IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v83y2012icp144-153.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International and domestic pressures and responses of Chinese firms to greening

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Qinghua
  • Cordeiro, James
  • Sarkis, Joseph

Abstract

Organizational responses to international and domestic institutional pressures may help proactive corporate environmental practices and routines diffuse to Chinese organizations, who are key participants in global product chains. Using the 2006 survey data on 377 Chinese manufacturers in six major industrial groups in Suzhou, Dalian, and Tianjin cities, we propose and test a relationship between normative, coercive and mimetic international institutional pressures and the adoption of three important proactive corporate environmental practices (routines) – ISO 14001, TQEM (total quality environmental management), and eco-auditing – by Chinese firms. We also argue for and find that this relationship is greater than that arising from corresponding normative, coercive, and mimetic internal domestic pressures. Finally, we find a positive effect of international parenting or partnering on the adoption of proactive corporate environmental practices and routines. These findings have important implications as Chinese organizations continue to go global and international organizations seek global product supply chain partners within China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Qinghua & Cordeiro, James & Sarkis, Joseph, 2012. "International and domestic pressures and responses of Chinese firms to greening," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 144-153.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:83:y:2012:i:c:p:144-153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.04.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912001371
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.04.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aseem Prakash & Matthew Potoski, 2006. "Racing to the Bottom? Trade, Environmental Governance, and ISO 14001," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(2), pages 350-364, April.
    2. Motohashi, Kazuyuki & Yuan, Yuan, 2010. "Productivity impact of technology spillover from multinationals to local firms: Comparing China's automobile and electronics industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 790-798, July.
    3. Chan, Ricky Y.K., 2010. "Corporate environmentalism pursuit by foreign firms competing in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 80-92, January.
    4. Shi, Tian, 2002. "Ecological economics in China: origins, dilemmas and prospects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 5-20, April.
    5. Sime Curkovic & Robert Sroufe & Robert Landeros, 2008. "Measuring TQEM returns from the application of quality frameworks," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 93-106, February.
    6. Ivarsson, Inge & Alvstam, Claes Göran, 2010. "Supplier Upgrading in the Home-furnishing Value Chain: An Empirical Study of IKEA's Sourcing in China and South East Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 1575-1587, November.
    7. Darnall, Nicole & Seol, Inshik & Sarkis, Joseph, 2009. "Perceived stakeholder influences and organizations' use of environmental audits," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 170-187, February.
    8. Zengwei Yuan & Jun Bi & Yuichi Moriguichi, 2006. "The Circular Economy: A New Development Strategy in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 10(1‐2), pages 4-8, January.
    9. Wing Thye Woo, 2007. "The Challenges of Governance Structure, Trade Disputes and Natural Environment to China's Growth," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 49(4), pages 572-602, December.
    10. Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph & Cordeiro, James J. & Lai, Kee-Hung, 2008. "Firm-level correlates of emergent green supply chain management practices in the Chinese context," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 577-591, August.
    11. Magali Delmas & Michael W. Toffel, 2004. "Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 209-222, July.
    12. Martha S. Feldman, 2000. "Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(6), pages 611-629, December.
    13. Magali A. Delmas & Michael W. Toffel, 2008. "Organizational responses to environmental demands: opening the black box," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(10), pages 1027-1055, October.
    14. James J. Cordeiro & Joseph Sarkis, 2008. "Does explicit contracting effectively link CEO compensation to environmental performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(5), pages 304-317, July.
    15. Shi, Tian, 2002. "Ecological agriculture in China: bridging the gap between rhetoric and practice of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 359-368, September.
    16. Liu, Xiaohui & Buck, Trevor, 2007. "Innovation performance and channels for international technology spillovers: Evidence from Chinese high-tech industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 355-366, April.
    17. Fleischmann, Mortiz & Krikke, Hans Ronald & Dekker, Rommert & Flapper, Simme Douwe P., 2000. "A characterisation of logistics networks for product recovery," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 653-666, December.
    18. Sarkis, Joseph, 1998. "Evaluating environmentally conscious business practices," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 159-174, May.
    19. Peter Hills & C. S. Man, 1998. "Environmental regulation and the industrial sector in China: the role of informal relationships in policy implementation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(2), pages 53-70, May.
    20. Donna Ramirez Harrington & Madhu Khanna & George Deltas, 2008. "Striving to be green: the adoption of total quality environmental management," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(23), pages 2995-3007.
    21. Petra Christmann & Glen Taylor, 2001. "Globalization and the Environment: Determinants of Firm Self-Regulation in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(3), pages 439-458, September.
    22. Dasgupta, Susmita & Laplante, Benoit & Mamingi, Nlandu & Wang, Hua, 2001. "Inspections, pollution prices, and environmental performance: evidence from China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 487-498, March.
    23. Zhongmin, Xu & Guodong, Cheng & Zhiqiang, Zhang & Zhiyong, Su & Loomis, John, 2003. "Applying contingent valuation in China to measure the total economic value of restoring ecosystem services in Ejina region," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2-3), pages 345-358, March.
    24. Olivier Boiral, 2007. "Corporate Greening Through ISO 14001: A Rational Myth?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 127-146, February.
    25. Abdoul G. Sam & Madhu Khanna & Robert Innes, 2009. "Voluntary Pollution Reduction Programs, Environmental Management, and Environmental Performance: An Empirical Study," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 85(4), pages 692-711.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tatoglu, Ekrem & Bayraktar, Erkan & Sahadev, Sunil & Demirbag, Mehmet & Glaister, Keith W., 2014. "Determinants of voluntary environmental management practices by MNE subsidiaries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 536-548.
    2. Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph & Lai, Kee-hung, 2012. "Internationalization and environmentally-related organizational learning among Chinese manufacturers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 142-154.
    3. Sarkis, Joseph & Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2011. "An organizational theoretic review of green supply chain management literature," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Holtbrügge, Dirk & Dögl, Corinna, 2012. "How international is corporate environmental responsibility? A literature review," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 180-195.
    5. David Ervin & JunJie Wu & Madhu Khanna & Cody Jones & Teresa Wirkkala, 2013. "Motivations and Barriers to Corporate Environmental Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6), pages 390-409, September.
    6. Nahyun Kim & Junxiu Sun & Haitao Yin & Jon Jungbien Moon, 2022. "Do foreign firms help make local firms greener? Evidence of environmental spillovers in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1370-1393, September.
    7. Erlantz Allur & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria & Olivier Boiral & Francesco Testa, 2018. "Quality and Environmental Management Linkage: A Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-15, November.
    8. Frederik Dahlmann & Layla Branicki & Stephen Brammer, 2019. "Managing Carbon Aspirations: The Influence of Corporate Climate Change Targets on Environmental Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 1-24, August.
    9. Qi Guoyou & Zeng Saixing & Tam Chiming & Yin Haitao & Zou Hailiang, 2013. "Stakeholders' Influences on Corporate Green Innovation Strategy: A Case Study of Manufacturing Firms in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Wu, Guo-Ciang & Ding, Jyh-Hong & Chen, Ping-Shun, 2012. "The effects of GSCM drivers and institutional pressures on GSCM practices in Taiwan’s textile and apparel industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 618-636.
    11. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Fabio Iraldo, 2018. "Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 287-307, January.
    12. Ko, Dr. Wai Wai & Chen, Prof. Yantai & Chen, Dr. Cheng-Hao Steve & Wu, Dr. Meng-Shan Sharon & Liu, Prof. Gordon, 2021. "Proactive Environmental Strategy, Foreign Institutional Pressures, and Internationalization of Chinese SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(6).
    13. Joseph A. Clougherty, & Michał Grajek, & Oz Shy, 2016. "Taking ‘some’ of the mimicry out of the adoption process: Quality management and strategic substitution," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-16-05, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    14. Mattia Ubaldo & Steven McGuire & Vikrant Shirodkar, 2022. "Voluntary programs and emissions revisited: What is the effect of EU trade agreements with environmental provisions?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(4), pages 467-489, December.
    15. Quang Le Van & Thanh Viet Nguyen & Manh Hung Nguyen, 2019. "Sustainable development and environmental policy: The engagement of stakeholders in green products in Vietnam," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 675-687, July.
    16. David G Hyatt & Nicholas Berente, 2017. "Substantive or Symbolic Environmental Strategies? Effects of External and Internal Normative Stakeholder Pressures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1212-1234, December.
    17. Anupriya Sharma & Sapna A. Narula, 2020. "What motivates and inhibits Indian textile firms to embrace sustainability?," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, December.
    18. Shubham & Parikshit Charan & L.S. Murty, 2018. "Secondary stakeholder pressures and organizational adoption of sustainable operations practices: The mediating role of primary stakeholders," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 910-923, November.
    19. Eduardo Duque‐Grisales & Javier Aguilera‐Caracuel & Jaime Guerrero‐Villegas & Encarnación García‐Sánchez, 2020. "Does green innovation affect the financial performance of Multilatinas? The moderating role of ISO 14001 and R&D investment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3286-3302, December.
    20. Clougherty, Joseph A. & Grajek, Michal & Shy, Oz, 2016. "Taking ‘Some’ of the Mimicry Out of the Adoption Process: Quality-Management and Strategic Substitution," CEPR Discussion Papers 11661, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:83:y:2012:i:c:p:144-153. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.