IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v11y2002i1p43-62.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Voluntary adoption of ISO 14001 in Japan: mechanisms, stages and effects

Author

Listed:
  • Eric W. Welch
  • Yasuhumi Mori
  • Midori Aoyagi‐Usui

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand what factors contribute to voluntary adoption of the ISO 14001 environmental management system by private sector facilities in Japan. A model based on regulatory, competitiveness, social responsibility and organization theory is applied to 1999 survey data. Analysis shows systematically different factors to be important indicators of voluntarism in different industries and for facilities at different stages of certification. First adopters and second adopters appear to be fundamentally different types of organizations driven by different internal and external factors. Although results do not indicate a clear causal linkage between ISO adoption and greening activity, evidence shows that at least two different stages of adoption have taken place in Japan and that ISO adoption is associated with environmental action. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • Eric W. Welch & Yasuhumi Mori & Midori Aoyagi‐Usui, 2002. "Voluntary adoption of ISO 14001 in Japan: mechanisms, stages and effects," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 43-62, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:11:y:2002:i:1:p:43-62
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.318
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.318
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.318?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. Eric W. Welch & Allan Mazur & Stuart Bretschneider, 2000. "Voluntary behavior by electric utilities: Levels of adoption and contribution of the climate challenge program to the reduction of carbon dioxide," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(3), pages 407-425.
    3. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    4. Andreoni, James, 1995. "Cooperation in Public-Goods Experiments: Kindness or Confusion?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(4), pages 891-904, September.
    5. Paul Shrivastava, 1995. "Environmental technologies and competitive advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(S1), pages 183-200.
    6. Simon Atkinson & Anja Schaefer & Howard Viney, 2000. "Organizational structure and effective environmental management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(2), pages 108-120, March.
    7. Palfrey, Thomas R & Prisbrey, Jeffrey E, 1997. "Anomalous Behavior in Public Goods Experiments: How Much and Why?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 829-846, December.
    8. Robert Baylis & Lianne Connell & Andrew Flynn, 1998. "Sector variation and ecological modernization: towards an analysis at the level of the firm," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 150-161, July.
    9. Gary S. Becker, 1983. "A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(3), pages 371-400.
    10. Khanna, Madhu & Quimio, Wilma Rose H. & Bojilova, Dora, 1998. "Toxics Release Information: A Policy Tool for Environmental Protection," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 243-266, November.
    11. Khanna, Madhu & Damon, Lisa A., 1999. "EPA's Voluntary 33/50 Program: Impact on Toxic Releases and Economic Performance of Firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 1-25, January.
    12. Lutz, Stefan & Lyon, Thomas P & Maxwell, John W, 1998. "Strategic Quality Choice with Minimum Quality Standards," CEPR Discussion Papers 1793, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. 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)

    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. Seong‐gin Moon & Suho Bae & Moon‐Gi Jeong, 2014. "Corporate Sustainability and Economic Performance: an Empirical Analysis of a Voluntary Environmental Program in the USA," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 534-546, December.
    2. Rinaldo Brau & C. Carraro, 2004. "The economic analysis of voluntary approaches to environmental protection. A survey," Working Paper CRENoS 200420, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    3. Nicole Darnall & Joann Carmin, 2005. "Greener and cleaner? The signaling accuracy of U.S. voluntary environmental programs," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 38(2), pages 71-90, September.
    4. Keith Brouhle & Charles Griffiths & Ann Wolverton, 2007. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of EPA Voluntary Programs: An Examination of the Strategic Goals Program for Metal Finishers," NCEE Working Paper Series 200706, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised May 2007.
    5. Eric W. Welch & Allan Mazur & Stuart Bretschneider, 2000. "Voluntary behavior by electric utilities: Levels of adoption and contribution of the climate challenge program to the reduction of carbon dioxide," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(3), pages 407-425.
    6. Madhu Khanna, 2001. "Non‐Mandatory Approaches to Environmental Protection," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 291-324, July.
    7. Abdoul Sam, 2010. "Impact of government-sponsored pollution prevention practices on environmental compliance and enforcement: evidence from a sample of US manufacturing facilities," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 266-286, June.
    8. Earnhart, Dietrich & Lízal, Lubomír, 2002. "Effects of Ownership and Financial Status on Corporate Environmental Performance," CEPR Discussion Papers 3557, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Brouhle, Keith & Griffiths, Charles & Wolverton, Ann, 2009. "Evaluating the role of EPA policy levers: An examination of a voluntary program and regulatory threat in the metal-finishing industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 166-181, March.
    10. Earnhart, Dietrich & Lizal, Lubomir, 2006. "Effects of ownership and financial performance on corporate environmental performance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 111-129, March.
    11. Afsah, Shakeb & Blackman, Allen & Ratunanda, Damayanti, 2000. "How Do Public Disclosure Pollution Control Programs Work? Evidence from Indonesia," Discussion Papers 10515, Resources for the Future.
    12. Donna Ramirez Harrington, 2013. "Effectiveness Of State Pollution Prevention Programs And Policies," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(2), pages 255-278, April.
    13. Saha, Shrawantee & Mohr, Robert D., 2013. "Media attention and the Toxics Release Inventory," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 284-291.
    14. Dietrich Earnhart & Lubomir Lizal, 2007. "Does Better Environmental Performance Affect Revenues, Cost, or Both? Evidence From a Transition Economy," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp856, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    15. Dietrich Earnhart & Lubomir Lizal, 2010. "Pollution Control in a Transition Economy: Do Firms Face Economies and/or Diseconomies of Scale?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp405, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    16. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2007. "When and Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-20, CIRANO.
    17. Susan A. Kayser & John W. Maxwell & Michael W. Toffel, 2014. "Supply chain screening without certification: The critical role of stakeholder pressure," Working Papers 2014-08, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    18. Bjorner, Thomas Bue & Hansen, L.G.Lars Garn & Russell, Clifford S., 2004. "Environmental labeling and consumers' choice--an empirical analysis of the effect of the Nordic Swan," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 411-434, May.
    19. Roeland Bracke & Tom Verbeke, 2007. "What Distinguishes EMAS Participants? An Exploration of Company Characteristics," Working Papers 2007.37, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    20. Рубинштейн Александр Яковлевич, "undated". "Методологический Анализ Теории Опекаемых Благ: Научный Доклад [methodological analysis of the Theory of Patronized Goods. Research report]," Working papers a:pru175:ye:2014:1, Institute of Economics.

    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:bla:bstrat:v:11:y:2002:i:1:p:43-62. 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: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    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.