GREEN BRAND POSITIONING FOR ORGANIC FOOD: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE WEBSITES

Authors

  • Mihai STOICA Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/subboec-2021-0014

Keywords:

green brand positioning, online environment, content analysis, organic food.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a perspective on the positioning bases of the green brands present on the organic food market. The research method is the content analysis of secondary data sources. The study was based on the analysis of the informational content available on the corporate websites of green brands in the portfolio of processing companies present on the Romanian market. This study identified 18 positioning bases for the investigated green brands. The positioning bases belong mainly to the category of attributes, these being in particular specific characteristics of organic food. The study notes the existence of specific positioning bases for organic food brands. The results can help practitioners to communicate brand positioning in the online environment by developing appropriate strategies.

JEL classification: M31, Q57, M10.

Author Biography

Mihai STOICA, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Marketing Department, Faculty of Marketing, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 6 Piata Romana, 1st district, Bucharest, 010374, Romania, Email mihai.stoica.91@gmail.com

References

Albalact. (2020) The official website of SC Albalact SRL for Zuzu Bio brand, Retrieved from https://zuzubio.ro.

Amin, M., Uthamaputhran, S., Ali, F. (2015) The effectiveness of green product positioning and marketing strategies towards purchase intention in Malaysia, International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 17(4), 516-528.

Asioli, D., Canavari, M., Pignatti, E., Obermowe, T., Sidali, K. L., Vogt, C., Spiller, A. (2014) Sensory experiences and expectations of Italian and German organic consumers, Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 26(1), 13-27.

Barrena, R., Sánchez, M. (2010) Frequency of consumption and changing determinants of purchase decision: from attributes to values in the organic food market, Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 8(2), 251-272.

Belz, F. M., Karstens, B. (2005) Strategic and instrumental sustainability marketing in the Western European food processing industry: Conceptual framework and hypothesis, Corporate Responsibility Research Conference, Leeds, University of Leeds.

Belz, F. M., Schmidt-Riediger, B. (2009) Marketing Strategies in the Age of Sustainable Development: Evidence from the Food Industry, Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(7), 401-416.

Bozga, N. A. (2015) Consumers behavior features upon the organic products in Romania, International Conference on Marketing and Business Development, Bucharest, University of Economic Studies Publishing House.

Bozga, N. A. (2017) Modele de marketing pentru produsele ecologice de origine agricolă. (Doctoral dissertation), Bucharest, University of Economic Studies.

Bozga, N. A., Cristea, A. (2016) Defining Primary Brand Associations for the Strategic Positioning of Certified Organic Products, International Journal of Sustainable Economies Management, 5(3), 37-50.

Brüggenwirth, B. (2006) The CSR brand positioning grid. In: Jonker J., de Witte M. (eds), Management Models for Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 140-146.

Bursan, R., Listiana, I., Ardeno, R., Bangsawan, S., Jimad, H., Mutolib, A. (2021) Consumer attitude toward using eco-friendly plastic bags: A green marketing approach, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

Chen, N. H., Lee, C. H., Huang, C. T. (2015) Why buy organic rice? Genetic algorithm‐based fuzzy association mining rules for means‐end chain data, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(6), 692-707.

Ćirić, M., Prodanović, R. (2013) Positioning strategy of organic food products, Ekonomija: teorija i praksa, 6(3), 33-48.

Dean, T. J., Pacheco, D. F. (2014) Green marketing: a strategic balancing act for creating value, Journal of Business Strategy, 35(5), 14-22.

Driessen, P. H., Hillebrand, B., Kok, R., Verhallen, T. M. (2013) Green new product development: the pivotal role of product greenness, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 60(2), 315-326.

European Commission. (2007) Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91. Official Journal of the European Union, 189(1), 1-23.

Fabrica de Lapte Brașov. (2020) The official website of SC Fabrica de lapte Brasov SRL for Olympus brand, Retrieved from https://www.olympusdairy.ro/

Fillion, L., Arazi, S. (2002) Does organic food taste better? A claim substantiation approach, Nutrition & Food Science, 32(4/5), 153-157.

Ginsberg, J. M., Bloom, P. N. (2004) Choosing the right green marketing strategy, MIT Sloan Management Review, 46(1), 79-84.

Gong, S., Sheng, G., Peverelli, P., Dai, J. (2020) Green branding effects on consumer response: examining a brand stereotype-based mechanism, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 30(7),1033-1046.

Hartmann, P., Ibanez, V. A., Sainz, F. J. F. (2005) Green branding effects on attitude: functional versus emotional positioning strategies, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23(1), 9-29.

Hartmann, P., Sainz, F. J. F., Ibáñez, V. A. (2004) Superando los límites medioambientales de la empresa: un estudio experimental del efecto del posicionamiento ecológico en la actitud hacia la marca, Cuadernos de gestión, 4(1), 83-95.

Haryanto, B., Budiman, S. (2014) The role of environmental knowledge in moderating the consumer behavioral processes toward the Green products (survey on the Green product-mind in Indonesian), Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 4(1), 203-216.

Hemmerling, S., Asioli, D., Spiller, A. (2016) Core organic taste: preferences for naturalness-related sensory attributes of organic food among European consumers, Journal of Food Products Marketing, 22(7), 824-850.

Hollensen, S. (2011). Global marketing: a decision-oriented approach (5th ed.), Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate Harlow.

Huang, Y. C., Yang, M., Wang, Y. C. (2014). Effects of green brand on green purchase intention, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), 250-268.

Insch, A. (2011) Conceptualization and anatomy of green destination brands, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 5(3), 282-290.

Iyer, P., Davari, A., Zolfagharian, M., Paswan, A. (2019) Market orientation, positioning strategy and brand performance, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 81, 16-29.

Jackson, K., Bazeley, P. (2019) Qualitative data analysis with NVivo (3th ed.), SAGE Publications Limited, London.

Janssen, M., Hamm, U. (2011) Consumer perception of different organic certification schemes in five European countries, Organic Agriculture, 1(1), 31-43.

Juwaheer, T. D., Pudaruth, S., Noyaux, M. M. E. (2012) Analysing the impact of green marketing strategies on consumer purchasing patterns in Mauritius, World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 8(1), 36-59.

Kapferer, J. N. (2008) New strategic brand management: creating and sustaining brand equity long term (4th ed.), Kogan Page Limited, London.

Krippendorff, K. (2013) Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (3rd ed.), SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Laia's Organic. (2020) The official website of Laia's Organic, Retrieved from https://www.laias-organic.ro.

Leonidou, L. C., Fotiadis, T. A., Christodoulides, P., Spyropoulou, S., Katsikeas, C. S. (2015) Environmentally friendly export business strategy: Its determinants and effects on competitive advantage and performance, International Business Review, 24(5), 798-811.

Lin, J., Zhou, Z. (2020) The positioning of green brands in enhancing their image: the mediating roles of green brand innovativeness and green perceived value, International Journal of Emerging Markets.

MADR (2018) Operators certified in organic farming in 2018, Retrieved from https://www.madr.ro/agricultura-ecologica/operatorii-certificati-in-agricultura-ecologica-2018.html.

Magnier, L., Schoormans, J., Mugge, R. (2016) Judging a product by its cover: Packaging sustainability and perceptions of quality in food products, Food Quality and Preference, 53, 132-142.

Matthes, J., Wonneberger, A., Schmuck, D. (2014) Consumers' green involvement and the persuasive effects of emotional versus functional ads, Journal of Business Research, 67(9), 1885-1893.

Mera, A. C. (2003) El etiquetado ecológico: Un análisis de su utilización como instrumento de marketing (Doctoral dissertation), Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz.

Mishra, P., Sharma, P. (2010) Green marketing in India: Emerging opportunities and challenges, Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education, 3(1), 9-14.

Naspetti, S., Zanoli, R. (2005) Consumers’ knowledge of organic quality marks, ISOFAR Conference on “Researching Sustainable Systems, Adelaide, South Australia.

Naspetti, S., Zanoli, R. (2009) Organic food quality and safety perception throughout Europe, Journal of Food Products Marketing, 15(3), 249-266.

Ottman, J. A., Stafford, E. R., Hartman, C. L. (2006) Avoiding green marketing myopia: Ways to improve consumer appeal for environmentally preferable products, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 48(5), 22-36.

Padel, S., Gössinger, K. (2008) Farmer consumer partnerships communicating ethical values: A conceptual framework (CORE Organic project no. 1897), CORE Organic, Tjele.

Petrescu, A., Oncioiu, I., Petrescu, M. (2017) Perception of organic food consumption in Romania, Foods, 6(42), 1-11.

Petrescu, D., Petrescu-Mag, R. M. (2015) Organic food perception: fad, or healthy and environmentally friendly? A case on Romanian consumers, Sustainability, 7(9), 12017-12031.

Phenalex. (2020) The official website of SC Phenalex SRL, Retrieved from https://www.phenalex.ro/.

Polonsky, M. J., Rosenberger III, P. J. (2001) Reevaluating green marketing: A strategic approach, Business Horizons, 44(5), 21-30.

QSR International. (n.d.) About cluster analysis. Retrieved from http://help-nv11. qsrinternational.com/ desktop/concepts/about_cluster_analysis.htm.

Quality Natural. (2020) The official website of S.C. Quality Natural S.R.L., Retrieved from www.valeputna.ro/.

Rahbar, E., Abdul Wahid, N. (2011) Investigation of green marketing tools' effect on consumers' purchase behavior, Business Strategy Series, 12(2), 73-83.

Rex, E., Baumann, H. (2007) Beyond ecolabels: what green marketing can learn from conventional marketing, Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(6), 567-576.

Ries, A., Trout, J. (2001) Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (20th Anniversary Edition), McGraw-Hill, New York.

Roman, T., Bostan, I., Manolică, A., Mitrica, I. (2015) Profile of green consumers in Romania in light of sustainability challenges and opportunities, Sustainability, 7(6), 6394-6411.

Roosen, J., Kottl, B., Hasselbach, J. (2012) Can local be the new organic? Food choice motives and willingness to pay (No. 322-2016-11302), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Saha, M., Darnton, G. (2005) Green companies or green con‐panies: are companies really green, or are they pretending to be?, Business and Society Review, 110(2), 117-157.

Schiffman, L. G., Kanuk, L. L. (2007) Consumer Behavior (9th ed.), Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Sidali, K. L., Spiller, A., von Meyer-Hoefer, M. (2016) Consumer expectations regarding sustainable food: Insights from developed and emerging markets, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 19(3), 141-170.

Steenis, N. D. (2019) Consumer response to sustainable packaging design. (Doctoral dissertation), Wageningen University, Wageningen.

Stoica, M. (2020) The profile of the organic food consumer in Romania: a review, BASIQ International Conference: New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption, Bucharest, University of Economic Studies Publishing House.

Stoica, M., Mehedințu, M., Stoian, M., Stancu, A., Filip, A., Roșca, M. I. (2020) The Organic Food Market in Romania, Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management International Conference, Bucharest, University of Economic Studies Publishing House.

Suki, N. M. (2016) Green product purchase intention: impact of green brands, attitude, and knowledge, British Food Journal, 118(12), 2893-2910.

Taherdangkoo, M., Mona, B., Ghasemi, K. (2019) The role of industries’ environmental reputation and competitive intensity on sustainability marketing strategy: Customers’ environmental concern approach, Spanish Journal of Marketing-ESIC, 23(1), 3-24.

Tjahjadi, B., Soewarno, N., Hariyati, H., Nafidah, L. N., Kustiningsih, N., Nadyaningrum, V. (2020) The Role of Green Innovation between Green Market Orientation and Business Performance: Its Implication for Open Innovation, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), 1-18.

Vietoris, V., Kozelová, D., Mellen, M., Chreneková, M., Potclan, J. E., Fikselová, M., Kopkáš, P., Horská, E. (2016) Analysis of consumer preferences at organic food purchase in Romania, Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 66(2), 139-146.

Viile Budureasca. (2020) The official website of SC VIILE BUDUREASCA SRL, Retrieved from www.budureasca.ro/.

Vlahović, B., Šojić, S. (2017) Positioning of organic food brands in consumers' minds, AgroEkonomika, 46(76), 105-117.

Voicu, M. C., Iliescu, E. M. (2015) Consumer’s Attitude Concerning Organic Foods, National Strategies Observer, 3(2), 139-149.

Voinea, L., Popescu, D. V., Negrea, M. T. (2015) Bune practici în educarea şi informarea noii generaţii de consumatori privind produsele alimentare ecologice, Amfiteatru Economic, 17(38), 357-375.

von Meyer-Höfer, M., Nitzko, S., Spiller, A. (2013) Expectation Gaps and Halo-Effects in Organic Food Positioning: Characteristics of Organic Food from a Consumer’s Point of View (No.25), Global Food Discussion Papers, Georg-August-Universitaet, Goettingen.

von Meyer-Höfer, M., Nitzko, S., Spiller, A. (2015) Is there an expectation gap? Consumers’ expectations towards organic: An exploratory survey in mature and emerging European organic food markets, British Food Journal, 117(5), 1527-1546.

Wang, H. J. (2016) Green Brand Positioning in the Online Environment, International Journal of Communication, Vol. 10, 1405-1427.

Wang, H.J. (2017) A brand-based perspective on differentiation of green brand positioning: A network analysis approach, Management Decision, 55(7), 1460-1475.

Willer, H., Lernoud, J. (Eds.). (2019) The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2019, FiBL, Frick, and IFOAM, Bonn.

Wilson, R. M., Gilligan, C. (2005) Strategic marketing management: planning, implementation & control (3rd ed), Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington.

Wright, S., McCrea, D. (Eds.). (2008) The handbook of organic and fair trade food marketing. John Wiley & Sons, Oxford.

Zameer, H., Wang, Y., Yasmeen, H. (2020) Reinforcing green competitive advantage through green production, creativity and green brand image: implications for cleaner production in China, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 247, 1-15.

Zander, K., Hamm, U. (2010) Consumer preferences for additional ethical attributes of organic food, Food quality and preference, 21(5), 495-503.

Zander, K., Hamm, U., Freyer, B., Gössinger, K., Hametter, M., Naspetti, S., Padel, S., Stolz, H., Stolze, M., Zanoli, R. (2010) Farmer Consumer Partnerships-How to successfully communicate the values of organic food, University of Kassel, Kassel.

Zanoli, R., Naspetti, S. (2006) The positioning of organic products: which way forward?, Retrieved from https://orgprints.org/7629/1/ZAnoli-Naspetti_Odense_06. pdf.

Downloads

Published

2021-12-30

How to Cite

STOICA, M. (2021). GREEN BRAND POSITIONING FOR ORGANIC FOOD: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE WEBSITES. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Oeconomica, 66(3), 57–76. https://doi.org/10.2478/subboec-2021-0014

Issue

Section

Articles