IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v17y2010i4p215-229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of operational characteristics on firms' EMS decisions: strategic adoption of ISO 14001 certifications

Author

Listed:
  • Takuya Takahashi
  • Masao Nakamura

Abstract

Firms choose to seek environmental management system (EMS) certifications such as ISO 14001 for a variety of reasons. In this paper we put forward a hypothesis that firms seek ISO 14001 certifications for their establishments when their operations involve low degrees of complexity. Another hypothesis we consider is that firms facing more uncertainty in their operations (and hence more risk) seek ISO 14001 certifications. These hypotheses have not been yet addressed in the literature and are of particular interest to business managers and policymakers. We empirically test these hypotheses using probit and duration models using matched establishment–firm–industry data for large Japanese manufacturers. Our findings support the first as well as the second hypotheses. This suggests that firms tend to certify more routine and less complex operations first, and that firms use ISO 14001 certifications as an insurance scheme. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Takuya Takahashi & Masao Nakamura, 2010. "The impact of operational characteristics on firms' EMS decisions: strategic adoption of ISO 14001 certifications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 215-229, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:17:y:2010:i:4:p:215-229
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.199
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.199
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.199?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arora Seema & Cason Timothy N., 1995. "An Experiment in Voluntary Environmental Regulation: Participation in EPA's 33/50 Program," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 271-286, May.
    2. Stephen J. Decanio & William E. Watkins, 1998. "Investment In Energy Efficiency: Do The Characteristics Of Firms Matter?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(1), pages 95-107, February.
    3. Esteban Fernández & Beatriz Junquera & Mónica Ordiz, 2006. "Managers' profile in environmental strategy: a review of the literature," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(5), pages 261-274, December.
    4. Nakamura, Masao & Takahashi, Takuya & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2001. "Why Japanese Firms Choose to Certify: A Study of Managerial Responses to Environmental Issues," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 23-52, July.
    5. Joseph P. Joyce, 2005. "Time Past and Time Present: a Duration Analysis of IMF Program Spells," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 283-297, May.
    6. John D. McClelland & John K. Horowitz, 1999. "The Costs of Water Pollution Regulation in the Pulp and Paper Industry," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 75(2), pages 220-232.
    7. Madhu Khanna & William Rose Q. Anton, 2002. "Corporate Environmental Management: Regulatory and Market-Based Incentives," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 78(4), pages 539-558.
    8. Fawzi Halila, 2007. "Networks as a means of supporting the adoption of organizational innovations in SMEs: the case of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) based on ISO 14001," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 167-181, July.
    9. Dieudonne Alemagi & Pius M. Oben & Jürgen Ertel, 2006. "Implementing environmental management systems in industries along the Atlantic coast of Cameroon: drivers, benefits and barriers," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(4), pages 221-232, September.
    10. Bauer, Rob & Koedijk, Kees & Otten, Roger, 2005. "International evidence on ethical mutual fund performance and investment style," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1751-1767, July.
    11. Takuya Takahashi & Masao Nakamura, 2005. "Bureaucratization of environmental management and corporate greening: an empirical analysis of large manufacturing firms in Japan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 210-219, December.
    12. Seema Arora & Timothy N. Cason, 1996. "Why Do Firms Volunteer to Exceed Environmental Regulations? Understanding Participation in EPA's 33/50 Program," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(4), pages 413-432.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Mei‐Jane Teng & Shih‐Ying Wu, 2018. "Sustainable Development and Competitive Advantages – Utilizing Matching to Overcome Sample Selection Bias," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 313-326, July.
    3. Gregorio Martín‐de Castro & Javier Amores‐Salvadó & José E. Navas‐López, 2016. "Environmental Management Systems and Firm Performance: Improving Firm Environmental Policy through Stakeholder Engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 243-256, July.
    4. Lorena Para‐González & Carlos Mascaraque‐Ramírez, 2019. "The importance of official certifications in globalized companies' performance: An empirical approach to the shipbuilding industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 408-415, March.
    5. Lei Wang & Heikki Juslin, 2011. "The effects of value on the perception of corporate social responsibility implementation: A study of Chinese youth," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 246-262, July.
    6. Grazia Dicuonzo & Francesca Donofrio & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Vittorio Dell’Atti, 2022. "The integration of sustainability in corporate governance systems: an innovative framework applied to the European systematically important banks," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 249-263, September.
    7. Barbara Fura & Qingfang Wang, 2017. "The level of socioeconomic development of EU countries and the state of ISO 14001 certification," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 103-119, January.
    8. Vera Ferrón Vílchez & Nicole Darnall, 2016. "Two are Better Than One: The Link Between Management Systems and Business Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 221-240, May.
    9. Orzes, Guido & Moretto, Antonella Maria & Moro, Mattia & Rossi, Matteo & Sartor, Marco & Caniato, Federico & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2020. "The impact of the United Nations global compact on firm performance: A longitudinal analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Christian Valery Tayo Tene & Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria, 2021. "Does quality management improve the internalization of environmental practices? An empirical study in Africa," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3053-3064, November.
    11. Jose García-Quevedo & Effie Kesidou & Ester Martínez-Ros, 2018. "Inter-industry differences in organisational eco-innovation: a panel data study," Working Papers 2018/07, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    12. 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.
    13. Jacob Hörisch & Matthew P. Johnson & Stefan Schaltegger, 2015. "Implementation of Sustainability Management and Company Size: A Knowledge‐Based View," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 765-779, December.
    14. Patricia Martínez & Ángel Herrero & Raquel Gómez‐López, 2019. "Corporate images and customer behavioral intentions in an environmentally certified context: Promoting environmental sustainability in the hospitality industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1382-1391, November.
    15. Peter Oberhofer & Elmar Fürst, 2013. "Sustainable Development in the Transport Sector: Influencing Environmental Behaviour and Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6), pages 374-389, September.
    16. Guoyou Qi & Saixing Zeng & Xiaodong Li & Chiming Tam, 2012. "Role of Internalization Process in Defining the Relationship between ISO 14001 Certification and Corporate Environmental Performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 129-140, May.
    17. Ozusaglam, Serdal & Kesidou, Effie & Wong, Chee Yew, 2018. "Performance effects of complementarity between environmental management systems and environmental technologies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 112-122.

    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. Ziegler, Andreas & Schröder, Michael, 2010. "What determines the inclusion in a sustainability stock index?: A panel data analysis for european firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 848-856, February.
    2. Roeland Bracke & Tom Verbeke, 2007. "What Distinguishes EMAS Participants? An Exploration of Company Characteristics," Working Papers 2007.37, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    3. 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.
    4. Bracke, Roeland & Verbeke, Tom & Dejonckheere, Veerle, 2007. "What Distinguishes EMAS Participants? An Exploration of Company Characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Management Working Papers 9332, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    5. Ziegler, Andreas & Schröder, Michael, 2006. "What Determines the Inclusion in a Sustainability Stock Index? A Panel Data Analysis for European Companies," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-041, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas & Ankele, Kathrin & Hoffmann, Esther, 2006. "The influence of different characteristics of the EU environmental management and auditing scheme on technical environmental innovations and economic performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 45-59, April.
    7. Ziegler, Andreas & Seijas Nogareda, Jazmin, 2009. "Environmental management systems and technological environmental innovations: Exploring the causal relationship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 885-893, June.
    8. Anton, W.R.Q.Wilma Rose Q. & Deltas, George & Khanna, Madhu, 2004. "Incentives for environmental self-regulation and implications for environmental performance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 632-654, July.
    9. Takuya Takahashi & Masao Nakamura, 2005. "Bureaucratization of environmental management and corporate greening: an empirical analysis of large manufacturing firms in Japan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 210-219, December.
    10. Facundo Albornoz & Matthew A. Cole & Robert J. R. Elliott & Marco G. Ercolani, 2009. "In Search of Environmental Spillovers," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 136-163, January.
    11. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Shimamoto, Kenichi, 2006. "Globalization, firm-level characteristics and environmental management: A study of Japan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 312-323, September.
    12. Wu JunJie & Wirkkala Teresa M., 2009. "Firms' Motivations for Environmental Overcompliance," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 399-433, June.
    13. Anton, Wilma Rose Q., 2005. "The Choice of Management Practices: What Determines the Design of an Environmental Management System?," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19503, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    14. Eva Horváthová, 2020. "Why Do Firms Voluntarily Adopt Environmental Management Systems? The Case of the Czech Republic," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 157-168.
    15. Jose García-Quevedo & Effie Kesidou & Ester Martínez-Ros, 2018. "Inter-industry differences in organisational eco-innovation: a panel data study," Working Papers 2018/07, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    16. Cody Jones, 2013. "Moving Beyond Profit: Expanding Research to Better Understand Business Environmental Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-29, June.
    17. Kube, Roland & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Löschel, Andreas & Massier, Philipp, 2019. "Do voluntary environmental programs reduce emissions? EMAS in the German manufacturing sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    18. Arora, Seema, 2000. "Green and Competitive? Evidence from the Stock Market," Research Papers 1650, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    19. Lily Hsueh, 2019. "Voluntary climate action and credible regulatory threat: evidence from the carbon disclosure project," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 188-225, December.
    20. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas, 2004. "Determinants of Environmental Innovations in Germany: Do Organizational Measures Matter? A Discrete Choice Analysis at the Firm Level," ZEW Discussion Papers 04-30, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:corsem:v:17:y:2010:i:4:p:215-229. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.