SME managers’ perceptions of sustainable marketing mix in different socioeconomic conditions : a comparative analysis of Sri Lanka and Poland

Current changes in the business environment mean that the pursuit of economic development—without accounting for social welfare and environmental constraints—is replaced by the concept of sustainable development. Enterprises, in order to meet market requirements, adopt sustainable marketing as part of their strategy to provide long-term benefits in the social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The article aims to assess the differences in the use of marketing mix tools (5P) according to the concept of sustainable development in countries with different socioeconomic conditions. The empirical study was based on 262 questionnaires conducted among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in two different countries, i.e., 150 companies operating in Poland (as an example of a developed country) and 112 in Sri Lanka (as an example of a developing country). The obtained results show that there are statistically significant differences between the analyzed markets in terms of implementing sustainable marketing tools. The results allow us to conclude that the sustainable marketing mix activities are significantly more important for SEM managers in Sri Lanka than in Poland.