Measures of perceived sustainability

Sustainable marketing, as noted by numerous academics and practitioners, refers to a form of marketing that makes a net positive contribution to society in terms of environmental, social and economic developments. Firms' interest in sustainability as an aspect of business performance other than financial goals has steadily increased. Various factors (including societal mandates incorporated into regulations, concern about loss of sales and a potential decline in corporate reputation) pressure companies into implementing proper sustainability management. The purpose of this study is to clarify measures of perceived sustainability (MPS) from a marketing perspective, to analyze the effects of perceived sustainability on customer equity and to develop theoretical frameworks and implications that will allow sustainable marketing concepts to be globally competitive.The MPS scales identified in this study enable researchers to examine relationships between perceptions of sustainability and other key customer equity drivers, such as value equity, brand equity and relationship equity. Among other reasons, this may cause practitioners to value MPS. By understanding perceived sustainability, practitioners can develop economic, social and environmental performances that effectively utilize sustainability. The MPS scales offer researchers a tool for measuring perceived sustainability that is consistent with the literature on sustainability, while recognizing the reality that sustainability is a multidimensional construct. The rigor reflected in the multiple methods for generating scale items as well as the multiple stages in the scale development process results in a scale that should be useful to both researchers and practitioners.