Shareholders' environmental profile and its impact on firm's environmental proactivity: An institutional approach

Theorists and practitioners still argue about different shareholders' environmental preferences. Drawing on various processes of institutional theory such as deinstitutionalization and defensive institutionalism, we test the differences between foreign and national shareholders' influences on firms' environmental proactivity. Specifically, we focus on the country of origin of the dominant shareholders and the environmental culture of the countries of origin of the shareholders. Using unbalanced panel data from between 2006 and 2017, which includes 12,527 observations of 1532 different firms from 11 economic sectors and across 23 countries, our results show that foreign shareholders are more prone to modifying existing environmental practices, whereas national shareholders may accept them, despite being reluctant to implement such changes. We make a contribution by showing that the deinstitutionalization forces coming from foreign shareholders are stronger than the defensive institutionalism efforts of national shareholders. However, such forces are not always the best options for sustainability.     

Environmental proactivity,competitive strategy,and market performance: The mediating role of environmental reputation

This article examines the impact of small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) proactive environmental strategy on market performance through the mediating mechanism of environmental reputation. In addition, we investigate the potential moderating role of competitive strategies on the environmental reputation-market performance nexus. Data were collected from 223 SMEs. Using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the results show that a proactive environmental strategy positively enhances environmental reputation. Also, the influence of proactively environmental strategy on market performance is mediated by environmental reputation. In addition, our findings show the relationship between environmental reputation and market performance is greater for firms that adopt the differentiation strategy but not significant for firms adopting the low-cost and integrated strategies. Our study offers several theoretical and practical implications.     

A study of determinant factors of stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies

Although several articles have studied the effect that stakeholder pressure has on the environmental behavior of firms, little research has attempted to identify the contingencies that explain such pressure. This article investigates the effects of six relevant variables on stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies: size, internationalization, location of manufacturing activities, position in the supply chain, industrial sector, and managerial values and attitudes. The effect is theoretically determined by distinguishing between pressure intensity and perception capacity and empirically tested with a sample of 186 Spanish manufacturers. The analyses reveal two dimensions of stakeholder pressure, governmental and nongovernmental, and show that variables such as environmental awareness among managers, internationalization, industrial sector and company size play important roles in determining both dimensions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Human resource management and developing proactive environmental strategies: The influence of environmental training and organizational learning

The need to implement advanced approaches to protect the environment is forcing companies to refocus their internal procedures and actions. To match employees' capabilities and the organization itself to these new requirements, the human resource management department can offer some key tools. This article analyzes whether environmental training (ET) and organizational learning (OL) positively influence the development of proactive environmental strategies (PESs) and compares the two processes, which differ in the time, costs, and difficulty required to implement them. Companies in the tourism sector are currently facing a highly dynamic environment where innovativeness is a decisive factor for achieving competitiveness. As such, we analyze whether the presence or absence of innovativeness influences the development of these two mechanisms. Using a sample of 252 tourism companies, we tested these relationships using structural equation modeling. The findings showed that (1) innovativeness is an antecedent of implementing ET and OL in the companies sampled, (2) both mechanisms promote implementing PESs, and (3) ET is equally as effective as OL for this purpose. Managers should take these findings into account when deciding which mechanism to apply when striving to achieve environmental proactivity.     

How environmental innovation influences firm performance: A meta-analytic review

Coupled with the increasing concern toward sustainability and sustainable development issues, environmental innovation practices have been of burgeoning interest among both scholars and practitioners. Building on this, the main purpose of this study is to quantitatively aggregate the extant empirical research on eco-innovation and firm performance and to assess the role of moderating factors in this theoretical relationship by pursuing a meta-analytic approach. To serve this objective, 196 effects based upon 70 studies including more than 25,000 firms (N = 25,412) were meta-analytically examined. Quantitative evidence drawn from the meta-analysis indicates that organizational eco-innovation exerts the strongest influence on firm performance. Moreover, the meta-analytic findings suggest that significant variations in the correlation between eco-innovation and firm performance exist across different performance types, and the magnitude of the eco-innovation–firm performance association is stronger in developing compared with developed countries. This meta-analytic review is expected to considerably contribute to the pertinent literature by means of improving the understanding of the relevance of eco-innovation typology to firm performance.     

Adoption of cleaner technology for climate proactivity: a technology–firm–stakeholder framework

The adoption of cleaner technology (CT) has the potential to play an important role in tackling the impacts of business on climate change on business. It is therefore important to understand the factors motivating the adoption of CT in business. Using a technology–firm–stakeholder framework, this study proposes a perception‐based model for the adoption of CT for climate proactivity that is tested against data collected from 106 firms in India. Six factors are tested using a logistic regression and five are found to be significant in distinguishing adopter firms from non‐adopter firms. The results suggest that the perception‐based model using a technology–firm–stakeholder framework is a useful approach for examining factors affecting the adoption decision. While techno‐economic benefits are perceived to be higher by adopter firms than by non‐adopter firms, other benefits are not perceived differently by either adopter or non‐adopter firms. In addition, adopter firms perceive lower financial costs and higher technical capability than non‐adopter firms do. Also, adopter firms perceive higher regulatory pressure but lower stakeholder pressure than non‐adopter firms do. Implications of the findings and future research areas are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

42万t铬渣综合治理的研究及其环评要点

文章研究了原长沙铬盐厂42万t铬渣治理的要点,论述这类项目环评中工程分析的重点在于铬渣处置工艺可行性分析、污染物种类以及污染防治措施等特点,对42万t铬渣治理项目环境影响评价工作有一定的借鉴作用。     

Designing business models in circular economy: A systematic literature review and research agenda

The concept of circular economy is increasingly receiving attention in different domains, including strategic management, operations management, and technology management. It requires companies to design their business model (i.e., the value network, the relationships with the supply chain partners, and the value propositions towards customers) around a new concept of sustainable development that reduces consumption of natural resources and preserves the environment. However, extant research falls short in terms of explaining how companies design their business model according to the circular economy principles. Starting from this premise, the present paper provides a systematic review of the literature on the design of business models in the context of circular economy, aiming to offer an overview of the state of research and outline a promising research agenda.     

Individual and contextual predictors of team member proactivity: what do we know and where do we go from here?

Contemporary organizations are placing greater emphasis on team work in order to meet the challenges of an increasingly turbulent business environment. In this context, the relationship between team member proactivity and overall team performance has been the focus of growing interest among management scholars and practitioners alike. Whereas extant scholarship acknowledges that team member proactivity is different from other forms of proactivity (i.e., individual and organization member proactivity), there is still only limited understanding of the factors that predict team member proactivity. Therefore, this paper extends current scholarship by identifying the individual and contextual predictors of team member proactivity and explaining how, taken together, they jointly influence team member proactivity. Building on these findings, the paper also identifies gaps in the current literature and proposes a model of team member proactivity to be tested in future research.     

经济增长、环境因素与我国经济发展方式转变

随着人们对经济发展内涵的认识不断深入,经济增长与环境之间的关系越来越受到关注和重视。研究发现,经济增长与环境之间存在着＂倒U＂型关系,即经济增长导致环境恶化,且在经济增长到一定水平时出现拐点,环境得到改善。认识并运用这一发现对当前我国调整产业政策,发展节能环保产业,加快经济增长方式转变,实现经济增长与环境改善共赢,具有重要意义。     

High‐involvement work practices and environmental capabilities: How HIWPS create environmentally based sustainable competitive advantages

We study how high‐involvement work practices (HIWPs) may enhance a firm's economic performance through the development of a proactive environmental strategy (PES). HIWP systems facilitate the implementation of a PES by promoting employees' ability, motivation, and opportunities to behave in ways consistent with environmental management goals. In turn, PESs contribute to the development of strategic competitive advantages and drive superior performance. The results of our empirical analysis of 233 firms broadly confirm our hypotheses and suggest that although the direct effect of HIWPs on performance was not signifi cant in our sample, HIWPs do have a significant indirect effect through a PES as a mediator.     

Factors affecting corporate environmental strategy in Spanish industrial firms

During the last 30 years, environmental issues have become very important for governments, consumers and companies. Firms, aware of their environmental responsibilities, have started to show an important commitment to society and the natural environment, developing environmentally friendly strategies. However, the factors that determine the choice of environmental strategies are still unclear. They range from ethical motivations to social, legislative and competitive factors. This study analyses the main antecedents that influence firms' ecological behaviour, distinguishing between environmental orientation and environmental strategies. The hypotheses proposed in this study are analysed by means of a structural equation model on a sample of 235 industrial firms. The results reveal that competitive motivations and management commitment are the most important factors explaining why firms incorporate environmental issues into their strategic planning process. Moreover, management commitment is a critical factor for firms because managers' perception about customers' ecological concern directly influences firms' environmental behaviour. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

A literature review on business process modelling: new frontiers of reusability

Business process modelling (BPM) has become fundamental for modern enterprises due to the increasing rate of organisational change. As a consequence, business processes need to be continuously (re-)designed as well as subsequently aligned with the corresponding enterprise information systems. One major problem associated with the design of business processes is reusability. Reuse of business process models has the potential of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of BPM. This article critically surveys the existing literature on the problem of BPM reusability and more specifically on that State-of-the-Art research that can provide or suggest the ‘elements’ required for the development of a methodology aimed at discovering reusable conceptual artefacts in the form of patterns. The article initially clarifies the definitions of business process and business process model; then, it sets out to explore the previous research conducted in areas that have an impact on reusability in BPM. The article concludes by distilling directions for future research towards the development of apatterns-based approach to BPM; an approach that brings together the contributions made by the research community in the areas of process mining and discovery, declarative approaches and ontologies.     

The influence of environmental and organizational factors on innovation adoptions: Consequences for performance in public sector organizations

Although technical and administrative innovations have received much academic interest in recent years, our understanding of why some organizations adopt these innovations and others do not is still underdeveloped. This paper examines organizational and environmental factors that may explain the adoption of innovations in public sector organizations. Furthermore, how technical and administrative innovations affect firm performance is also examined. Regarding organizational factors, we analyze strategy and firm size. Regarding environmental factors, we analyze the effect of uncertainty and market concentration. Hypotheses are developed and tested using a combination of archival and survey data from the public healthcare sector. Our results suggest that environmental and organizational factors have inconsistent effects on the adoption of administrative and technical innovations in public sector organizations. Our findings also show that high adopters of both types of innovations are more sensitive to environmental factors than organizational factors. Furthermore, our paper shows that organizations that combine technical and administrative innovations increase their performance.     

Innovation and the circular economy: A systematic literature review

The circular economy emerged as an alternative model to the linear system, which now appears to be reaching its physical limitations. To transition to a circular economy, companies must not only be aware of but also engage in more sustainable practices. For such a transition, companies must rethink and innovate their business models and the ways they propose value to their clients while simultaneously considering environmental and social facets. This systematic literature review sought to map out from the company perspective the key topics interrelated with innovation and the circular economy, describing the internal and external factors to consider in such transition processes. Key lines of research were identified, and suggestions for future research and for facilitating movement toward a circular economy are provided. This work contributes to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning the circular economy and encouraging future research that meets international standards of excellence.     

A study of environmental policies and regulations,governance structures,and environmental performance: The role of female directors

This paper seeks to contribute to the existing business strategy and the environment literature by examining the effect of governance structures on environmental performance within a unique context of improving environmental governance, policies, regulations, and management. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which corporate board gender diversity, including the proportion, age, and level of education of female directors, affects environmental performance of Chinese publicly listed corporations. Using one of the largest Chinese data sets to date, consisting of a sample of 383 listed A‐shares from 2011 to 2015 (i.e., observations of 1,674), our findings are threefold. First, we find that the proportion and age of female directors have a positive effect on the overall corporate environmental performance. Second, our findings indicate that the proportion and age of female directors also have a positive effect on the three individual environmental performance components, namely, environmental (a) strategy, (b) implementation, and (c) disclosure. Finally, and by contrast, we do not find any evidence that suggests that the level of education of female directors has any impact on environmental performance, neither the overall environmental performance measure nor its individual components. Our findings have important implication for regulators and policymakers. Our evidence is robust to controlling for alternative measures, other governance and firm‐level control variables, and possible endogeneities. We interpret our findings within a multitheoretical framework that draws insights from agency, legitimacy, neo‐institutional, resource dependence, stakeholder, and tokenism theoretical perspectives.     

The (mis)measurement of M&A performance—A systematic narrative literature review

This paper seeks to further the understanding of the variety of meanings M&A scholars attach to the label “M&A performance” by providing an alternative way to interpret the claimed inconsistency of M&A research findings. While many scholars contend that the problem stems from the multiplicity of M&A performance measures, we believe the problem rests in trying to compare different measures as if they were measuring the same feature of the organization. Through our narrative review of empirical research we analyze factors shaping the M&A – as well as the organizational – performance measurement process. The conclusion is that it is not possible to talk about M&A performance as if it was a universal construct.     

An integral model for the implementation of environmental policy strategy

This article responds to demands for a more in‐depth study on how to implement an environmental policy strategy (EPS). Following the strategic choice framework, this study seeks to address this issue by testing a theoretical model of several managerial and organisational variables associated with a firm's EPS. The managerial variables examined include managers' perceptions of environmental pressures, managers' consciousness of environmental problems, and managers' perceptions of the potential benefits associated with the implementation of an EPS. The organisational variables that are investigated relate to the structure, systems, and processes of the representative organisations. Control variables include the firm's industrial sector, its country of origin, its size, and its international character. A model based on structural equations with the weighted least squares estimation method is used to test the hypotheses in a large sample of firms. The results confirm the need to consider a multidisciplinary view of the implementation of an EPS.     

国内外环境会计研究文献综述

环境会计是会计学发展历程中的重要主题。论文通过对国内外环境会计研究相关文献进行梳理,发现我国与国外环境会计研究之间的差距,并提出了相关建议。     

Two schools of risk analysis: A review of past research on project risk

Risk research can be generally categorized into two schools: risk as an objective fact and risk as a subjective construction. Both schools have different risk definitions, epistemological dimensions, and analytical methods, and tend to recommend different policies for managing risks. This study aims to locate the position of past studies on project risk found between the two schools of risk analysis and to help understand their basic assumptions and viewpoints by reviewing articles published during the last 10 years in two project management journals: the International Journal of Project Management and Project Management Journal. There are 171 articles collected from both journals. They are categorized into four groups: project management system, subjective perception, irrational behavior in risk management, and subjective construction. This study describes and discusses the basic assumptions, viewpoints, and tendencies usually held by each group, and it indicates the position of each group found between the two schools. It also develops some discussion on the starting point of both schools of risk analysis and their significance in directing practices of project risk management.