Title: Pricing sustainable development

Authors: Caroline Gauthier

Addresses: Grenoble Ecole de Management, DFR Marketing, BP 127, 38003 Grenoble Cedex 01, France

Abstract: One of the difficulties in sustainable management is pricing non-market elements of a management strategy so that they can be weighted and prioritised correctly. Contingent valuation appears to be one approach to solving this problem. The Contingent Valuation Method is based on consumers| direct revelation in contingent scenario situations. This permits revealing people|s willingness to pay for a non-marketed good, like more fresh air or a programme of environmental preservation. This paper presents an application of the Contingent Valuation Method to a public sector case on environmental preservation. A contingent valuation survey was carried out on a local sample of 402 individuals to reveal the value they give to a particular biodiversity programme. Methodology and results are explained with the view to providing a tool for managers involved in developing policies that have a sustainable advantage.

Keywords: contingent valuation; pricing; research methods; sustainable development; sustainable management; management strategy; non-market goods; environmental preservation; environmental management; biodiversity programme.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2004.005718

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2004 Vol.4 No.4, pp.291 - 299

Published online: 28 Nov 2004 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article