بازاریابی سبز و مصرف گرایی به عنوان تغییر اجتماعی در چین: تجزیه و تحلیل ادبیات  Green marketing and consumerism as social change in china: Analyzing the literature

1. Introduction The history of environmental degradation awareness in China dates back to the late 4th century BCE; Taoist philosophy portrays a harmonious man-nature relationship (Ip, 1983). As China industrialized Taoism’s philosophy was veiled. China’s economy soared after its opening to the world through its open-door policy in late 1978. This growth caused significant social change and placed extraordinary pressure on the natural environment and the wellbeing of its citizens. China is in early sustainable development and green management stages, but the future will see a maturing perspective on the social well-being of the average Chinese citizen. Given China’s large population, it represents the world’s largest consumer market and is the third largest waste producer in the world (Chan, 2008). Adopting green management and sustainable development practices in China should have a positive impact on its own environment and global green economy expansion. Green marketing is the context of this study. Green marketing is meant to cover the whole marketing field, serving as an overarching topic. Green marketing strategies and green consumerism are both under this green marketing umbrella. Green marketing issues in China show an integration of efforts from government, organizations and individual citizens. Initiatives from government establish a favorable social environment for the implementation and development of green marketing efforts. Industrial organizations and consumers both play a large supply-demand role in decoupling consumption and affluence from environmental degradation and a green economy (Gouvea, et al., 2013). Green marketing efforts from lower levels of analysis can be either initiatives from organizations or consumers. These two players impact and interact with each other. On the one hand, organizations select and introduce green marketing strategies to consumers, with consumers responding to green marketing strategies in their purchase behaviors. Alternatively, consumers present a market demand for green products. Accordingly, green marketing organizational strategies seek to fill the gap in the market. This China study shows a significant research and literature gap both from green marketing strategies at the social and organizational level and green consumerism from the individual level analysis.