Ecological modernisation of small firms in Japan

Abstract

This research explores the environmental practices of small-firm owners in Japan using the ecological modernisation (EM) theory as an analytical tool. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 small firm owners from the restaurant and mechanical engineering sectors of Tokyo, and 10 “key informants” in relevant industrial organisations and local governments. The EM theory states that firms in industrialized nations are restructuring along ecological lines in response to market signals, that business actors are increasingly viewing economic and environmental interests as harmonious, and that environmental governance structures are becoming increasingly negotiated and participative. The findings suggest that although some environmental reform is occurring in the sample market dynamics and changing ideologies are not pushing this reform in the way we might have expected under the EM theory. There is little pressure from customers or suppliers to restructure ecologically; economic and environmental interests are often perceived as conflicting; and there is little evidence that business agendas are being refashioned to reflect sustainability objectives. Moreover, small firms are perceived to be marginalized from environmental policy networks dominated by political, bureaucratic, and business elites. The article concludes by questioning whether it is this lack of institutional disenfranchisement that is hampering processes of ecological modernisation among small firms in Japan.