Narrative analysis

In this study, the narrative approach was used through storytelling to achieve an understanding of ecoproductization and how such is evident in the marketing measures of SMEs. I used narrative storytelling in cases A-D to describe SMEs and one of their products. In other words, as a researcher I created a coaching role for the material, which facilitated purposeful active participation to find turning points arising from the ecoproductization phenomenon.

These turning points were significant in resolving the unified structure of the analysis and in the search for results.

With the narrative approach, Reissner (2008) sees that the narrative is more than a methodological approach. Using Thompson’s rubbish (1979 & 2002& 2005) and culture theory (Thompson et al. 1990), I discovered a connection with positive environmental thinking. Following this, I used ecophilosophy (Panula 2000, Thompson 1979, 2002 and 2005, Thompson et al. 1990) to examine whether or not it would be possible to separate ecological marketing from the marketing process as its own way of thinking. In order for this to be possible, I needed cases that had ecological status (E-F). If there are differences between cases A-D and E-F, then in what way are these differences apparent? To be able to illustrate the challenges met by cases A-D on the basis of cases E and F, and due to the fact that these did not have status value, narrative descriptions act as a tool for understanding the marketing phenomena of SMEs.

The Focus of the cases E-F is on translating LCA thinking and language into a language that enables sustainable green marketing. Also according to Reissner (2008), narrative storytelling manages changes in action. Furthermore, Denning promotes the role of narrative analyses as managerial instruments. I also compared stories of sameness and differences between SMEs and ecoentrepreneurship, and between productization and ecoproductization. Positive storytelling has become part of imaging, for instance the way art depicts a certain situation.

For example, McKee (2003) discovered a way to illustrate the positive actions of people in

a reliable fashion. Reissner (2007) combined narration and storytelling in coaching in an innovative way, and this study also seeks to attain the visibility of intuition and visions in the descriptions of stories. Using such storytelling, Reissner (2007) combines narration and storytelling with coaching in an innovative way.

The empirical strategy was to use narrative stories as with storytelling (Denning 2005). Thereafter it was possible to assess/evaluate it as a part of the action learning stage, ecoentrepreneurship and ecoproductization. According to Denning (2005), the role of storytelling in meeting the most important leadership challenges today, including motivating others to act, building trust in the owner/manager, building trust in enterprises (branding), transmitting enterprises values, getting others to work together, sharing knowledge, taming the grapevine, creating and sharing the vision of the enterprise, solving the paradox of innovation, and using narration to transform SMEs. On the other hand, the same idea is used in Reissner (2008). Results that are the central arguments of storytelling are: 1) a narrative way of knowing may enhance coaches’ sense-making and analysis skills; and 2) active and purposive storytelling may increase the effectiveness of the interaction between coach and client. The conclusion is that narration and storytelling can enhance the coach’s grasp of the coaching relationship and their practice; however, coaches need to be aware of the pitfalls associated with the use of narration and storytelling in coaching (Reissner, S.C. 2008). The coaching idea is the possibility to utilise the products of SMEs in developing the marketing process. Aaltonen and Heikkilä (2003:18) tell us how the company discovered that servicers do not learn to work from manuals or in workshops, but by listening to stories about the successes of other repairers. This came up only after the operation and time efficiency due to repairers banning the use of the coffee room. After some time, it was found that the repairs began to take longer and correction skills began to wane. The company management noticed that when maintenance staff was seated in the coffee room, together they were able to discuss the problems and successfully them. In this way, it was possible for the staff to regularly teach each other new ways to solve future problems. These stories have been collected in a common database, enabling the company to save considerable sums of money (Aaltonen & Heikkilä, 2003:18).

In the first phase of the analysis, I constructed a progression description of the themes and gathered parts from interview data that included opinions, views and ideas about the environment and events of enterprise’s history until this moment. Enterprise and product stories were interpreted and made more compact and narrative stories were formed of cases A-D. The stories were formed of cases A-D, because SMEs are interested in developing more ecoenterprises and ecoproductization. The data was analyzed by searching for narrative twists. Narrative means you have no material fragmentation, so that the material could be re-organized and interpreted. Interpretation resulted in a narrative story of both the product and the company.

At first, a literature review on challenges of sustainable green marketing and previous studies within the field was written. The first part of four interviews with the company formed its own separate case (case A-D). Interview questions were based on the theory and the questions were grouped into themes.

The first empirical results are narrative stories (cases A-D). Stories included in enterprises stories and their products’ stories. These narrative stories were reviewed with other scientists

and as a result of this concept content it enabled the comparison of the sameness and differences of the material gathered from the activities of other entrepreneurs. The value-based event chain for identification affected the way I was able to solve the marketing position of the environment through the established ecoproduct environment. Second, I was able to identify the ecoproductization phenomenon and find a dialectical balance between the importance and influence in the philosophy of ecoproductization (3.1). Third, the narrative twist gave me an opportunity to raise the existence value-based ecocriterion of cases of E and F in the working environment of small businesses. This is a situation, which has been forgotten through environmental policy making credible ecoproducts. When I utilised the results of the empirical study using these narrative stories and twists, I found a dialectical balance.

Dialectical balance offers a constructive cooperation-oriented development environment.

I use the development environment by presenting research results via the chaining and small businesses as a more suitable utilisation value. Research has been done from the perspective of a small business, although it does not exclude wider use. I apply value analysis multi-criteria decision-making theory, and derived from the study through the applications created. Value in use is a management tool, without which it is difficult to manage sustainable green marketing. Dialectical balance is a comprehensive multi-dimensional progressive and systematic approach. Opportunities for small entrepreneurs to implement the marketing of ecological products in practice face the fragmented nature of information management. To avoid fragmentation during the entire study I highlighted the importance of communication.

Narrative analysis of the study was a strategic choice, because the narrative stories and value objectives arising from these can be used in planning marketing communications, e.g. design of ecological products such as storytelling and branding.

The finding is that SMEs could use industrial enterprise environmental management possibilities but the environmental management system is not in contact with the surface of small business entrepreneurs. The problem is hypothesized to be in verifying the environmental features officially. Problem solving can be assigned as multicriteria decision making, but the problem is what is meant by ecoproductization and the word product. For example, a problem in the marketing of organic products is that laws and regulations that guide the marketing communications are different in each country. For this reason, country-specific differences can also be expected in marketing. The last one was to describe the aforementioned features.

For the credible marketing of ecoproducts, credible and measurable ecocriteria are very important. Through ecocriteria, the trustworthiness and credibility of the ecoproduct is measured but it is difficult to find a general way of specifying ecocriteria that would clearly verify the products of SMEs in an internationally acceptable way. An exception to this is organic production, which is suitable for the ecological business of SMEs. In organic products, credibility is based on officially approved status and this can be used in marketing as a verified marketing argument. However, a variety of expectations on various levels were set on ecocriteria, which were brought up in discussions about environmental policy. This viewpoint did not come up in cases A-D.

Analysis logic E and F

I interviewed two certified organic companies (cases E and F), in order for me to obtain a picture of how certified entrepreneurs first talked from the production perspective and then from the perspective of the marketing of organic products. The interviews were targeted on the basis of previous results for cases A-D and the realization of suspicion for authentication.

Additionally, these two interviews were analyzed through the grip of classical utility value analysis (CUVA). I used analysis a part of function definition and system of the goal, which best describes the message contained in the organic product. Furthermore, the idea was to read the second material by comparing the interviews. The second material I used included corporate brochures, newspaper clippings and websites.

The first part of the interviews described their productization perspective. For the description, the interviewees themselves gave a definition which is termed as criterion here. In the second part, the interviewees scaled the criteria. The entrepreneur had an active role, and once the entrepreneurs had themselves made the definition, at the same time the entrepreneur took a responsible role for the content of the product and what is wished to be communicated with the product. Criteria, the weighting was ready for a scale of 1-5. Decision-scale use of the company is transferred. This enabled the company to take responsibility for investing in and weighting values. Analysis of the results found that scale 1-5 turned out to be too specific and the exact difference between 1-2 and 1-3 could not be defined. Results described the scale of 1-3 and no other interpretations were needed. Value positioning scaling used positive, neutral and negative criterion.

Some things were sameness and differences in others describing the attributes. Relevant factors were either positive or negative findings. If the findings were not sameness or diversity of descriptive content, it is a neutral element. Thompson theorises (1979 and Thompson et al. 1990) that the values change to the status with continued interpretation of the results by comparing the first part and second part of the results. The final result is an interpretation of the researcher who made the structuring, i.e. the outcome formed by structural and cultural factors in the interview material and other material through the parenthetical.

The key episode was the interviews of two organic enterprises through which production-based thinking could be changed towards marketing. The interviews of the organic producers gave the initial inspiration to use multi-criteria decision making theory and the structure of classical utility value analysis. The orientation of sustainable green marketing in SMEs was formed on the base of this. This led to a different productization position, analysis and presentation of the results. Therefore, it was possible to write result weighting and support the use of classical utility value analysis together with SGM marketing thinking, positioning, principles, processes and management.