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Chief executive officers and voluntary environmental performance: Costa Rica's certification for sustainable tourism

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  • Jorge Rivera
  • Peter Leon

Abstract

This study evaluates whether the education, environmental expertise, and nationality of firms' chief executive officers (CEOs) are associated with greater participation and environmental performance in a voluntary environmental program implemented in a developing nation. Specifically, we collected data from the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program, a voluntary initiative aimed at promoting beyond-compliance environmental performance by hotels operating in Costa Rica. Our findings suggest that CEOs' level of formal education and environmental expertise appear to be significantly associated with higher corporate participation in voluntary programs and also with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance ratings. Contrary to conventional expectations, CEOs from industrialized countries (as opposed to developing countries) do not appear to show a statistically significant association with participation in the CST program and with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge Rivera & Peter Leon, 2005. "Chief executive officers and voluntary environmental performance: Costa Rica's certification for sustainable tourism," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 38(2), pages 107-127, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:38:y:2005:i:2:p:107-127
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-005-6590-x
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    2. Shih-Hao Wang & Meng-Tsung Lee & Pierre-Alexandre Château & Yang-Chi Chang, 2016. "Performance Indicator Framework for Evaluation of Sustainable Tourism in the Taiwan Coastal Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Leonidou, Constantinos N. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Zeriti, Athina, 2013. "Resources and capabilities as drivers of hotel environmental marketing strategy: Implications for competitive advantage and performance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 94-110.
    4. Wafa Ghardallou, 2022. "Corporate Sustainability and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of CEO Education and Tenure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. David Daniel Peña-Miranda & Jesús Arteaga-Ortiz & José Ramón-Cardona, 2019. "Determinants of CSR Application in the Hotel Industry of the Colombian Caribbean," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Ling Ling Tan & Norzalita Abd Aziz & Abdul Hafaz Ngah, 2020. "Mediating effect of reasons on the relationship between altruism and green hotel patronage intention," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 18-30, March.
    7. Lily Hsueh, 2019. "Opening up the firm: What explains participation and effort in voluntary carbon disclosure by global businesses? An analysis of internal firm factors and dynamics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1302-1322, November.
    8. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Leonidou, Constantinos N. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Aykol, Bilge, 2015. "Dynamic capabilities driving an eco-based advantage and performance in global hotel chains: The moderating effect of international strategy," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 268-280.
    9. Changrong Wang & Lufeng Gou & Xuemei Li, 2022. "Is Education Beneficial to Environmentally Friendly Behaviors? Evidence from CEOs," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Du, Jiangze & Li, Zhiwei & Shi, Guoping & Wang, Bin, 2024. "Can “environmental protection fee to tax” reduce carbon emissions? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    11. Cecile K. Cho & Theresa S. Cho & Jessie Lee, 2019. "Managerial attributes, consumer proximity, and corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 159-169, January.

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