Green marketing: Advantages and challenges for microenterprises in the city of Arica (Chile)

Abstract

Microenterprises are a relevant actor in all the economies of the world; their role and integration in the productive structure of countries have been recognized by different international organizations, in terms of contributing to employment, Gross Domestic Product, innovation, creativity, closer responses to market needs and, in general, as a means that allows the vulnerable population to cover basic needs. However, they are also entities that face a series of updating challenges, among which are those trends inherent to a society with requirements that change over time; thus, green marketing as a relationship between companies and the environment is one of those trends and challenges that microenterprises in particular must also incorporate. In the city of Arica (Chile), where this type of entities play a significant role in the economic activity, it was possible to observe, in an exploratory way, how green marketing is favorably identified by micro entrepreneurs, appreciated as an opportunity, valued as a means to improve the image of the company, appreciated as a competitive tool locally and internationally; however, it was also possible to gather from them doubts regarding the impact on their business results, on the response of the local market and on difficulties associated with the support of other social and environmental actors, as well as with the management of the microenterprise itself.