Publication: International Advances in Economic Research
Publication Date: 01-FEB-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Murillo-Luna, Josefina L. ; Garces-Ayerbe, Concepcion ; Rivera-Torres, Pilar
Article Excerpt
Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the determinants of the strategic environmental behavior of firms and, more specifically, the external and internal barriers that limit and sometimes even prevent the environmental adaptation. The analysis focuses on a sample of industrial firms that have at least three workers and that are located in Aragon, a region situated in the northeast of Spain. In order to achieve this objective, first the theoretical literature on the topic is reviewed. Subsequently, from the firms which were sampled, the existence of an underlying structure among the totality of barriers is studied. Finally, this structure is analyzed in order to determine if it has any influence on the degree of proactivity of the firm's environmental strategy.
Keywords environmental strategies * barriers * industrial firms
JEL D21 * C5 * R00 * M00
Introduction
Over the last decade, contributions from authors such as Buysse and Verbeke (2003), Henriques and Sadorsky (1999), Hunt and Auster (1990), Roome (1992), or Vastag, Kerekes, and Rondinelli (1996) have consolidated a theoretic base, which enables the strategic environmental behavior of firms to be classified depending on their degree of proactivity. The latter is defined as the level reached in the adoption of voluntary measures for environmental protection. Henriques and Sadorsky (1999), for example, consider four strategic environmental categories--reactive strategy, defensive strategy, accommodative strategy and proactive strategy. This classification is consistent with the schema generally proposed in literature, which consists of a continuum of strategies that varies from those with less proactivity to those with greater proactivity. Some authors, such as Roome (1992), even consider the passivity strategies of those firms that do not satisfy the minimum environmental requirements within the continuum. Reactive strategies are found at the next level of the continuum. These are the ones adopted by firms in response to compulsory environmental requirements and regulatory requirements. This type of reactive strategies, Aragon-Correa (1998) indicates, are characterized by the use of traditional methods to correct pollution that has already been generated, also known as end-of-pipe solutions. Finally, the proactive strategies are found in the most advanced positions of the continuum. These are based on the use of modern methods to prevent pollution, which have been defined by Sharma and Vredenburg (1998) as those strategies that go beyond the requirements specified by the regulation or by the normal practices of the sector.
The study of the reasons that determine the positioning of the firms along the continuum of environmental strategies is a highly topical academic subject. Nevertheless, interest has mainly been focused on analyzing the driving factors of environmental proactivity, paying less attention to the factors that detract from this proactivity. Buysse and Verbeke (2003), Fineman and Clarke (1996), or Henriques and Sadorsky (1996, 1999) have shown that there is a positive relationship between environmental proactivity and the pressure exercised by different environmental interest groups or stakeholders (customers, regulators, suppliers, shareholders, employees, citizens and media, among others). Other authors, such as Aragon-Correa (1998) or Brio-Gonzalez and Junquera-Cimadevilla (2002), consider strategic and organizational factors such as flexibility, innovation capability, the workers' educational level or the existence of quality management systems as decisive factors for environmental proactivity.
However, there are hardly any studies that provide empirical evidence about the barriers that prevent firms from advancing in their environmental strategy. In order to contribute to this line of research, we propose two empirical objectives in this study. Firstly, this study attempts to identify the main barriers that firms find when adopting environmental practices, as well as to analyze the existence of an underlying structure in these barriers. Secondly, the study attempts to verify the existence of a significant relationship between the barriers identified and the degree of proactivity of the environmental strategy.
With this objective in mind, the study is organized as follows. In the next section, we make a review of theoretical literature on the topic. Then, we describe the characteristics of the sample firms, we define the variables, and present the analysis methodology. We comment the results obtained in the following section. Finally, in the last section, we summarize the main conclusions of the study.
Barriers to the Adoption of Proactive Environmental Strategies
One of the few studies that have analyzed the barriers that hinder or prevent firms from advancing in their strategic environmental performance is that carried out by Post and Altman (1994). These authors, based on a case study approach of industrial and service firms, propose a classification of the barriers to environmental adaptation (see Table 1). In this classification they distinguish between industry barriers, related to the type of activity that the firm carries out, and organizational barriers, which affect the firm regardless of the activity it carries out, as they come from the specific organization and its normal practices.
Among the industry barriers Post and Altman (1994) consider firstly the cost associated with the implementation of Environmental Management Systems and with the acquisition of clean technologies to prevent pollution....
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.
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