Sustainable Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Systematic Literature Review on Their Synergy for Long-Term Competitive Advantage
Abstract
This article comprehensively analyzes the relationship between sustainable marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as pillars of modern business strategy. Amidst increasing consumer awareness and regulatory pressures, companies are required to integrate economic, environmental, and social aspects in their operations. Sustainable marketing focuses on the development and promotion of environmentally and socially friendly products/services throughout their life cycle, while CSR encompasses ethical and philanthropic initiatives that enhance a company's positive impact on society. This study adopts a systematic literature review method by analyzing secondary data from reputable scientific journals and sustainability reports. The results show that these two concepts are complementary: sustainable marketing is effective in communicating CSR values to stakeholders, while CSR provides an authentic foundation for sustainability claims. Identified benefits include enhanced brand reputation, consumer loyalty, competitive differentiation, and operational efficiency. Despite challenges such as initial costs and measurement complexity, strategic integration of the two is essential for creating shared value and achieving long-term competitive advantage. This article concludes that sustainable marketing and CSR are no longer optional, but rather strategic imperatives for future business success. This study analyzes 40 articles selected from an initial 150 articles through a systematic selection process.
References
Ali, W., Frynas, J. G., & Mahmood, Z. (2017). Determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in developed and developing countries: A literature review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24(4), 273–294. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1410
Burbano, V. C., Delmas, M. A., & Cobo, M. J. (2024). The past and future of corporate sustainability research. Organization & Environment, 37(2), 133-158.
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39-48.
Carroll, A. B. (2016). Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: Looking back 30 years. Journal of Public Affairs, 16(1), 87-95.
Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64-87.
Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone.
Galib, M., Gunawan, A., Maulana, M., & Syam, J. (2025). Sinergi Kampus dan Dunia Usaha dalam Meningkatkan Kompetensi Mahasiswa melalui Pelatihan Dasar Manajerial Proyek. ABDI DAYA: Jurnal Pengabdian Dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, 2(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.52421/abdidaya.v2i2.598
Goyal, P., & Kumar, D. (2021). Sustainable marketing, green marketing and CSR: An empirical study in Indian context. Journal of Cleaner Production, 291, 125275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125275
Halik, J. B., Parawansa, D. A. S., Sudirman, I., & Jusni, J. (2023). Implications of IT Awareness and Digital Marketing to Product Distribution on the Performance of Makassar SMEs. 유통과학연구 Journal of Distribution Science, 21(7), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.15722/jds.21.07.202307.105
Halik, J. B., & Halik, M. Y. (2024). Open Innovation And Digital Marketing : A Catalyst For Culinary SMEs In Makassar. Jurnal Manajemen, 28(03), 588–612. https://doi.org/10.24912/jm.v28i3.2059
Husted, B. W., & Allen, D. B. (2007). Corporate social strategy: Stakeholder engagement and competitive advantage. Cambridge University Press.
Husted, B. W., Allen, D. B., & Kock, N. (2015). Value creation through social strategy. Business & Society, 54(2), 147-186.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
Lins, K. V., Servaes, H., & Tamayo, A. (2017). Social capital, trust, and firm performance: The value of corporate social responsibility during the financial crisis. The Journal of Finance, 72(4), 1785–1824. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.12505
Martínez, P., Pérez, A., & del Bosque, I. R. (2020). CSR influence on hotel brand image and loyalty. Tourism Management, 77, 104016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104016
Nielsen. (2015). The Sustainability Imperative: New Insights on Consumer Expectations. Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/global-corporate-sustainability-report-september-2015.
Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005). Green marketing: Legend, myth, farce or prophesy?. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 8(4), 357-370.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77.
Roreng, P. P., Halik, J. B., Halik, M. Y., & Irdawati. (2024). Systematic Literature Review : Kondisi Makroekonomi Indonesia Pasca Pandemi Covid-19 dan Prospek di Masa Mendatang. Journal of Marketing Management and Innovative Business Review, 2(2), 56–67. https://doi.org/10.63416/mrb.v2i2.306
Shah, S. S. A., & Khan, Z. (2020). Corporate social responsibility: a pathway to sustainable competitive advantage?. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 38(1), 159-174.
Wang, H., Tong, L., Takeuchi, R., & George, G. (2020). Corporate social responsibility: An overview and new research directions. Academy of Management Journal, 63(4), 1147–1158. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2020.4004
Zatwarnicka-Madura, B., Siemieniako, D., Glińska, E., & Sazonenka, Y. (2019). Strategic and operational levels of CSR marketing communication for sustainable orientation of a company: a case study from Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(2), 555.
Copyright (c) 2025 Andi Rafiuddin Syah, Wulan Cahya, Salamah, Hernawati, Hikmah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Copyright on any article is retained by the author(s).
- The author grants the journal, right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
- The article and any associated published material is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
