Green Marketing - a Research Proposal
Project FOX
Fad or Expedient? - Perceptions of Consumers and Organisations on Green Marketing.
Mieke van Kaam
a research proposal – 22 April 2012
Table of Contents 1. Background 3 2. Problem statement 3 3. Research objectives 4 4. The scope and limitations of the proposed research 4 5. Literature review 6 5.1. Green fever –A load of Greenwash or not. 6 5.2. How green can you go? 7 5.3. Lets collaborate! 7 5.4. Consumer evolution 8 6. Research plan 9 6.1. Description of research subjects and design 9 6.2. Sampling plan 9 6.3. Instruments 9 6.4. Procedures 9 7. Proposed methods for processing, analysing and interpreting data 11 7.1. Quantitative 11 7.2. Qualitative 11 8. Timeline 12 9. Potential outcomes and conclusion 13 10. Reference list 14 11. Appendix A 15
Background * Green marketing is the product modifications and/or changes in production processes, * packaging and advertising, made by companies to ensure that the final consumer product * is environmentally safe. * This is a simple definition for green marketing, but how many consumers and organisations * in South Africa (SA) actually understand the essence of green marketing. And if they do, * what are their viewpoints on green marketing and how was it shaped? Do organisations see * it as a fad attribute that's merely added to a product to ensure premium pricing options * and eventually higher profits for the company or is it an expedient that we as * stakeholders can use to address the ecological and social realities of the marketing * environment? * The aim of the research project is to explore these issues and provide possible authentic * solutions or recommendations.
Problem statement * The main problem with the green marketing concept is that consumers find it difficult to * distinguish between real green products and fake green products or greenwashing. Based * on this presumption we can ask the following: *
Fad or Expedient? - Perceptions of Consumers and Organisations on Green Marketing.
Mieke van Kaam
a research proposal – 22 April 2012
Table of Contents 1. Background 3 2. Problem statement 3 3. Research objectives 4 4. The scope and limitations of the proposed research 4 5. Literature review 6 5.1. Green fever –A load of Greenwash or not. 6 5.2. How green can you go? 7 5.3. Lets collaborate! 7 5.4. Consumer evolution 8 6. Research plan 9 6.1. Description of research subjects and design 9 6.2. Sampling plan 9 6.3. Instruments 9 6.4. Procedures 9 7. Proposed methods for processing, analysing and interpreting data 11 7.1. Quantitative 11 7.2. Qualitative 11 8. Timeline 12 9. Potential outcomes and conclusion 13 10. Reference list 14 11. Appendix A 15
Background * Green marketing is the product modifications and/or changes in production processes, * packaging and advertising, made by companies to ensure that the final consumer product * is environmentally safe. * This is a simple definition for green marketing, but how many consumers and organisations * in South Africa (SA) actually understand the essence of green marketing. And if they do, * what are their viewpoints on green marketing and how was it shaped? Do organisations see * it as a fad attribute that's merely added to a product to ensure premium pricing options * and eventually higher profits for the company or is it an expedient that we as * stakeholders can use to address the ecological and social realities of the marketing * environment? * The aim of the research project is to explore these issues and provide possible authentic * solutions or recommendations.
Problem statement * The main problem with the green marketing concept is that consumers find it difficult to * distinguish between real green products and fake green products or greenwashing. Based * on this presumption we can ask the following: *