Economic Themes (2014) 52 (3) 7, 351-368
Svetlana Sokolov Mladenović, Sreten Ćuzović
Abstract: Trade, especially retail, plays an important role in linking producers, consumers, as well as employees and the social community at large. In developed market economies, the trade takes the leading position in marketing channels. In that regard, the trade has a good insight into the changes that occur in the production processes, consumer needs, and demands of the society. Given these changes, trade is heading in the direction of creating a competitive advantage in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, which opens up possibilities for application of this concept in trade. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities of implementing the concept of sustainable development in trade and trade management. The starting hypothesis of the work is that the trading companies operate in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The testing of the hypothesis will be carried out from three angles. The research will start with an analysis of the concept of sustainable development. Second, the subject of a separate analysis in this paper will be the content of the concept of sustainable development in trade and retail, as well as the elements affecting the operational viability of trading companies. In that regard, the subject of the analysis will be the top ten trading companies from the list of 250 largest trading companies in the world and their content of the concept of sustainable development. Bearing in mind the results of the research on the concept of sustainable development in these companies, it can be expected that the trade will base its business philosophy on eco-marketing, with parallel acceptance of eco-management. This means that the companies capable of offering products that do not pollute the environment and that are labeled “eco”, “bio”, or “natural” will ensure their survival in the market. Third, the subject of the research will be the instruments that the trading companies use to achieve the objectives of sustainable business. All these aspects of the research are designed in a way to realize the defined goal and test the initial hypothesis in the paper.
Keywords: trade; sustainable development; trading companies; environmental; economic; social dimension.
THE ROLE OF TRADE MANAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF OVERCOMING THE SECRETS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Svetlana Sokolov Mladenović, Sreten Ćuzović
Abstract: Trade, especially retail, plays an important role in linking producers, consumers, as well as employees and the social community at large. In developed market economies, the trade takes the leading position in marketing channels. In that regard, the trade has a good insight into the changes that occur in the production processes, consumer needs, and demands of the society. Given these changes, trade is heading in the direction of creating a competitive advantage in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, which opens up possibilities for application of this concept in trade. The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities of implementing the concept of sustainable development in trade and trade management. The starting hypothesis of the work is that the trading companies operate in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The testing of the hypothesis will be carried out from three angles. The research will start with an analysis of the concept of sustainable development. Second, the subject of a separate analysis in this paper will be the content of the concept of sustainable development in trade and retail, as well as the elements affecting the operational viability of trading companies. In that regard, the subject of the analysis will be the top ten trading companies from the list of 250 largest trading companies in the world and their content of the concept of sustainable development. Bearing in mind the results of the research on the concept of sustainable development in these companies, it can be expected that the trade will base its business philosophy on eco-marketing, with parallel acceptance of eco-management. This means that the companies capable of offering products that do not pollute the environment and that are labeled “eco”, “bio”, or “natural” will ensure their survival in the market. Third, the subject of the research will be the instruments that the trading companies use to achieve the objectives of sustainable business. All these aspects of the research are designed in a way to realize the defined goal and test the initial hypothesis in the paper.
Keywords: trade; sustainable development; trading companies; environmental; economic; social dimension.
