Developing a Green Digital Marketing Model in the Business-to-Business Sector

Introduction:
Digital transformation has had a significant impact on all elements of business, and the field of marketing is no exception to this rule. The development of businesses based on information technology, the presence of online shopping channels, changes in customer behavior, and the introduction of digital innovations every day have led business conditions in the right direction. According to the World Economic Forum, environmental degradation is a major global issue that must be addressed, and the importance of environmental orientation is increasing. However, the organizational trend towards green marketing for sustainability requires a fundamental revision in production and sales practices. While digital marketing and green marketing are key concepts in the modern era of marketing, not many attempts have been made to provide a model that integrates both concepts. In this regard, presenting a comprehensive and coherent model to explain how to align green marketing actions and digital marketing tools makes perfect sense. The main problem of the current research can be conceptualized in terms of the following: 1) the small contribution of digital marketing studies in the B2B field compared to the research conducted in B2C businesses; 2) focusing on the concepts of digital marketing and green marketing in the form of separate concepts in previous research and the lack of models that connect these two categories at the same time; and 3) the problems of the country's industrial companies, both in the field of digital marketing and in line with environmental measures. According to the above content, it is clear that there is a need for a model to explain how to use digital marketing tools in line with environmental goals in the B2B field. With these explanations, the current research is conducted with the aim of presenting a model of green digital marketing development in the business sector. The knowledge-enhancing contribution of this research is that it not only examines “digital marketing” in the B2B field, but also explains the concept of green marketing in the form of digital tools, a category that is really lacking in domestic literature. This research has been done with the aim of providing a green digital marketing development model in the business sector.
 
Methodology:
Considering that the main purpose of this research is to present the development model of green digital marketing in the trade-business sector, it can be said that the current research is in the scope of development research in terms of its purpose. In terms of approach, this research is an exploratory study. Using the qualitative approach, dimensions, components, and indicators affecting digital marketing in the business sector and the research model are designed. In the following, the interpretive structural modeling (IS) method has been used to stratify the variables. In order to design the model, a group of marketing experts, including university professors and managers of industrial companies, have been selected and interviewed. Sampling has been done using the snowball method. The sampling of experts in this research has continued until the discovery and analysis process reaches the theoretical saturation point. This research has reached theoretical saturation by conducting 15 interviews. In the present research, according to the topic and research objectives, a semi-structured interview method was used. In order to determine the validity and reliability of the interviews, two methods of re-testing and double-coder agreement were used. In this research, thematic analysis methods were used to analyze qualitative data. Data analysis has been done in the qualitative section using MAXQDA software.
 
Findings:
Data analysis was done in the qualitative phase with the thematic analysis method and in the quantitative part with the interpretive structural modeling method. Based on the results obtained in the qualitative phase, overarching themes, including organizational factors, socio-cultural factors, legal factors, marketing factors, and financial factors, were identified. Based on the results of interpretative structural modeling, competitive advantage at the first level, variables of capital attraction and cost and income performance at the second level, customer orientation variables at the third level, variables of social networks and digital channels at the fourth level, rules and regulations, organizational culture, and education. And learning is at the fifth level, and finally, the organization's green orientation is at the sixth level.
 
Discussion and Conclusion:
In confirmation of this finding, Shaukat & Ming (2022) also introduced the green orientation of industrial companies as a key factor in improving the performance of these companies. In confirmation of this finding, Shaukat & Ming (2022) also introduced the green orientation of industrial companies as a key factor in improving the performance of these companies. The results obtained in this research in relation to organizational factors agree with the findings of Setkute & Dibb (2022); Srivastava et al. (2022); Matt et al. (2015); Behra et al. (2022); and Dunakhe et al. (2022). Socio-cultural factors have been among other overarching themes identified in the green digital marketing development model in the trade-business sector. While many business organizations focus on the technological aspects of digital transformation, there is no doubt that culture is the most important key to digital marketing success. Culture represents a common set of accepted values and behaviors of an organization that defines how to make decisions and implement strategies. The results obtained in relation to socio-cultural factors with Varshani's findings (2020), Roth et al. (2020), Wright et al. (2019), Cartwright et al. (2021), Zamani et al. (2022), Mesibi et al. (2022), and Rostamzad (2021) agree. Legal factors have been among other overarching themes identified in the development pattern of green digital marketing in the business-to-business sector. To explain this finding, we can refer to the results obtained in one of the research studies last year. According to Lau (2022), only 27% of consumers fully understand how companies use their personal information, and 86% want more transparency. The results obtained in relation to the legal factors of B2B digital green marketing with the results reported by Hein et al. (2022), Jones et al. (2022), Pandey et al. (2020), Behra et al. (2022), Safavi and Mousaviyan (2019); Noami, Yazdanfar, Azad (2018), and Donake et al. (2022) are consistent. Marketing factors have been among other overarching themes identified in the green digital marketing development model in the business-business sector. In relation to these factors, we can mention components such as customer orientation and the use of social media channels as a tool to develop B2B digital green marketing. In fact, this result indicates the priority of customer-oriented and customer-oriented market orientation for all strategies of the organization in line with the development of B2B digital green marketing. This research, with the findings of Varshani (2020), Roth et al. (2020), Wright et al. (2019), Cartwright et al. (2021), Li et al. (2022), and Joss (2022), is consistent. Financial factors have been one of the other overarching themes identified in the green digital marketing development model in the business-to-business sector. Financial management has a central role in companies and is effective in budgeting, financing in financial markets, and evaluating capital and marketing projects. This finding is consistent with the results of Srivastava et al. (2022); Cartwright et al. (2021); Ghorbani and colleagues (2022); Zamani et al. (2022); Saura et al. (2020); Shankar et al. (2022); and Setkute & Dibb (2022).