BOOK REVIEWS
to challenge larger firms in mature markets. Research
findings (c), (d), (f) and (g) seem to be relevant in such a
reading, as they relate to new product development as
a means for revitalizing mature markets.
There is more in this study than the authors have
extracted here, and there is an interesting and relevant
question that can be addressed with the sort of work that
they undertook, but the definite analysis still has to be
made.
Frank den Hond
Institute for Environmental Studies
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
CORPORATE STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING
by Roger Bennett, 1996. Pitman Publishing, vii + 360 pp,
£14.99 (pbk). ISBN 0 7121 1052 6
Roger Bennett’s book fills the void in the market for
introductory strategy textbooks because of its inclusion of
social and ethical issues. The book is an excellent text for
a short beginning course in business strategy, and with
supplementary articles can serve as a primary text for a
lower level undergraduate course. Practitioners may find the
book to be useful in providing an overview of the field. All
essential business strategy topics can be found in this book.
However, as the book is written with the target readers as
the students, practitioners may be disappointed by its lack
of depth. This is a common flaw in textbook writing.
The book is nicely organized in three parts. Part one
affords an overview of the big issues in business strategy.
All major issues are covered. Especially enjoyable is the
chapter on ethical considerations (Chapter 8) and the author
is applauded in addressing this crucial topic in an intro-
ductory text. Part two is nicely divided into marketing,
financial, human resource, information technology and
manufacturing strategies. Distinct and separate coverage
is given to the strategies for internationalization of oper-
ations in the concluding chapter to part two. Management
students need to be aware of the peculiar challenges
surrounding internationalization and many introductory
business strategy texts neglect this aspect of strategic
management. Part three deals with planning and control.
Currently, control is a dominant topic of research, and
devoting an entire chapter (18) to this discussion is not only
timely but highly appropriate.
Throughout the text, the author makes effective use of
mini cases and graphics to illustrate key points. Such
deployment of real-life examples establishes the relevance
of the issues in discussion, and induces occasional excite-
ment in reading a highly condensed book. The author has
also inserted progress tests at the end of each chapter to
help students better organize their thoughts. Appendix 2
(on examination technique) and Appendix 5 (sample exami-
nation questions) are highly valuable to students, and
instructors should take full advantage of these two sections.
Nothing is perfect. Even though the book is well written
and well organized according to the criteria in judging the
merit of a textbook, some improvements can be identified.
First, in an introductory text, it is important to add a
summary section at the end of each chapter. This would
enable the students to consolidate their thoughts. Second,
although references or key journal papers are given at the
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52 BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
conclusion of each chapter, it would be helpful to the
instructor to have proper citations in the body of the text.
Students would benefit greatly in knowing the origins of
specific terms, and budding researchers would be better able
to locate the key references. Third, Chapter 5 (which covers
management audits and environmental analysis) would
benefit from sections on green accounting and green audits,
such as EMAS guidelines and ISO 14000 principles. This
would make a good connection to the later chapter on
ethical considerations. There is room for greater emphasis
on social issues – business strategy formulation is dependent
on context, and a firm can never ignore the environment
that it is embedded in. It is hoped that this particular recom-
mendation will be adopted in the second edition. There is
certainly a demand for such a business strategy text book.
In addition to serving as a textbook, this book is a great
asset for people preparing for professional examinations. It
is relatively concise and easy to peruse. The author is
applauded for tackling the difficult and broad field of
business strategy in such an amicable manner.
Terence Tsai
Richard Ivey School of Business University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada
ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT:
MEETING THE GREEN CHALLENGE by Ken Peattie,
1995. Pitman Publishing, x + 309 pp, £36.00 (hbk). ISBN 0
273 60279 9
Here is one marketing text at least attempting to tackle the
ecological crisis and the all too (in)visible role marketing
plays in this crisis!
The text is divided into three sections. The first section
provides an introduction to the key issues addressed by
the book. Chapters 1–4 lay the foundations by placing
environmental marketing in context, and also consider the
importance of business, society and the environment for
marketers. It also introduces the key green issues of concern
and concepts such as sustainability. This section takes the
book beyond the mere window dressing found in other
texts, that have tended to focus on how green market-
ing can help firms become more profitable. The author
recognizes that a paradigm shift is required in marketing
before environmental marketing management issues can be
tackled – this perspective is a breath of fresh air. The
concept of holism is also discussed throughout the text;
again, the author has recognized the importance of applying
environmental concerns to all aspects of marketing (and
indeed the organization) and thus avoids the criticisms that
can be applied to other texts in this area.
The second and third sections focus more on issues from
a managerial perspective, by focusing upon strategic and
operational issues, respectively. Both sections take some of
the issues covered in general marketing texts and apply
these using an environmental perspective. Section two
considers areas such as green consumerism and environ-
mental marketing strategy. Each chapter is a good starting
point for anyone wishing to address key issues in the area
for the first time. Section three focuses mainly upon the key
environmental marketing mix elements (product, price, com-
munications, distribution and packaging) and has attempted
to take the key concepts of the mix elements and apply an
environmental framework to them.
Bus. Strat. Env., Vol. 7, 51–53 (1998)
BOOK REVIEWS
The major strength of the book is the breadth of
coverage applied to the key issues of green concern within
marketing. A wealth of information has been provided on
the subject area. This breadth of coverage is also in many
ways a weakness, insofar as many of the concepts raised are
not covered in any great depth. I would therefore question
whether the text ‘provides a detailed academic study of
the relationship between environmental concerns and the
principles and practice of marketing’. It certainly provides a
detailed description of the key issues and is an excellent
starting point for anyone wishing to get to grips with the
concept of environmental marketing. However, I feel the
text does not provide a detailed academic account, and
would recommend that the interested reader could build on
the issues discussed here by reading more widely around
the subject area. Indeed, the references provided at the end
of the text would be a good starting point.
The contents of the book are very digestible and well
presented. The use of bullet points, diagrams and examples
make this an ideal text for students being introduced to the
area of environmental marketing for the first time. The book
is also recommended by the publishers to practitioners. The
text is certainly a good starting point for researchers and
? 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
practitioners wishing to understand this area. It provides
some thought as to the best way forward for the marketing
manager wishing to take on board environmental issues
within their organization. I do, however, see the main
market as being in the student area. One criticism of the
text therefore centres on the case studies at the end of
most chapters – to my mind at least these are vignettes, not
case studies. More detailed case studies and a questions
section at the end of each chapter would have been more
useful.
This book is a much welcomed addition to the green
marketing literature and is considerably better than other
green marketing texts. It actually raises questions about the
very philosophy of marketing and, although this discussion
could be expanded upon, for an introductory text it is a
most welcome start. This text will certainly be on the
recommended reading lists for my undergraduate and
postgraduate students next year.
Andrea Prothero,
Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management,
University of Stirling, Scotland, UK
Bus. Strat. Env., Vol. 7, 51–53 (1998)
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