Stakeholder pressure, eco-control systems, and firms’ performance: empirical evidence from UK manufacturers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether stakeholder pressure directly intensifies the extent of eco-control systems’ use, and thus indirectly affects economic and environmental performance. Cross-sectional data was collected from 93 UK manufacturers belonging to industries of high pollution propensity, and analysed using structural equation modelling. This study provides a broader understanding of environmental management control systems (EMCS) development, responds to calls in the literature for extending prior empirical research to both the antecedents and consequences of EMCS, and offers further evidence from the UK context (one of the leading countries in tackling environmental-related issues). Our findings reveal that the pressure from organisational stakeholders is significantly and positively associated with all eco-control systems’ constructs. Interestingly, our findings indicate a lack of significant indirect relations between stakeholder pressure groups and firms’ performance (economic or environmental), and only eco-control incentives influence UK firms’ environmental performance.