Unlocking The Potential of Plastic Manufacturing Firms to Internationalize Their Operations Through Organizational Learning: The Effect of Sustainable Marketing Strategy as a Mediator.

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to examine the mediating role of a sustainable marketing strategy in the link between organisational learning and the internationalisation of firms in developing nations within sub-Saharan Africa. This research adopts a cross-sectional and explanatory approach. Data were gathered from 137 plastic manufacturing firms in Uganda. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Medgraph were used to conduct descriptive, correlational, regression, and mediation analyses to determine the mediating influence of a sustainable marketing strategy. Findings indicate that organisational learning and sustainable marketing strategy are positively and significantly linked to the internationalisation of manufacturing firms. Moreover, the results reveal that sustainable marketing strategy plays a partial mediating role in the connection between organizational learning and firm internationalization in Uganda. Existing literature has not extensively explored the role of sustainable marketing strategies in internationalization. This is especially relevant as businesses face increasing pressure to align with sustainable development goals to enhance competitiveness both locally and globally."  A sustainable marketing strategy provides firms with the opportunity to gain market acceptance and ultimately achieve competitiveness in international markets, where products, pricing, promotion, and distribution are expected to support environmental sustainability, uphold societal values, and foster economic growth and development.