GREEN ALLIANCES - BUILDING NEW BUSINESS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS

'Green alliances', partnerships between businesses and environmental g roups, can be effective strategies for integrating corporate environme ntal responsibilities with market goals. They are an outgrowth of an e merging philosophy called ''Market-based Environmentalism' which advoc ates making ecology attractive to businesses via market incentives. Th is article describes the conceptual underpinnings of the market-based perspective and illustrates how green alliances, specifically, are hel ping companies to develop ecologically-protective programmes which can lower costs and build differentiation advantages. A typology of green alliances is presented to explain different ways firms can achieve su ch advantages. Green alliances are a new strategic domain, and some ha ve encountered positioning and relationship management problems. Recom mendations are offered on how corporations can successfully ally with environmentalists to push competitive frontiers into the 21st century. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.