How Is Environmental Proactivity Accomplished? Drivers and Barriers in Firms’ Pro-Environmental Change Process

Jesús Valero-Gil, Pilar Rivera-Torres and Conchita Garcés-Ayerbe
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Jesús Valero-Gil: Department of Management and CIRCE Institute, University of Zaragoza, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain
Pilar Rivera-Torres: Department of Marketing, University of Zaragoza, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain
Conchita Garcés-Ayerbe: Department of Management, University of Zaragoza, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: The contaminating effects of economic activity and the scarcity of natural resources has led firms to a situation in which corporate strategy has been compromised by environmental issues. The objective of this paper is to analyse some of the factors determining the pro-environmental change process by considering the drivers encouraging firms to progress in environmental protection and the barriers that curb this progress. Using a structural equation model implemented on a sample of 303 firms, our results confirm a direct and positive effect of stakeholder pressure and of the expectations of obtaining competitive advantages from the pro-environmental change process. The results also confirmed the indirect effect of stakeholder pressure on pro-environmental change through managers’ expectations of obtaining competitive advantages, which play a mediating role in the firm’s response. Although managers interpret the barriers we have studied as obstacles to adopting environmental protection measures, they do not prevent any firm from reaching advanced levels of pro-environmental change.

Keywords: stakeholder pressure; barriers; expectations of competitive advantages; pro-environmental change; environmental proactivity; manager’s perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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