Abstract
Since green sustainability is obviously challenging to all companies, a clearer understanding of the perceptions of industry practitioners will assist those actors—government, industrial and civil associations and non-governmental organizations—interested in supporting green actions to inspire new ways of improving compromise and participation of private firms in the solution of the environmental problem. The objective of this work was to identify specific drivers and potential barriers to green actions perceived by firms operating in a developing economy like Mexico. Multinationals, Mexican firms with international operations, and Mexican firms with local operations were considered for this study in order to contrast their motivations, inhibitors, and indicators of environmental performance. A qualitative approach was used to collect information about 34 firms. The main driver of green practices was social responsibility for the environment while the principal inhibitor was the low environmental consciousness of the market. Differences between the distinct types of firms are discussed.
Highlights
Corporate environmental practices have evolved from conformance with environmental regulations and mandated responsibilities to cooperative and proactive actions to improve the firm’s environmental and business performance (Moon & Leon, 2007)
A qualitative approach based on multiple case studies was adopted as the method of empirical inquiry for two reasons: (1) The purpose of the research was to obtain an in-depth understanding of what drives or inhibits the adoption of voluntary environmental practices among firms operating in Mexico, and (2) the phenomenon under study is embedded in the organizational context (Yin, 2003)
Some MNS even declared that green practices are adopted only if they represent an opportunity to reduce costs, as illustrated in the following statement: We are a large multinational and [some] time ago [our corporative] began with green practices, in some way we are obligated to implement that kind of practices, but ... only if they are profitable... there is a win-win situation [environment and enterprise] (C3, multinational). These findings suggest that large corporations have been working more extensively to identify alternatives to link environmental and business performance while local Mexican firms are more motivated by legitimacy
Summary
Corporate environmental practices have evolved from conformance with environmental regulations and mandated responsibilities to cooperative and proactive actions to improve the firm’s environmental and business performance (Moon & Leon, 2007). According to Darnall and Carmin (2005), the implementation of voluntary environmental (VE) actions sends a “signal” to consumers, business partners, and authorities that a company is doing something to prevent the deterioration of the environment. This signal provides information about the firm’s ecological activities and contributes to reinforce its reputation. Environmental protection in developing economies is a significant challenge for several reasons Among these reasons, Rao et al (2009) identified the following: (1) lack of environmental awareness among individuals and enterprises, (2) continuous pressure for economic growth, and (3) lack of resources (financial and technical) to implement pro-environment programs. Among them is why private firms decide to implement ecological strategies? This question is relevant for the design of policies and voluntary programs that protect the environment and are in alignment with the organization’s drivers (Bansal & Roth, 2000; Leonidou & Leonidou, 2011)
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