| The Determinants of Environmental Proactivity and the Factors that Distinguish Environmental Leaders from Laggards in the Retail Food Industry |
| | Spielmann, Brian | U. of Minnesota | bspielmann@csom.umn.edu | (612)-724-2618 |
| | Marcus, Alfred A. | U. of Minnesota | amarcus@csom.umn.edu | (612)-624-2812 |
| | Given the socio-political pressure on business to be more responsive to the environment, an important question is what factors lead firms to be environmentally proactive and what distinguishes environmental leaders from environmental "laggards." This study addressed these questions with a survey to 108 grocery store chain headquarters, representing a total of 5,810 stores. Regression analysis showed that firms who received greater assistance and information from government agencies, conferences and journals, and peers and the internet were more environmentally proactive. Also, firms that engaged in environmental activities for reasons beyond mere cost reduction and regulatory concerns, such as for customer and community relations, improved employee morale, competitive advantage, and because environmental activities are part of their company mission, were more proactive in the adoption of more environmental activities. Finally, the results show that firms that adopt more environmental practices perceive greater benefits from this adoption, possibly leading to a positive feedback loop in which environmental proactivity leads to greater realized benefits leading to even greater levels of adoption of environmental practices. |
| | Keywords: Environment; Proactivity; Characteristics |
| Anchoring Innovation in the Corporate Environmental Culture: Breaking from the Rigid History of Corporate Environmentalism |
| | Fletcher, Kevin A. | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | fletck@rpi.edu | (518)-276-2669 |
| | The corporate response to the "Age of Environmentalism" has evolved from the early focus on mere legal compliance to today's strategic
recognition of stakeholder concerns, consumer demands, and public image. Those companies that have cultivated and maintained a
leadership position on environmental issues have learned to implement and innovate based on their intended strategic response.
In order to understand how these successful firms have embraced their environmental strategies-throughout the entire organization-while
realizing "beyond compliance" strategic advantages associated with their intended corporate environmental strategies (i.e., process
efficiencies, new product development opportunities, image and stakeholder acceptance), it pays to look at their ability to inject
innovative, "environmentally-related" elements into the entire corporate culture. This paper examines the role of cultivating innovative
capacities and organizational cultures within the context of environmental management and strategy. |
| | Keywords: environmental management; corporate culture; innovation |
| The Adoption of 'Green' Organizational Practices: Signals, Symbols and Environmental Reputation |
| | Ellis, Kimberly Michelle | Florida State U. | kme4821@garnet.acns.fsu.edu | (850)-644-2038 |
| | With the rise of shareholder activism, enhanced relations among stakeholders, and changes in competitive dynamics as well as regulatory
requirements, more attention is focused on the firm’s ability to effectively manage the impact of its actions on the natural environment. Firms
commonly articulate details of ‘green’ organizational practices in external communications such as annual reports and proxy statements. The
current study draws on signaling and symbolism theories in addressing the need to empirically investigate whether communications of
adopting ‘green’ organizational practices are viewed as signals of a firm’s proactive environmental behavior or symbolic gestures of being an
environmentally conscious corporation.
Based on longitudinal data from 1991 to 1995, results indicate that adopting two ‘green’ practices - highly emphasized environmental objectives
and linkage of environmental performance to executive incentive compensation - have significant positive effects on a firm's environmental
reputation, thus functioning as behavior signals. On the other hand, the existence of four practices - senior executives responsible for
environmental management, board committees overseeing environmental matters, issuance of separate environmental report and participation
in EPA’s 33/50 program - had no significant effects on a firm’s perceived environmental performance. Thus, it is possible that analysts and
and CEOs view these practices as symbolic gestures.
Collectively, these findings suggest that of the practices considered, explicit environmental goals and compensation packages rewarding
environmental performance are most likely to facilitate the changes necessary within the organization’s planning and decision making
processes that lead to successful implementation of proactive environmental management strategies.
|
| | Keywords: Environmental; Reputation; Signals/Symbols |
| Regulation, Business, and Sustainable Development: The Antecedents of Environmentally Conscious Technological Innovation |
| | Meo, Mark | U. of Oklahoma | MMeo@gslan.offsys.uoknor.edu | (405)-325-2554 |
| | Ellington, Rex T. | U. of Oklahoma | Ellingto@gslan.offsys.uoknor.edu | (405)-325-2554 |
| | Sharfman, Mark P. | U. of Oklahoma | msharfman@ou.edu | (405)-325-5689 |
| | Increasingly, businesses are adopting strategies that advance the societal goal of sustainable
development by reducing the environmental impact of their products and processes (Hart, 1997).
Though still mired in the early stages of the transition toward sustainability, a growing number of
firms have begun to actively engage their creative energies toward the development of innovative
organizational and technological systems that consume fewer resources, reduce waste, enhance
productivity, while creating new market opportunities. However, all of this innovation towards
environmentally conscious manufacturing occurs under varying types/levels of regulation and the
role of such regulation is still open to debate. To date, little research exists that investigates the
relative importance of market-driven versus government regulatory actions in influencing
environmental technological innovation that surpasses regulatory compliance (Alm, 1992; Florida,
1996). We also have little evidence concerning the effects regulation has had on the evolution of
corporate strategies that seek to meet consumer desires for improved environmental quality
(Maxwell, 1996). This paper presents a theoretical model of the antecedents of environmentally
conscious technological innovation under high and low amounts of regulation. We then present
four abbreviated case studies undertaken as part of a larger, ongoing study funded by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency that describe environmentally conscious product and process
innovations that occurred in high and low regulation environments. We use the case studies to
examine the extent to which the data support our a priori model. The paper concludes with a
discussion of the implications of our findings
|
| | Keywords: Environment; Innovation; Technology |
| Corporate Environmentalism and Firm Performance: The Differential Effects of Process-Driven Versus Product-Driven Greening Initiatives |
| | Gilley, K. Matthew | Oklahoma State U. | gilleykm@jmu.edu | (540) 568-3025 |
| | Worrell, Dan L. | Southern Illinois U., Carbondale | dano@uta.edu | (817) 272-3166 |
| | Davidson, III, Wallace N. | Southern Illinois U., Carbondale | davidson@siu.edu | (618) 453-1429 |
| | El-Jelly, Abuzar | King Saud University | unknown | unknown |
| | The impact of organizations on the natural environment has received much attention in both the popular press and academic literature in recent years. Mounting pressure from stakeholder groups has led the top executives of many firms to implement corporate environmental initiatives. Although many organizations have undertaken more environmentally sensitive activities, the performance effects of corporate environmentalism are still somewhat uncertain (White, 1992). Environmental issues offer opportunities for growth, but they also place constraints on behavior (Shrivastava, 1995a). In this manuscript, we empirically examine the effects of corporate environmental initiatives on firm performance using an event study methodology. Our results indicate that, while there was no overall effect of environmental initiatives on firm performance, there were significantly different performance implications for product-driven versus process-driven environmental strategies. More specifically, we found that product-driven greening has a more positive effect on firm performance than does process-driven greening. Future research should continue to examine both the outcomes and the antecedents of corporate environmentalism. |
| | Keywords: corporate environmentalism; strategic management |
| Does the Environmental Movement Matter? An Examination of the Relationship Between the Contemporary Environmental Movement and Organization Change |
| | Bergh, Julianne | Pennsylvania State U. | jsb136@psu.edu | 814-865-2527 |
| | This study examines whether the contemporary environmental movement has influenced
organizational change. Using an institutional theory perspective and a sample of forest
product firms followed over 21 years, I found that the environmental movement has facilitated
both structural and procedural changes in organizations. Surprisingly, I found that all forms
of support for the environmental movement were not equally likely to facilitate organizational
change. Although public support for the environmental movement appears to be effective in
encouraging both forms of organizational change confirming institutional theory predictions,
governmental support did not appear to facilitate either structural or procedural change in
organizations. Implications for research are offered. |
| | Keywords: Social movement; Organizational change; Stakeholders |