IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v29y2020i6p2338-2354.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Proactive environmental strategy, stakeholder pressure and the moderating effect of firm size

Author

Listed:
  • Oksana Seroka‐Stolka
  • Kamil Fijorek

Abstract

The article evaluates the influence of pressure of 10 distinct types of stakeholders on the adoption of environmental strategies, with the special focus on the proactive environmental strategy (PES). The moderation effect of the company size on this relationship is investigated in depth. The existence of the relationship between stakeholder pressure and environmental strategies has been explored by numerous studies. The study adds significantly to this ongoing discussion as the moderation effect of the company size was explored scarcely so far in the literature. The results from the multinomial logistic regression models confirmed almost unanimously the effect of stakeholder pressure and the presence of the moderation. Positive, but nonlinear, direct and moderated effect of pressures of regulators, competitors, clients, NGOs, media, shareholders and employees on PES was discovered. In case of suppliers, consumers and top management, the pressure–PES relation was more complex. Also, large companies seem to be more resilient to pressures than the smaller ones when adopting PES.

Suggested Citation

  • Oksana Seroka‐Stolka & Kamil Fijorek, 2020. "Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Proactive environmental strategy, stakeholder pressure and the moderating effect of firm size," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2338-2354, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:29:y:2020:i:6:p:2338-2354
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2506
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2506
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.2506?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. Margarethe F. Wiersema & Harry P. Bowen, 2009. "The use of limited dependent variable techniques in strategy research: issues and methods," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 679-692, June.
    2. Nigel Roome, 1992. "Developing environmental management strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 11-24, March.
    3. Sharma, Pramodita & Sharma, Sanjay, 2011. "Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategy in Family Firms," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 309-334, April.
    4. Francesco Gangi & Lucia Michela Daniele & Nicola Varrone, 2020. "How do corporate environmental policy and corporate reputation affect risk‐adjusted financial performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 1975-1991, July.
    5. Kristel Buysse & Alain Verbeke, 2003. "Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 453-470, May.
    6. Ruihua Joy Jiang & Pratima Bansal, 2003. "Seeing the Need for ISO 14001," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 1047-1067, June.
    7. Sanjay Sharma & Irene Henriques, 2005. "Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 159-180, February.
    8. Jan Lepoutre & Aimé Heene, 2006. "Investigating the Impact of Firm Size on Small Business Social Responsibility: A Critical Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 257-273, September.
    9. F. A. J. van den Bosch & C. B. M. van Riel, 1998. "Buffering and bridging as environmental strategies of firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 24-31, February.
    10. Francesco Calza & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2016. "Corporate Ownership and Environmental Proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 369-389, September.
    11. Elisa Alt & Emilio Díez-de-Castro & Francisco Lloréns-Montes, 2015. "Linking Employee Stakeholders to Environmental Performance: The Role of Proactive Environmental Strategies and Shared Vision," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 167-181, April.
    12. 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.
    13. Elisabeth Albertini, 2014. "A Descriptive Analysis of Environmental Disclosure: A Longitudinal Study of French Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 233-254, May.
    14. Minna Halme & Maria Korpela, 2014. "Responsible Innovation Toward Sustainable Development in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: a Resource Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 547-566, December.
    15. Andrew King & Michael Lenox, 2002. "Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 289-299, February.
    16. Javier González‐Benito & Óscar González‐Benito, 2010. "A study of determinant factors of stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 164-181, March.
    17. Dean, Thomas J. & Brown, Robert L. & Stango, Victor, 2000. "Environmental Regulation as a Barrier to the Formation of Small Manufacturing Establishments: A Longitudinal Examination," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 56-75, July.
    18. Torben Pedersen & Steen Thomsen, 1997. "European Patterns of Corporate Ownership: A Twelve-Country Study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(4), pages 759-778, December.
    19. Bulent Menguc & Seigyoung Auh & Lucie Ozanne, 2010. "The Interactive Effect of Internal and External Factors on a Proactive Environmental Strategy and its Influence on a Firm's Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 279-298, June.
    20. Ramus, Catherine A., 2002. "Encouraging innovative environmental actions: what companies and managers must do," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 151-164, July.
    21. Elisabeth Albertini, 2014. "A Descriptive Analysis of Environmental Disclosure: A Longitudinal Study of French Companies," Post-Print halshs-01897681, HAL.
    22. David Gadenne & Jessica Kennedy & Catherine McKeiver, 2009. "An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness and Practices in SMEs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 45-63, January.
    23. Simon Cadez & Albert Czerny & Peter Letmathe, 2019. "Stakeholder pressures and corporate climate change mitigation strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 1-14, January.
    24. Elisabeth Albertini, 2013. "Does Environmental Management Improve Financial Performance? A Meta-Analytical Review," Post-Print halshs-01887802, HAL.
    25. Samantha Miles, 2017. "Stakeholder Theory Classification: A Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Definitions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 437-459, May.
    26. Marta Pinzone & Emanuele Lettieri & Cristina Masella, 2015. "Proactive Environmental Strategies in Healthcare Organisations: Drivers and Barriers in Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 183-197, September.
    27. Johan Jansson & Jonas Nilsson & Frida Modig & Gabriella Hed Vall, 2017. "Commitment to Sustainability in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: The Influence of Strategic Orientations and Management Values," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 69-83, January.
    28. G. Russell Merz & Matthew H. Sauber, 1995. "Profiles of managerial activities in small firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(7), pages 551-564.
    29. Javier González‐Benito & Óscar González‐Benito, 2006. "A review of determinant factors of environmental proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 87-102, March.
    30. Pratima Bansal & Geoffrey Kistruck, 2006. "Seeing Is (Not) Believing: Managing the Impressions of the Firm’s Commitment to the Natural Environment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 165-180, August.
    31. Nicole Darnall & Irene Henriques & Perry Sadorsky, 2010. "Adopting Proactive Environmental Strategy: The Influence of Stakeholders and Firm Size," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1072-1094, September.
    32. Javier Delgado-Ceballos & Juan Aragón-Correa & Natalia Ortiz-de-Mandojana & Antonio Rueda-Manzanares, 2012. "The Effect of Internal Barriers on the Connection Between Stakeholder Integration and Proactive Environmental Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 281-293, May.
    33. Josefina L. Murillo‐Luna & Concepción Garcés‐Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera‐Torres, 2008. "Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholders' pressure approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(11), pages 1225-1240, November.
    34. Amorim Varum, Celeste & Rocha, Vera Catarina, 2012. "The effect of crises on firm exit and the moderating effect of firm size," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 94-97.
    35. Andrea L. Larson, 2000. "Sustainable innovation through an entrepreneurship lens," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 304-317, September.
    36. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hettige, Hemamala & Wheeler, David, 2000. "What Improves Environmental Compliance? Evidence from Mexican Industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 39-66, January.
    37. Ines Suarez-Perales & Concepción Garces-Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera-Torres & Cristina Suarez-Galvez, 2017. "Is Strategic Proactivity a Driver of an Environmental Strategy? Effects of Innovation and Internationalization Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-13, October.
    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. 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.
    2. Corsini, Filippo & Appio, Francesco Paolo & Frey, Marco, 2019. "Exploring the antecedents and consequences of environmental performance in micro-enterprises: The case of the Italian craft beer industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 340-350.
    3. Anton Shevchenko, 2021. "Do financial penalties for environmental violations facilitate improvements in corporate environmental performance? An empirical investigation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1723-1734, May.
    4. Marta Pinzone & Emanuele Lettieri & Cristina Masella, 2015. "Proactive Environmental Strategies in Healthcare Organisations: Drivers and Barriers in Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 183-197, September.
    5. Defeng Yang & Wei Jiang & Weihong Zhao, 2019. "Proactive environmental strategy, innovation capability, and stakeholder integration capability: A mediation analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1534-1547, December.
    6. Jörn H. Block & Pramodita Sharma & Lena Benz, 2024. "Stakeholder Pressures and Decarbonization Strategies in Mittelstand Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 511-533, September.
    7. Elisa Alt & Emilio Díez-de-Castro & Francisco Lloréns-Montes, 2015. "Linking Employee Stakeholders to Environmental Performance: The Role of Proactive Environmental Strategies and Shared Vision," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 167-181, April.
    8. Michaela Kotkova Striteska & Katerina Myslivcova & Viktor Prokop & Lucie Zapletalova, 2024. "Employees' engagement, family ownership, or gender diversity? Searching for determinants of SMEs' green behaviors in CEE countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3065-3080, July.
    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. Christin Seifert & Edeltraud Guenther, 2020. "Who cares?—Stakeholder relevance for voluntary environmental management in hospitals," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1786-1799, July.
    11. Xue Yang & Yuandi Wang & Die Hu & Yongqiang Gao, 2018. "How industry peers improve your sustainable development? The role of listed firms in environmental strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1313-1333, December.
    12. Huixiang Zeng & Xuemei Li & Qiong Zhou & Lin Wang, 2022. "Local government environmental regulatory pressures and corporate environmental strategies: Evidence from natural resource accountability audits in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3060-3082, November.
    13. Javier Amores‐salvadó & Gregorio Martin‐de Castro & Elisabeth Albertini, 2022. "Walking the talk, but above all, talking the walk: Looking green for market stakeholder engagement," Post-Print halshs-03760088, HAL.
    14. 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.
    15. Adolfo Carballo‐Penela & Juan Luis Castromán‐Diz, 2015. "Environmental Policies for Sustainable Development: An Analysis of the Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategies in the Service Sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 802-818, December.
    16. Suresh Kumar Jakhar & Arijit Bhattacharya & Himanshu Rathore & Sachin Kumar Mangla, 2020. "Stakeholder pressure for sustainability: Can ‘innovative capabilities’ explain the idiosyncratic response in the manufacturing firms?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2635-2653, September.
    17. Juan Felipe Reyes‐Rodríguez & John P. Ulhøi & Henning Madsen, 2016. "Corporate Environmental Sustainability in Danish SMEs: A Longitudinal Study of Motivators, Initiatives, and Strategic Effects," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 193-212, July.
    18. Jean-Marie Courrent & Sonia Chassé & Waleed Omri, 2018. "Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 317-336, December.
    19. Steffen Maas & Tassilo Schuster & Evi Hartmann, 2018. "Stakeholder Pressures, Environmental Practice Adoption and Economic Performance in the German Third-party Logistics Industry—A Contingency Perspective," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 167-201, February.
    20. Francesco Calza & Adele Parmentola & Ilaria Tutore, 2021. "For green or not for green? The effect of cooperation goals and type on environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 267-281, January.

    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:29:y:2020:i:6:p:2338-2354. 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.