Does sustainability marketing strategy achieve payback profits? A signaling theory perspective

Abstract Despite the importance of sustainability marketing strategy, its influence on firm performance is still inconclusive. In this study, we explore how and under what conditions sustainability marketing strategy influences firm performance by including the customer as an external stakeholder. Drawing on signaling theory, we test the hypothesized relationships using survey data collected from 264 Chinese firms. The results reveal that customer loyalty partially mediates the relationship between sustainability marketing strategy and firm performance. In addition, our findings indicate that competitive intensity positively moderates the relationship between sustainability marketing strategy and customer loyalty, and the mediating effect of customer loyalty. However, customer trust negatively moderates the relationship between sustainability marketing strategy and customer loyalty, while its moderated mediation is not significant. This study contributes to sustainability marketing literature and practice by providing novel insights into how to enhance firm performance by developing sustainability marketing strategy.