Search results

This chapter highlights the importance of eco-quality and eco-standards as a determinant of socially responsible trading management and marketing. Starting from the premise that ecology internationalizes and becomes determinant of socially responsible marketing and management, we analyse trade competitiveness based on quality, marketing strategy for quality in trade, and correlation of trade and ecology.

Based on literature about quality and quality management, this chapter starts with an analysis of the importance of quality for trade and marketing strategy for quality in trade. Analysis shows that the issue of quality has always been present in trade, but mostly as a commercial requirement in the forming and functioning of buying and selling relations. However, the quality of products and services that are subject of buying and selling relations between producers, trade, and consumers cannot be viewed outside of space and time. It has its own evolution, which is closely related to the needs and demands of consumers. Historically observing, it can be concluded that the quality of the trade in market-developed countries has evolved from elementary characteristics of assortment quality (durability, utility), over the quality of service, to the eco-quality. Direction of quality evolution was determined by development of ecological awareness regarding vulnerability of the nature and environment. This is why the economies of certain countries are at different levels in terms of ecological economics and eco-quality.

It’s discovered that the consumer creates direction of evolution of eco-marketing and eco-management. He is becoming an active participant in the creation of “eco-package offer” of trading enterprises. Obliviousness of the eco-quality aspect, from trade toward the customer, represents an antimarketing act. Ecologically irresponsible management has double “punishment.” On the one hand, “punishment” comes from the consumer who does not buy the product, and on the other hand, socioeconomic environment is punishing it by using “polluter pays” principle. In order to act as an incentive for the creation of an eco-responsible marketing management, European Union (EU), World Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have established a Fund for protection of the environment. Countries with recent label “in transition” (Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia) are allocating 2% of GDP for protection of the environment, while our country allocates less than 1% of GDP.

The chapter provides a starting point for further research in the field of ecological aspects of trade and correlation of trade and ecology.

The aim of this chapter is to highlight the importance of sustainable development, especially its environmental component in trade and retail sector of the Republic of Serbia. Due to a number of factors, such as increased consumer awareness on the importance of eco-products, new statutory and legal regulations, and increased competition, retail chains are increasingly oriented to the concept of sustainable development, in particular promoting its environmental component, eco-products, and eco packaging. Trade, especially retail, plays an important role in linking producers and consumers, and society as a whole. In this way, trade has a good overview of all the changes occurring in the environment, production, and consumer needs. Changes in the environment further stimulate trade to operate in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, including all its dimensions. In this regard, special attention is paid to the protection of working and living environment, as components of sustainable development. The chapter includes a review of literature in the field of sustainable development and application of this concept in the trade and retail sector. The theoretical aspect of the research focuses on conceptualization of sustainable development and its environmental component in trade and retail. With reference to theoretical research on the implementation of environmental component of sustainable development in trade, empirical research has been conducted from two aspects. First, analysis focuses on the performance and socio-economic importance of trade sector of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the number of ISO 14001 certificates in trading companies. Second, analysis shifts to the largest trading companies in the Republic of Serbia, based on available secondary data on the implementation of the concept of sustainable development and its environmental component.

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the growing trends in the trade in counterfeit products, in the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Counterfeiting and sale of counterfeit products is a global economic problem. It covers different sectors of the economy and is present in almost all countries of the world. This is the subject of increased interest, not only of institutions and organisations working on solving this global problem, but also of the scientific and professional community, which seeks to point out different domains of this problem, as well as measures to eliminate its effects. The increased share of trade in counterfeit products in international trade is worrying. New problems arise with the entry of the world economy into the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In such circumstances, or in the so-called new normality or reality, there have been some changes in the field of trade in counterfeit products. So we can talk about the ‘old’ topic in the ‘new’ reality. Thus, numerous questions have been opened about the trends in the trade in counterfeit products. The obtained results of the desk research in this chapter make an attempt to give an answer to these questions. Thus, in addition to the discussion of counterfeiting and counterfeit products as a global economic problem and crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the subject of a special discussion will be trends in trade in counterfeit products, both in the world and in the Republic of Serbia, while pointing to the measures and instruments that can be applied in order to prevent and eliminate the negative effects of this phenomenon.