HONG-KONG AND CHINA - EMERGING MARKETS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS ANDTECHNOLOGIES

Although unprecedented economic development in the Chinese societies o f East Asia has raised global-concerns about the natural environment, little is known about consumer or corporate environmentalism in Greate r China. A research initiative employing multiple methods recently exa mined sustainable development issues in Hong Kong and China. An ethnog raphic study which incorporated data from a longitudinal survey of esp oused attitudes and consumer behaviour is reported here. This study ex tended previous efforts to benchmark Hong Kong against the USA and fou nd support for a convergence theory of environmentalism. Green marketi ng opportunities, are elaborated by framing the empirical findings in the context of Chinese cultural values and institutional factors. The roles of state intervention, market forces, Confucian and Taoist ethic s, ISO 14000 certification, biomimetic process innovations and environ mental technology transfer are considered in terms of nurturing green business in Greater China. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.