The impact of marketing innovation on companies’ environmental orientation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between companies’ marketing innovation and environmental orientation and to determine how this relationship differs between manufacturing and service companies. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses secondary data from the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) to look at 6,435 Spanish companies during the 2013-2015 period. To examine the contingency effect of the activity sector, the sample is divided into two subsamples: manufacturing companies and service companies. Partial least squares path modeling is used to test and validate the research model and proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results show there is a statistically significant negative relationship between marketing innovation and environmental orientation. Significant differences were also found between manufacturing and service companies depending on the companies’ activity sector and size. Practical implications: The analyzed manufacturing and service companies still use traditional marketing and have yet to embrace the “green marketing” or “marketing 3.0” concept. The marketing innovations a company undertakes should be positively, rather than negatively, related to its environmental orientation. In today’s companies, the two actions must go hand in hand. Originality/value: Most studies on environmental orientation have focused on its relationship with technological innovation. In this sense, it is important to analyze its relationship with marketing innovation as well, as nowadays, when consumers are deciding between different companies’ products, they look for “companies with values.” Companies thus need to engage in environmentally oriented marketing innovation.