Environmental Differentiation and Competitiveness Cases in the food and drink industry
2003
Öström, Andrea
Due to the increasing expectation in society that companies act responsibly and take into account the constraints of the natural environment, there is a growing need to manage the environmental challenge in a way, if possible, that contributes to overall competitiveness. The purpose of this thesis is to identify how environmental initiatives contribute to competitiveness, considering a specific type of environmental initiative, namely environmental differentiation. A qualitative method was used and the research was based on case studies in the food and drink industry: the ecological product brand Änglamark of the food retailer Coop Sverige AB and the certified EMS of the dairy, juice and functional food producer Skånemejerier. The cases were analyzed according to the Positioning school of competitive positioning and the Resource-based view of competitively valuable resources. Environmental differentiation initiatives contribute to competitiveness by sustaining position and generating competitively valuable resources. An eco-brand sustains an environmental differentiation position of a retailer, as in the case of Änglamark. A certified EMS, as part of the holistic approach to safety, indirectly sustains the position of a producer with a value added and networking strategy, as in the case of the Skånemejerier. The ecological brand Änglamark has generated brand competences and the certified EMS has generated standardization know-how. Theses resources are difficult to imitate and substitute, and have valuable enduring potential, because they increase organizational learning, are applicable in other contexts and can have positive spin-off effects.
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