Interactive Effects of Green Marketing Strategies and Competitive Capability on Performance of SMEs in North-East Nigeria

Abstract

In the face of rising competition and incessant calls for companies to devise means of reducing the negative impacts of marketing activities on the environment, this study explores the effects of green marketing strategies on organizational performance, with moderating effects of competitive capability within the SMEs environment. Using the descriptive survey design, primary data was collected from 208 respondents (mostly management cadre) of small and medium manufacturing firms in North-east Nigeria by means of a structured questionnaire. The Partial Least Squares – Path Modelling (PLS-PM) was employed in assessing the hypothesized model. Results indicated direct and positive effects of the three dimensions of green marketing strategies: ecology-oriented environmental actions (? = 0.311; t = 6.117), process-oriented environmental actions (? = 0.364; t = 5.233), and market-oriented environmental actions (? = 0.298; t = 3.042) on company performance. However, only two of the three moderated effects were confirmed as the interaction of competitive capacity and process-oriented environmental actions (? = -0.084; t = 0.893) was shown to be insignificant. The results provide various implications for managers, leading to suggestions for future researches.