*3.2. Development of the Preliminary Version of the Instrument*

We suggest that the final scale of green marketing would contain both external and internal aspects of green marketing. Specifically, we propose that the final scale would consist of three levels of green marketing that have been previously confirmed [21,22,25,26,29,33,34]. The results of the literature review allowed us to come to the list of the following dimensions: external marketing at the strategic level (1), external marketing at the tactical level (2), external marketing and operational level (3), internal marketing at the strategic level (4), internal marketing at the tactical level (5), internal marketing at the operational level (6). In order to generate an initial pool of items, we used a deductive approach. The literature review resulted in 61 initial items in a consistent order according to the presumed research constructs. The authors collectively examined the face validity of the items, improved the clarity of the items, and eliminated redundancies. Items with the best face validity and clearest formulations were chosen in case of redundant items. This process resulted in 58 items. Five experts in marketing reviewed the list of 58 items and reduced it to 55 items as the best constructed (Appendix A).

We used a 55-item self-report instrument to measure external and internal green marketing at three theoretically derived levels (strategic, tactical, and operational). To measure strategic green marketing oriented toward external audiences, we employed ten statements

proposed by Chan [20], Chen and Yang [7], Fraj et al. [29], Papadas et al. [21]. These fivepoint Likert scales collected propositions in which marketing managers had to indicate their degree of agreement. The scale of tactical green marketing oriented towards external audiences included 29 items that involved aspects related to 4P (product, price, place and promotion). The items were adapted from Chan [20], Chen and Yang [7], D'Souza et al. [30], Fraj et al. [29], Papadas et al. [21], Yadav et al. [32], Dzulkarnain et al. [26]. Appropriate changes were made to the statements to fit precisely the chosen constructs and the aim of the investigation. The scale of operational green marketing oriented toward external audiences refers to the degree of integration of green aspects into the operational level of green marketing. It consisted of 3 items that addressed facets relating to urging environmental awareness in operations. The items were adapted from Chen and Yang [7], Papadas et al. [21]. Strategic green marketing oriented towards internal audiences refers to the degree of internal green marketing implementation at the strategic level. The scale consisted of 7 items proposed by Chen and Yang [7], Fraj et al. [29], Papadas et al. [21], Richey et al. [22]. Tactical green marketing oriented towards internal audiences was defined within three items. They were adapted from Papadas et al. [21]. Operational green marketing oriented toward internal audiences was measured using the statements proposed by Papadas et al. [21]. This scale consisted of 3 items. The research participants were asked to respond to the items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Reversed scoring was used for two items (I30 and I31). Averages were calculated for every subscale, with a higher score indicating a higher green marketing orientation.
