Industry self‐regulation and adverse selection: a comparison across four trade association programs

In an attempt to avoid costly regulation and liability as a result of externalities, a number of trade associations have promoted industry self‐regulation – the voluntary association of firms to control their collective behavior. However, previous studies have found that, without explicit sanctions for malfeasance, such self‐regulatory programs are likely to attract more polluting firms. In this paper, we examine four environmental self‐regulatory programs in the chemical, textile, and pulp and paper industries. Using a sample of over 4000 firms within these industries, we find evidence that in at least one program more polluting firms tended to join, while in another cleaner firms were more likely to join. We propose that differences in the structure of the programs drive the appearance of this form of adverse selection. In particular, we speculate that only when self‐regulatory programs have explicit sanctions for malfeasance may they avoid adverse selection problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The private costs and benefits of environmental self‐regulation: which firms have most to gain?

A (correctly designed) voluntary self‐regulatory scheme can – in theory – improve social welfare if the benefits to society outweigh the costs. However, businesses may not choose to participate in a voluntary scheme if their private benefits do not outweigh their costs; external benefits are irrelevant to the profit maximizing firm. This paper reviews literature on self‐regulation, primarily focusing on factors that influence the net private benefits of environmental programmes. The literature is summarized in a manner that allows one to identify characteristics of firms that are most likely to accrue positive net benefit from environmental programmes, and to determine ways in which self‐regulatory bodies might raise those benefits, thereby increasing participation rates. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Communicating environmental management certification: Signaling without signals?

This article analyzes how organizations communicate their voluntary environmental management certification. Previous research suggests that firms use certification to signal and to create a better public image as one of their main objectives in adopting environmental management standards. How organizations communicate their certification to their stakeholders has not been fully researched. To fill this gap, this work focuses on the hospitality industry, one of the most relevant sectors for environmental certification, and Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme, one of the most demanding certification schemes. On the basis of the analysis of the communication practices of 201 certified European hotels and 37 interviews with managers from certified hotels, the findings are surprising. The great majority of organizations included in the study engage in no significant communication activity. The results cast doubt in the idea that improving corporate image is one of the main drivers to adopt third‐party voluntary certification.     

Can voluntary environmental regulation promote corporate technological innovation?

The impact of environmental regulation on technological innovation has been widely discussed in the academic circle. Based on the panel data of 403 Chinese manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2015, this paper explored the role of voluntary environmental regulation in technological innovation. The results showed the following: First, both voluntary environmental information disclosure and environmental management system certification had a positive effect on corporate innovation investment. Second, compared with the impact of environmental information disclosure, the impact of environmental management system certification on corporate innovation investment was more significant. Third, there was a significant positive interaction between environmental information disclosure and environmental management system certification. Finally, the effect of voluntary environmental regulation on corporate technological innovation in heavily polluting industries was stronger than that in lightly polluting industries.     

Firm strategy and the Canadian Voluntary Climate Challenge and Registry (VCR)

The Canadian VCR is a climate change mitigation program that relies on firms' desire to signal environmental responsibility to external stakeholders through voluntary information disclosure. We analyze indicators of strategic behavior through three measures of engagement with the VCR program (annual participation behavior, quality of action plans and repeat participation), and test for differences in these measures among firms subjected to different regulatory climates that arise over time, across provinces and across economic sectors. Our findings suggest an increased perception of a regulatory threat in later years, as evidenced by an increase in participation rates, higher quality of action plans and higher rates of repeat participation. We also find higher levels of engagement with the VCR program in provinces with large petroleum (Alberta) and manufacturing (Ontario) industries and that have established provincial level greenhouse gas reporting mechanisms, and in certain sectors such as petroleum, electric utilities and to some extent services. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

ISO 14001, EMAS and environmental performance: A meta‐analysis

The adoption of voluntary environmental certifications such as ISO 14001 and Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) has gained momentum in the last two decades. The scholarly literature has analyzed in depth the performance implications of the adoption of these certificates. Yet the findings are scattered and inconclusive. This article aims to shed light on this issue by meta‐analyzing the influence of the adoption of voluntary environmental certifications on corporate environmental performance, drawing on a sample of 53 scholarly studies analyzing a total of 182,926 companies. The findings show a positive influence of ISO 14001 and EMAS certifications on corporate environmental performance. A set of underlying moderating effects are also identified, such as a more pronounced positive effect for adoptions based on environmental innovation and for firms with a more mature certification. Implications for scholars, managers, and other stakeholders are discussed.     

Beyond symbolic and substantive: Strategic disclosure of corporate environmental information in China

Under increasing regulatory pressure to disclose environmental impacts, corporate environmental information disclosure (EID) is becoming more prevalent. However, the motives for EID and disclosure approaches (i.e., symbolic or substantive) remain controversial. Using a sample of data for 742 listed manufacturing firms in China across 3 years, we provide evidence to show that the level of EID is significantly positively associated with a firm's advertising intensity and that firms in moderately competitive industries have a higher propensity for adopting an EID‐based differentiated strategy than firms in stronger or weaker competitive industries. We also find that firms that are more sensitive to environmental issues strategically understate their environmental impact when directly facing consumers. Our results suggest that the implementation of corporate EID is strategic and that firms have strong market motives, even under regulatory pressure to demonstrate legitimacy. We discuss this study's contributions to research on EID theory and implications for strategic EID management.     

Substantive or Symbolic Environmental Strategies? Effects of External and Internal Normative Stakeholder Pressures

Different forms of stakeholder pressures drive different environmental strategies in organizations. This article differentiates between internal and external normative stakeholder pressures to test their potentially unique effects on environmental strategies. The findings suggest that internal, normative stakeholder pressures primarily drive substantive commitments to environmental practices, reflecting an internalized, voluntary commitment to the natural environment and dedication to environmental leadership by the firm. External, normative pressures instead primarily drive symbolic commitments to environmental practices, aimed at managing the image of the organization to establish and reinforce an appearance of commitment to the natural environment. This novel perspective accounts for the institutionally plural contexts of organizations and their environments, in which internal pressures directly drive substantive environmental commitments and external pressures drive symbolic responses. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Green segmentation and environmental certification: insights from forest products

Firms engage in environmental marketing in order to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. Within the context of the forest product industry, this research uses data from two studies to empirically test whether a relationship exists between demographic/psychographic characteristics and reported environmentally conscious intentions. In both studies, the results indicate that the environmental marketing of certified/ecolabeled forest products appeals to a segment of environmentally conscious consumers. This appeal occurs for both a value‐added product (furniture) and a non‐value‐added product (plywood). Thus, there is support for the argument that environmental marketing to environmentally conscious consumers can result in ‘green segmentation’. Key findings from this study suggest that those consumers reporting the strongest preferences for environmentally certified forest products were more willing to pay a premium for certified products, more likely to display environmentally conscious behavior and more likely to perceive that green consumer purchases effectively benefit the environment. These characteristics were most common among females and those familiar with the concept of environmental certification. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and EPR Environment.     

Carbon disclosure and financial performance: UK environmental policy

The outcome of carbon disclosure, the importance of which has grown remarkably in recent years to become a strategic decision‐making issue for organisations in today's competitive environment, is a subject of lively debate but remains under‐researched in the environmental accounting literature. This study is motivated by this research gap and the growing interest in assessing the financial consequences of corporate involvement in climate change beyond regulatory compliance, as evidenced by firms' voluntary participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project. Using the resource‐based view of the firm as a theoretical framework and linking it to carbon disclosure through Carbon Disclosure Project, we conceptualise and empirically investigate the impact of adopting proactive carbon management policies and communicating them to stakeholders, focusing on the financial performance of the top FTSE350 companies between 2007 and 2015. By developing a comprehensive financial performance index and controlling for several firm characteristics, we find strong evidence that voluntary carbon disclosure is positively associated with firm financial performance. The findings in this paper provide new insights and policy implications for managers, financial stakeholders, and regulators.     

Environmental management certification and environmental performance: Greening or greenwashing?

This article analyzes the contribution of certifiable environmental management standards—such as ISO 14001 and the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)—to corporate environmental performance. Based on a content analysis of 414 third‐party‐verified environmental statements from EMAS‐registered Spanish organizations, which included information for around 6,700 detailed indicators, a weak improvement in environmental performance was found. Less than half of the analyzed indicators—namely, 48.27%—revealed a net improvement. Similarly, analysis of the justifications of the registered companies for the lack of improvement points to a rather symbolical adoption of the certification, intended to do only the bare minimum. These findings call into question the prevailing opinion about the positive impact of voluntary certifiable environmental management standards on environmental greening. Implications for managers and public policy makers, as well as for other stakeholders, are discussed.     

Turning corporate environmental ethics into firm performance: The role of green marketing programs

In this study, we develop a better understanding of the mechanisms by which corporate environmental ethics influences performance through the adoption of substantive actions. The empirical results of a moderated mediating analysis show that firms with higher environmental ethics are more likely to implement green marketing programs, consisting of the green production, pricing, distribution, and promotion programs and then improve firm performance. It is also observed that closure mechanism negatively moderates the mediation effect of green marketing programs because it leads to low trust and unwillingness to internal cooperation. These findings indicate that the value of corporate environmental ethics could not be determined in a vacuum, both strategy and people do matter when pursuing environmentally driven performance.     

A meta‐analysis of the non‐monetary effects of employee health management programs

This study was undertaken to review the literature on employee health management programs (EHMPs). We explored the history and characteristics of systematic organizational efforts to improve workforce health and well‐being. We believe that a historical perspective provides some insight into the economic, political, and social factors that have influenced the trend toward organizationally sanctioned health‐promotion efforts. Further, we investigated the likely effects of these programs on valued‐behavioral organizational outcomes such as employee performance, employee satisfaction, absenteeism, and voluntary turnover. Our findings show that voluntary general‐focus programs are unrelated to job performance, and voluntary programs are negatively related to absenteeism, but effects on absenteeism wane when the program is not voluntary. Moreover, EHMPs are minimally related to job satisfaction and slightly related to turnover. These results, examining behavioral outcomes of EHMPs, question the ability of EHMPs to provide desired behavioral changes in employees, changes that organizations seek to maximize such as increased performance. Are EHMPs more than just socially acceptable programs that help individuals with health problems? © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Executive perceptions of adopting an environmental certification program

Environmental certification is playing an increasingly important role in the strategies of many businesses. This is due in large part to consumer demand for environmentally friendly products. Little is known, however, about why executives adopt environmental certification for a product or process, or how they view the benefits and challenges of certification. This paper seeks to advance our knowledge in this area by exploring executives' perceptions of benefits and challenges associated with adopting an environmental certification program. We surveyed executives in the kitchen cabinet industry about a second party certification scheme initiated for producers in that industry. Results suggest that perceptions of the benefits and challenges of environmental certification differ significantly based on whether the company had or had not adopted the certification scheme in question. The paper considers the implications for companies considering adopting environmental certification as well as for organizations providing certification schemes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

第三方物流企业实施ISO9001质量管理体系认证探析

近年来,随着市场经济的飞速发展,物流业迎来了史无前例的发展契机。与此同时,每年市场上涌现出越来越多的第三方物流企业,因此竞争也越来越激烈,那么第三方物流企业进行质量认证就显得势在必行且意义重大。文章通过概述我国第三方物流企业管理存在的问题,提出提高服务质量是取得竞争优势的核心因素,阐述了第三方物流企业实施质量管理体系认证的必要性以及具体实施认证的流程,最后提出了企业在实施认证过程中应注意的问题。     

Networks of injustice and worker mobilisation at Walmart

This article investigates the use of Internet networks during the recent mobilisation of Californian Walmart workers. The findings of this case study suggest that Internet‐based mass self‐communication networks (Facebook, YouTube, etc.) can complement traditional organising techniques. Mass self‐communication networks ameliorate many of the weaknesses identified by previous studies of Internet networks. In particular, these types of networks can help overcome negative dispositions towards unions, increase the density of communication and the level of participation among members, create a collective identity congruent with trade unionism, facilitate organisation and spread ‘swarming actions’ which are effective at leveraging symbolic power. Moreover, unions may be well suited to providing crucial strategic oversight and coordination to wider worker networks.     

北美汽车出口认证体系解析

2012年我国汽车出口总量已突破百万辆大关,同比增长达29.7%,但出口主要集中在东南亚、非洲及中东等低端市场。目前,企业出口北美的认证项目还未提上日程,为了避免汽车制造商今后出口北美遭遇认证周期拉长、认证试验费高昂的问题,本文就美国、加拿大、墨西哥三个北美国家汽车认证的体系、流程、项目进行了梳理和分析,为汽车及零部件企业产品顺利通过认证,出口北美提供参考。     

Corporate Sustainability and Economic Performance: an Empirical Analysis of a Voluntary Environmental Program in the USA

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are designed based on a win–win approach to environmental protection that reconciles environmental protection and economic performance. Despite the claims about VEPs, there has been an ongoing debate over their efficacy with regard to whether environmental goals are balanced by economic interests on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To resolve this controversy, this paper empirically investigates a public VEP by the US Environmental Protection Agency: Green Lights (GL). For this, the paper constructs a treatment effects regression model to account for the effects of non‐random assignment for GL participants and non‐participants. The proposed model can simultaneously estimate probit models that predict corporate participation in the GL program and linear models that test the extent to which this participation contributes to economic performance. The results indicate significant positive effects of corporate participation in the GL program on economic performance, providing support for the win–win perspective. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Opening up the firm: What explains participation and effort in voluntary carbon disclosure by global businesses? An analysis of internal firm factors and dynamics

A voluntary climate initiative that has emerged over the past two decades as an institutional arrangement for corporations around the globe to signal and demonstrate their proactive climate leadership is the CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). Unlike the extant literature that has emphasized stakeholder and regulatory pressures, this paper argues that voluntary carbon disclosure is both beneficial and costly for corporations with respect to the existence of supportive management structures, explicit CSR practices, and the existence of complementary assets. Moreover, there is variation between European firms and other global businesses because of Europe's distinctive national business systems framework in conjunction with global supply chain imperatives. Empirically, this study employs a novel discrete‐continuous modeling approach to distinguish between a corporation's decision to disclose and the linked but subsequent decision of how much to disclose climate change information. Results indicate that the main drivers of participation in voluntary carbon disclosure by the Global 500 firms is the existence of senior managers and executive‐level officers and the adoption of ESG principles by global businesses. Conditional on participation, European Union‐based and other global businesses that articulate a corporate vision for environmental sustainability, adopt ESG principles, and invest in complementary assets disclose climate change strategies and emissions at higher levels than companies without these internal firm capabilities. This study has implications for national climate policy and global climate change governance more generally, both of which increasingly focus on concrete climate solutions by corporations.     

Autonomy of participation and ICT literacy in a self-directed learning environment (SDLE)

As web technologies gradually become versatile and more powerful, more flexible paths and opportunities are revealed for self-directed learning and online assessment. It is hoped officials and advocates recognize IT related certification programs (NSSB Recognizes First IT Certification Program 2002). The Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC^3®) certification program is designed for individuals to develop digital literacy skills, including fundamental computer and Internet use. The particular interest of the study is to explore the relative contributions of the Certification Recognition Program (CRP) and associated autonomy of participation and achieved literacy for internet computing & technology (ICT), as well as the interactive influences of the degree programs and grade levels. Five hundred and ninety six male undergraduates majoring in IT were invited to participate in the Certification Recognition Program for a calendar year. The certification recognition program covers a set of three standardized tests based on the IC^3® by Certiport^TM. The study found ICT literacy is predicated by the students’ autonomy of participation (AP) in the Certification Recognition Program (CRP), and SP was related to the grade level (GL) and the enrolled degree program (DP), indirectly affecting ICT literacy as a result of the transiting effect of AP.