Objectives: The importance of sustainable green marketing strategies as a strategic response to the environmental challenges and sustainability imperatives is increasing. However, previous literature still lacks a comprehensive explanation of how these strategies are shaped in environments where cultural factors interact with regulatory, market, environmental, and institutional determinants, especially in emerging contexts such as Iraq. Therefore, this study aims to develop a conceptual model for sustainable green marketing strategies for eco-friendly products, explain the formation of these strategies, and the interaction of their determinants, focusing on the cultural patterns of Iraqi society.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative research design using grounded theory based on Strauss &Corbin’s. Fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in green marketing, sustainability, and eco-friendly products, each lasting an average of 30 minutes. Participants were initially purposively selected, and subsequent selections were guided by theoretical sampling requirements, and a snowball approach was used to reach participants. Theoretical saturation was achieved by the thirteenth interview, and two more interviews were conducted to confirm the stability and completeness of the groups. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA software with open, axial, and selective coding, and the model was assessed by four experts to ensure its validity and consensus. Data analysis followed the grounded theory procedure, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding.

Result: This analysis resulted in 387 raw codes extracted from the interview data, which were then reduced to 73 final open codes and 20 core categories, resulting in a comprehensive conceptual model for sustainable green marketing strategies. The findings indicated that the formation of these strategies is not driven by a single factor, but rather is influenced by the interaction of organizational, market, environmental, cultural, and institutional conditions. These conditions guide organizations’ strategic responses and influence their behavioral, organizational, and environmental outcomes. The model emphasized that cultural patterns are a central element in explaining how environmental imperatives are translated into sustainable marketing strategies in the Iraqi context.

Conclusion: This study concludes that sustainable green marketing strategies in Iraq have developed as a multi-level, culturally rooted and interactive process, rather than a direct response to isolated environmental or marketing factors. The theoretical and innovative contribution of this study lies in the development of a data-based contextual model that not only includes the cultural dimension in the determinants of green marketing, but also explains its interaction with regulatory, market, environmental and institutional conditions in shaping strategies and their results. This goes beyond the sporadic treatment of these dimensions found in previous literature. In practical terms, this model provides a foundation for designing green marketing strategies that are more aligned with the cultural and institutional characteristics of the Iraqi market. This study recommends the integration of the cultural dimension in the design of environmental and marketing policies and practices. Considering the qualitative nature of the study and the relevance of the model to the Iraqi context, future research recommends quantitative testing of the model and verification of its applicability in different sectors and cultural contexts. The proposed model also highlights the importance of aligning environmental sustainability with cultural specificity to ensure the effectiveness of strategies in the Iraqi context.