Determinants of voluntary environmental management practices by MNE subsidiaries

There have been few empirical studies of the determinants of voluntary environmental management practices (VEMPs) of MNE subsidiaries operating in emerging countries. To provide insight on this issue, this study explores the antecedent factors that drive MNE subsidiaries to adopt VEMPs, using data drawn from a key emerging country – Turkey. Based largely on the arguments of institutional theory and the resource based view of the firm, a number of hypotheses are formulated in order to investigate the effects of stakeholder pressures, perceived polluting potential, customer focus and competitive intensity. Each of these factors, with the exception of competitive intensity, is found to positively influence the adoption level of VEMPs by MNE subsidiaries. Some of the study's parent-level and subsidiary-level control variables are also found to have significant effects on the extent of VEMPs adoption by MNE subsidiaries.     

How do Small and Medium Enterprises Go “Green”? A Study of Environmental Management Programs in the U.S. Wine Industry

In industries populated by small and medium enterprises, managers’ good intentions frequently incur barriers to superior environmental performance (Tilley, Bus Strategy Environ 8:238–248, 1999). During the period when the U.S. wine industry was beginning to promote voluntary adoption of sound environmental practices, we examined managers’ attitudes, norms, and perceptions of stakeholder pressures to assess their intentions to implement environmental management programs (EMP). We found that managers within the simple structures of these small and medium firms are responsive to attitudes, norms, and pressures from internal stakeholders and that voluntarily established EMP increased the success of firms’ implementation of energy conservation and recycling practices. Applications of our findings to future research on small and medium enterprises as well as direct practical applications of our results are discussed.     

Green and competitive? An empirical test of the mediating role of environmental innovation strategy

This study examines links between the adoption of an environmental innovation strategy and firms’ business performance. It illustrates ways in which an environmental innovation strategy is itself influenced by significant environmental pressures, including government environmental regulation, perceived importance of stakeholder pressures, and managerial environmental concerns. Survey data from the chemical industry in Jordan show that (1) environmental innovation strategy is associated with improved perceived firms’ business performance; (2) the adoption of an environmental innovation strategy is influenced by certain environmental pressure forces, and (3) environmental innovation strategy fully mediates between certain environmental pressure forces and firms’ business performance.     

Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

We examine the relationship between corporate governance and the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the annual reports of Bangladeshi companies. A legitimacy theory framework is adopted to understand the extent to which corporate governance characteristics, such as managerial ownership, public ownership, foreign ownership, board independence, CEO duality and presence of audit committee influence organisational response to various stakeholder groups. Our results suggest that although CSR disclosures generally have a negative association with managerial ownership, such relationship becomes significant and positive for export-oriented industries. We also find public ownership, foreign ownership, board independence and presence of audit committee to have positive significant impacts on CSR disclosures. However, we fail to find any significant impact of CEO duality. Thus, our results suggest that pressures exerted by external stakeholder groups and corporate governance mechanisms involving independent outsiders may allay some concerns relating to family influence on CSR disclosure practices. Overall, our study implies that corporate governance attributes play a vital role in ensuring organisational legitimacy through CSR disclosures. The findings of our study should be of interest to regulators and policy makers in countries which share similar corporate ownership and regulatory structures.     

Entangled Affiliations and Attitudes: An Analysis of the Influences on Environmental Policy Stakeholders' Behavioral Intentions

We examined attitudes as one potential influence on the behavioral intentions of three stakeholder groups commonly in conflict. Business managers (n = 97), government environmental regulators (n = 69), and active members of pro-environmental groups (n = 49) were surveyed to assess the differences among these groups in their attitudes toward property rights, environmental regulation, and technology. We compared the influence of these attitudes and stakeholder group affiliation on intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The attitudes measures explained a significant amount of the variance in behavioral intention, even after group membership was controlled. Theoretical implications of these findings for stakeholder theory are discussed along with some practical applications of these findings for stakeholder negotiations and management practices.     

Environmental Protection in Environmentally Reactive Firms: Lessons from Corporate Argentina

We propose a model of planned corporate environmental behaviour that emphasises the values and attitudes of managers towards the environment, environmental intentions and the context in which these intentions are formed and translated into actual performance. In particular, we focus on the extent to which environmentally reactive (as oppose to pro-active) managers influence the environmental performance of their firms. We identify the factors that mitigate or accentuate the effects of environmental “reactivism”—i.e. a mind-set shared by those who assign to the state the responsibility of protecting the environment. We generate a series of hypotheses and use structural equation modelling to test them in the context of a unique dataset of Argentinean firms. Our system’s approach to corporate environmental behaviour explains approximatively 70 % of the variation in reported environmental performance across firms while highlighting elements of the model that may potentially be influenced by policy. Amongst other things, our empirical results suggest that stakeholder pressures can be an effective tool in the development of pro-environmental attitudes (and environmental intentions in the case of small firms) and in so doing offset some of the negative effects of environmental reactivism on environmental performance. Our paper highlights a number of other important implications for the design and implementation of environmental policies that account for human managerial determinants of corporate behaviour and social factors.     

The Role of Religiosity in Business and Consumer Ethics: A Review of the Literature

This study investigates antecedents of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) subsidiaries. Using stakeholder theory and institutional theory that identify internal and external pressures for legitimacy in MNCs’ subsidiaries, we integrate international business and CSR literatures to create a model depicting CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries. We propose that MNCs’ subsidiaries will be likely to adapt to local practices to legitimize themselves if they operate in host countries with different institutional environments and demanding stakeholders. We also predict that MNCs’ subsidiaries will be likely to adapt to local practices to avoid spillover effects if their parent companies suffer major legitimacy problems at home or abroad. However, we speculate that MNCs’ subsidiaries will be less likely to adapt to local practices if they are strongly annexed to their parent companies and the benefit to gain internal legitimacy outweighs external legitimacy. This article contributes to the discourse on CSR across borders by exploring the antecedents of CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries at social and organizational levels, and integrating institutional and stakeholder views. We provide a number of propositions for future studies and explore implications for practitioners.     

Top executives' perceptions of the inclusion of corporate social responsibility in quality management

Exercise of global responsibility is critical to the future of quality practices in business, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is relevant to the quality movement. However, not much is known about management perceptions of CSR in the specific context of quality management. This paper examines top executives' views on CSR and quality management implemented through the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) framework. We report the results of a survey of executives in a multinational corporation operating in the outsourcing and technology services industry. The main factors influencing managerial perceptions were value generation, industry forces, institutional and stakeholder pressures, and organizational values and beliefs. In contrast to previous studies, we found limited evidence supporting the influence of shareholder pressures, competition, or the business case for CSR. We concluded that company lifecycle, changes in ownership structure, and owners' orientation toward CSR influenced its potential for adoption through implementation of the EFQM quality framework.     

An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness and Practices in SMEs

With increasing awareness of environmental issues, there has been rising demand for environmental-friendly business practices. Prior research has shown that the implementation of environmental management practices is influenced by existing and potential stakeholder groups in the form of external pressures from legislators, environmental groups, financial institutions and suppliers, as well as internally by employees and owner/manager attitudes and knowledge. However, it has been reported that despite business owner/managers having strong “green” attitudes, the level of implementation of environmental-friendly practices is low. In order to explore the connection between pressures for improved practices and the management actions taken, this article examines how influence from various stakeholders is related to awareness of environmental issues, and how this awareness relates to actions taken within the businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. The results indicate that legislation does result in general environmental awareness, and that organizations are then willing to␣change their business processes and environmental strategies. However, despite their actions they have little awareness of the benefits that might arise from cost reductions from their environmental-friendly practices. Those influenced by their suppliers act to reduce waste, but do not put into place formal environmental management systems, or use environmental messages to market their goods or services. Nevertheless, it can be argued that they have a real commitment to environmental issues, as evidenced by a willingness to voluntarily contribute to environmental organizations.     

Stakeholders Pressures and Strategic Prioritisation: An Empirical Analysis of Environmental Responses in Argentinean Firms

This article focusses on corporate attitudes to stakeholder environmental pressures in Argentina. It uses a cross section survey of 505 CEOs of Argentinean firms to gather information on environmental attitudes and a stakeholder theory framework to design and interpret the statistical analyses. It is underpinned by theoretical and empirical findings in the literature on stakeholder management, targeting in particular studies that deal with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Latin America. Its general aim is to gain a deeper empirical understanding of the coherence between managers’ perceptions of stakeholder pressures and the importance they are given in corporate CSR strategies through an empirical investigation of environmental management (EM) decisions. In doing so, it uncovers general differences in the way firms perceive and treat groups of stakeholders. It also detects variations across firms, observing that some are typically proactive in their response to stakeholder pressures whilst others are less responsive. Profiling the various stakeholder networks and the corporate response strategies in this way encourages the development of stakeholder-focussed policies and corporate strategies that emphasise communications, awareness and a clear sense of direction. It concludes that CSR appears to be more effective in the protection of the environment than previously reported. Although this study focusses on EM in Argentina, the findings are more generally applicable.     

Stakeholder pressures,EMS implementation,and green innovation in MNC overseas subsidiaries

In this paper, we address the issue of green innovation by the overseas subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Drawing upon stakeholder theory and institutional theory, we propose a conceptual model to explain how stakeholder pressures in host countries prompt MNC subsidiaries to undertake green product and process innovations. Our findings indicate that MNC subsidiaries need to meet market stakeholders’ pressures in order to achieve social legitimacy in host countries, and that the implementation of formal environmental management systems (EMS) is an important mechanism translating these pressures into green innovation initiatives. Furthermore, we find that the positive relationship between market stakeholder pressures and EMS implementation is reinforced by global ‘green’ institutional pressures in the different host countries.     

Transaction Cost and Institutional Drivers of Supplier Adoption of Environmental Practices

Research concerning a supplier’s voluntary adoption of environmental practices has focused on buyer influence and supplier leadership values. These explanations are pertinent to early adopters, but other theoretical perspectives are needed to understand why later adopters, who tend to be more conservative, may or may not be likely to adopt environmental practices. Two theoretical lenses may be used to better understand later adoption processes. First, transaction cost economics examines implementation costs that have not been considered in previous research. A transaction cost economics perspective suggests that suppliers are more likely to adopt environmental practices if their information seeking, bargaining, and enforcement costs are minimized. Second, institutional theory can be applied to drivers within the supply base. The institutional theory analysis reveals that supplier adoption of environmental practices is more likely if coercive, normative, and mimetic institutional forces are in play.     

Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?

This paper analyzes the determinants underlying the internalization of proactive environmental management proposed by certifiable environmental management systems (EMSs) such as those set out in ISO 14001 and the European Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS). Using a study based on 232 usable questionnaires from EMAS-registered organizations, we explored the influence of institutional pressures from different stakeholders and the role of corporate strategy in the “substantial” versus “symbolic” integration of environmental practices. The results highlighted that although institutional pressures generally strengthen the internalization of proactive environmental practices, the influence of stakeholders can either support the integration of these practices or encourage their superficial adoption. For example, while pressure from suppliers and shareholders contribute to corporate greening, pressure from customers and industrial associations tend to encourage greenwashing (i.e., the superficial and misleading adoption of environmental practices). Product quality-oriented strategies also positively influence EMS internalization. The paper sheds light on the institutional complexity underlying the substantial versus symbolic implementation of environmental practices, and questions the dominant isomorphic view of EMS adoption. The paper also bridges the gap between complementary approaches on corporate greening, notably neo-institutional and stakeholder theories.     

Stakeholder theory: A process-ontological perspective

Advocates of stakeholder theory have long known that grasping its key insights requires a specific worldview that is, unfortunately, still not prevalent within the community of strategic management scholars. We argue that this worldview encompasses a process ontology that is radically different from the substance-ontological outlook typical of the mainstream approaches to strategic management. The unquestioned commitment of strategic management scholarship to a substance ontology leads to the viewing of corporations as macro-entities comprising aggregations of discrete autonomous actors each relying on individual choice and instrumental rationality. In contrast, within a process-ontological worldview, corporations and their stakeholders are seen to be sustained and attenuated through social practices and relationships involving interlocking chains of coping actions taken in everyday interactions. We show that adopting a process-ontological worldview presents a much-needed step that may help strategic management scholars reach a better understanding of how stakeholder theory deals with three problems of today's capitalism, those value creation and trade, ethics of capitalism, and managerial mindsets. On this basis, we discuss how to process ontology may lead stakeholder theory to further refine its understanding of business strategy, corporate social responsibility, and the common ground between the firm and stakeholders.     

Institutional Environment, Managerial Attitudes and Environmental Sustainability Orientation of Small Firms

This study examines the direct impact of three dimensions of the institutional environment on managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the direct influence of the latter on the environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms. We contend that when the institutional environment is perceived by owner?Cmanagers as supportive of sound natural environment management practices, they are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward natural environment issues and concerns. Such owner?Cmanager attitudes are likely to lead to a positive and proactive orientation of their firms toward environmental sustainability. The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms located in three Philippine cities. First, the study develops and tests the measurement models to examine the validity of the constructs representing the firm??s institutional environment, managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the ESO of firms. Second, the study develops and tests the structural models examining the institutional environment?Cmanagerial attitudes?CESO linkages. Multi-sample invariance structural model analysis shows the mediating role of managerial attitudes in the institutional environment?CESO nexus. The findings show that ESO is a construct comprising three dimensions: knowledge of environmental issues, sustainable practices and commitment toward environmental sustainability. The cognitive, regulatory and normative elements of the institutional environment are strongly linked to positive managerial attitudes toward environmental sustainability, which in turn, positively influences the firm??s overall ESO. Managerial attitudes play a mediating role in the institutional environment?CESO linkages. The managerial, practical, research and policy implications of the research findings are discussed.     

How ecopreneurs’ green values affect their international engagement in supply chain management

Ecopreneurs are emerging as a new type of entrepreneur who are worthy of much greater consideration than has been given to date. The aim of this paper was to explore how a group of 14 New Zealand ecopreneurs engage with supply chain management issues of an international nature—namely importing, manufacturing and exporting. A case study method was used to collect data from face-to-face semi-structured interviews with the ecopreneurs and a wide range of secondary data such as industry reports, the company’s web sites and items from the media. On the supply side, ecopreneurs considered environmental and social costs of procuring from other countries. However, they had little power to influence supplier practices. Ecopreneurs also wanted to manufacture locally regardless of cost. Likewise, on the demand side, ecopreneurs assessed the environmental costs of exporting and were more in favour of selling locally due to their green values. The study found that various dilemmas of an environmental and social nature emerge as being important in the decisions and practices that ecopreneurs undertake with respect to managing their supply chain internationally. These dilemmas facing New Zealand ecopreneurs may offer a glimpse into future realities for other countries and businesses. We believe that these ecopreneurs are leading the way to a new frontier where environmental issues are likely to become increasingly unavoidable and should be considered in supply chain management. This exploratory research raises a number of important questions that require further research in order to more fully understand their implications for ecopreneurs.     

Attitudes Toward Consumer and Business Ethics Among Canadian and New Zealand Business Students: An Assessment of 28 Scenarios

Recent initiatives in business curricula have included emphases on global business and ethics. This paper combines these issues by comparing the ethical predisposition of business students in New Zealand with their Canadian counterparts. A sample of 360 students indicated that students in both countries generally hold high expectations for the behaviour of both business and consumers. Of the 28 scenarios evaluated, five exhibited significant differences between the two groups. In four cases, students from New Zealand expressed less tolerance for the questionable business practices, and in the other one the situation was reversed. Despite the relative congruence of attitudes exhibited by the students of the two countries, the fact that differences do exist is testimony to the increased risk inherent to international business.     

International Consumer Attitudes Toward Cloud Computing: A Social Cognitive Theory and Technology Acceptance Model Perspective

The purpose of this article is to examine the factors affecting consumer attitudes toward cloud computing in the United States and Australia. The technology acceptance model and social cognitive theory are utilized to test relationships between technology acceptance model constructs (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) with individual characteristics that are shaped by environmental factors as part of social cognitive theory (consumer innovativeness, security concerns, performance expectations, and social networks) on consumer attitudes toward adopting cloud computing services. Consumers in the youth segment are used to test the hypotheses in two different countries (the United States and Australia). The results of the analysis indicate similarities and differences related to behavioral intentions and adoption behavior toward cloud computing services. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Antecedents of Adopting Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Green Practices

This paper examines the antecedents of organizational commitment for adopting corporate environmental responsibility and green practices in the case of the logistics industry in South Korea. Seven hundred and eighty employees and top management from logistics companies were sampled. The data were analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation modeling techniques, and one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that social expectations, organizational support, and stakeholder pressure were the important antecedents for the adoption of corporate environmental responsibility and green practices. In the path analysis, social expectations had the greatest impact on both stakeholder pressure and green practice adoption. Moreover, we found that the higher the job titles were, the more willing they were to adopt green practices. This indicated that the current top management of Korean logistics companies is well aware of being mandated to make a commitment to corporate environmental responsibility and green practices.