A Survey of the extent to which manufacturing firms in Nairobi practice green marketing

Abstract

Environmental marketing has gained momentum over the years to levels beyond. Customer awareness, competition and government legislation have been key drivers of going green the world over. The main objectives of this study were two. One, to establish the extent to which manufacturing firms in Nairobi practice green marketing and two, the factors that influence the practice of green marketing. To aid in this study, a survey of firms in Nairobi was undertaken using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered by a 'drop and pick later' method. The questionnaire was selected because of the low cost associated with its use compared to other methods and the high degree of anonymity it gives to respondents who consider certain responses as sensitive. The population of the study was all manufacturing firms in Nairobi, the sampling frame being provided by two directories, The Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory and Kenya Directory of Manufacturing Industries. Forty (40) firms were selected for the study. The respondents were middle level managers with responsibility in the production functions. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics to make the information more understandable. The respondents were from firms that were either wholly foreign owned or largely foreign owned. The study findings showed that the extent to which manufacturing firms practice green marketing in Nairobi is appreciable and that this concept plays a key role in driving the manufacturing processes, pricing, positioning and promotion of products. The results also revealed that customer awareness, competitive activity, government legislation, growth opportunities and the need to prepare themselves for future markets drive the greening initiatives. Management commitment is crucial in any greening activities as it is at this level that strategic decisions are made. However, certain limitations are evident. The fact that the study was restricted to Nairobi does not provide good measure of the practice in Kenya as whole. Incidences of reluctance by prospective respondents due to certain fears also jeopardize the study. This notwithstanding there are suggestions for further research. The research focussed on manufacturers, but it would be of interest to find out what the customers themselves feel. Another area of study would be to look at locally owned firms, to find out their approach to this issue.