop positive
Drumwright (2006) feelings.
Preserving the environment Hart (1995) The natural-resource-based view of the firm shows how environmental commitment can yield a competitive
advantage.
Kotler (2011) Firms should change their marketing strategies and practices in order to respond to the environmental and
sustainability issues.
Shrivastava (1995) Companies should embrace sustainability to address the environmental problems that have resulted from their
own activities.
Supporting philanthropy Porter and Kramer (2002) Focused and planned strategic philanthropy can grant a competitive advantage, by improving the firm's
competitive context.
Sen et al. (2006) Corporate philanthropy efforts are related with positive company associations for customers, employees and
investors of the firm.
Varadarajan and Menon (1988) Supporting philanthropy may be integrated with corporate performance through the use of cause-related
marketing programs.
Fostering human rights and Huang and Rust (2011) Sustainability has the potential to improve consumers' well-being by balancing consumption and increasing
well-being charitable aid to poor countries.
Sheth et al. (2011) Sustainability, as environmental, personal and economic well-being of the consumer, can result from exercising
mindful consumption.
Resolving societal and Crittenden, Crittenden, Ferrell, Societal engagement enables firms to both “give back” to the society and enjoy a competitive advantage.
community issues Ferrell, and Pinney (2011)
White and Lee (2009) The social dimension of sustainability can be addressed through operations, as shown in the case of designing a
sustainable city.
Respecting cultural differences Strizhakova and Coulter (2013) Global cultural identity moderates the effect of materialism on “green” tendencies of consumers in both emerging
and developed markets.

Table 4
Sustainability practices for B2B firms — past literature.

Sustainability practices Relevant literature Key findings

Adopting a green supply chain Hoejmose et al. (2012) Adopting GSCM is not as common in B2B as in B2C supply chains, as it requires greater
partner trust and top management support.
Zhu and Sarkis (2004) Implementing GSCM has a positive influence on both environmental and economic
performance expectations of managers.
Advocacy of green products for driving demand Lin and Chang (2012) Supporting environmentally friendly products with a credible endorsement reduces their
perceived lack in effectiveness.
Stafford and Hartman (2013) Green characteristics should be positioned as valued benefits, which may even be
unrelated to sustainability, so as to appeal to consumers.
Participation of B2B customers in sustainability Dekker et al. (2012) The impact of products on the environment throughout their life cycle involves their
initiatives — life cycle management transportation and storage as well.
Matos and Hall (2007) Incorporating sustainability criteria into life cycle assessment for optimization of closed-
loop supply chains, can aid decision making.
Participation of B2B customers in sustainability Chouinard, Ellison, and Ridgeway (2011) Developing value chain indices in the supply chain can help lower the impact of products
initiatives — value chain management throughout their life cycle.
Hartman and Stafford (1998) “Enviropreneurial” value chain strategies can be successfully implemented through
green alliances.
Collaborative efforts for optimum usage Cheng and Sheu (2012) The desire to develop and maintain relationships with green supply chain partners is
of resources positively related with collaborative strategy quality.
Gold, Seuring, and Beske (2010) Sustainable supply chains have the potential to grant a competitive advantage by
developing inter-firm resources.
Innovation using less resources Martin and Kemper (2012) Solving the environmental crisis requires both restraint and innovation.
Porter and Van der Linde (1995) Innovation through enhanced resource productivity can improve competitiveness while
protecting the environment.
Sharma and Iyer (2012) Resource-constrained product development reduces the impact of the supply chain
while contributing to green marketing efforts.
Sustainable product design Chen, Zhu, Yu, and Noori (2012) Evaluating sustainable product designs through Data Envelopment Analysis can reduce
trade-offs related to environmental attributes.
Dangelico and Pujari (2010) Developing green products can be achieved through energy minimization, materials
reduction, and/or pollution prevention.
Remanufacturing and recycling Sarkis (2001) Description of recycling, remanufacturing and reuse practice examples and required
manufacturing capabilities.
Sharma et al. (2010) The role of marketing in supporting recycling, remanufacturing, and build-to-order
manufacturing sustainability strategies.
Risk management through engagement Bansal and Clelland (2004) Firms that report environmental performance and meet stakeholders' expectations show
and reporting less unsystematic risk.
Luo and Bhattacharya (2009) Corporate social performance has a negative effect on firm risk, especially for firms with
higher investments in advertising.
Reverte (2012) The quality of CSR reporting is negatively associated to the cost of equity capital,
especially in industries with environmental issues.
Efficient and eco-friendly transportation Dekker et al. (2012) Comprehensive review focused on research in green logistics, which also involves eco-
networks friendly transportation.

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
8 V. Kumar, A. Christodoulopoulou / Industrial Marketing Management xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

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agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008
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V. Kumar (VK) is the Regents' Professor, Lenny Distinguished Chair Professor of Market-
10.2307/1251799.
ing, Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Brand & Customer Management,
Stafford, E. R., & Hartman, C. L. (2013). Promoting the value of sustainably minded pur-
and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Marketing at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business
chase behaviors. Marketing News, 47(1), 28–33.
of Georgia State University. He has been recognized with seven lifetime achievement
Strizhakova, Y., & Coulter, R. A. (2013). The “green” side of materialism in emerging BRIC and
awards in Marketing, the Paul D Converse Award, the Sheth Foundation/JM Long Term Im-
developed markets: The moderating role of global cultural identity. International Journal
pact Award, and the Gary L Lilien ISMS-MSI Practice Prize Award. He has published over
of Research in Marketing, 30(1), 69–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.08.003.
200 articles and books in many scholarly journals in marketing including the Harvard
Tang, C. S., & Zhou, S. (2012). Research advances in environmentally and socially sustainable
Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing
operations. European Journal of Operational Research, 223(3), 585–594. http://dx.doi.org/
Research, Marketing Science, Management Science and Operations Research. VK leads
10.1016/j.ejor.2012.07.030.
the marketing science to marketing practice initiative at the INFORMS Society for Market-
Unruh, G. C. (2008). The biosphere rules. Harvard Business Review, 86(2), 111–117.
ing Science and has worked with Global Fortune 1000 firms to maximize their profits. Fi-
Varadarajan, P. R., & Menon, A. (1988). Cause-related marketing: A coalignment of mar-
nally, VK has been chosen as a Legend in Marketing where Dr. Kumar's work is published
keting strategy and corporate philanthropy. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 58–74.
in a 10 volume encyclopedia with commentaries from scholars worldwide.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1251450.
Wasserman, N. (2008). Revisiting the strategy, structure, and performance paradigm: The
case of venture capital. Organization Science, 19(2), 241–259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/
orsc.1070.0309. Angeliki Christodoulopoulou is a Ph.D. candidate in Marketing at the Center for Excel-
White, L., & Lee, G. J. (2009). Operational research and sustainable development: lence in Brand & Customer Management at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business of
Tackling the social dimension. European Journal of Operational Research, 193(3), Georgia State University. She has earned an MSc (with distinction) in Marketing Manage-
683–692. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2007.06.057. ment from the Rotterdam School of Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam and a
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our common future. Oxford, BSc in Marketing and Communication from the Athens University of Economics and Busi-
New York: Oxford University Press. ness. Her current research interests include sustainability, customer referrals, and branding.

Please cite this article as: Kumar, V., & Christodoulopoulou, A., Sustainability and branding: An integrated perspective, Industrial Marketing Man-
agement (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.06.008