Exploring a Three Parameter Environmental Assuredness Correlate of a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Firm Market Share Performance in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

IntroductionAs the twenty first century progresses, environmentalism remains a critical social and business issue. According to Abratt (2016), from the beginning of the 1980s, there have been ecological issues such as global warming, the greenhouse effect, pollution, and climate changes which are directly related to industrial manufacturing and this continue to affect human health. Due to the increase of environmentalism which has dominated the world, there has been a rise in consumer concern with regards to environmental protection and great demand for environmentally friendly products (Charter & Polonsky, 2015). Hence, most firms have begun to use environmental marketing and environmentally friendly product development strategies that can preserve the environment while satisfying consumers' preferences. The higher the environmental friendliness and safety of an organization's product, the higher would be the rate of customer loyalty to it. Therefore, an organization will improve sales, profit and market share by increasing the production of products that are non-toxic and harmless to the environment. Hence, environmental marketing has been linked to increase in firms' operational and commercial performance (Fraj-Andres, Martinez-Salinas & Matute-Vallejo, 2008). Similarly, Hasan and Ali (2014) in their study noted that there exists a positive relationship between green innovation, green promotion and the firms' performance.Furthermore, environmental marketing has gained massive popularity globally over the past several years and its influence has spread across every industry. Many companies are redesigning the way they do business in order to incorporate sustainable practices in their processes to produce goods or services that are environmentally friendly. Businesses in Nigeria are slowly embracing this green economy revolution. There is growing concern by the Nigerian government and the consumers over the environmental impact of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Related studies on environmental marketing practices in Nigerian firms clearly indicated that the concept of environmental marketing is still not being given full attention. A study done by Leonidou and Morgan, (2015) on environmental marketing strategy adoption by Nigerian FMCG firms concluded that Nigerian is still in the process of completely adopting environmental