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Governmental and Societal Support for Environmental Enforcement in China: An Empirical Study in Guangzhou

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  • Carlos Wing-Hung Lo
  • Gerald Erick Fryxell

Abstract

The enforcement behaviour of environmental officials in developing countries has not received adequate attention despite enormous challenges to regulatory enforcement in those areas. Accordingly, this article examines the relationship between perceptions of support from local governments and society and evaluations of enforcement effectiveness. A model in which organisational commitment partially mediates these relationships was tested using a sample of 202 enforcement officials in Guangzhou, China. The findings confirm a partial mediating role for organisational commitment and an interaction effect between government and societal support. A plot of this interaction reveals that when enforcement officials perceive high levels of governmental support, societal support further enhances their perceptions of enforcement effectiveness. However, when they perceive government support to be low, higher levels of societal support appear to diminish their assessments of enforcement effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Wing-Hung Lo & Gerald Erick Fryxell, 2005. "Governmental and Societal Support for Environmental Enforcement in China: An Empirical Study in Guangzhou," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 558-588.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:41:y:2005:i:4:p:558-588
    DOI: 10.1080/00220380500092655
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. PeterJ May & Søren Winter, 1999. "Regulatory enforcement and compliance: Examining Danish agro-environmental policy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 625-651.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mai Dong Tran & Samuel Adomako, 2022. "How environmental reputation and ethical behavior impact the relationship between environmental regulatory enforcement and environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2489-2499, July.
    2. Carlos Wing-Hung Lo & Gerald E Fryxell & Benjamin Van Rooij, 2009. "Changes in Enforcement Styles among Environmental Enforcement Officials in China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(11), pages 2706-2723, November.
    3. Liao, Zhongju & Chen, Jie & Weng, Chen & Zhu, Cunbin, 2023. "The effects of external supervision on firm-level environmental innovation in China: Are they substantive or strategic?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 267-277.
    4. Zhongju Liao & Chen Weng & Chen Shen, 2020. "Can public surveillance promote corporate environmental innovation? The mediating role of environmental law enforcement," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1519-1527, November.
    5. Benjamin Van Rooij & Gerald E. Fryxell & Carlos Wing‐Hung Lo & Wei Wang, 2013. "From support to pressure: The dynamics of social and governmental influences on environmental law enforcement in Guangzhou City, China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(3), pages 321-347, September.
    6. Xuehua Zhang, 2016. "Judicial enforcement deputies: Causes and effects of Chinese judges enforcing environmental administrative decisions," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(1), pages 29-43, March.
    7. Yang Chen, 2020. "An Investigation of the Influencing Factors of Chinese WeChat Users’ Environmental Information-Sharing Behavior Based on an Integrated Model of UGT, NAM, and TPB," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Jodi L. Short, 2021. "The politics of regulatory enforcement and compliance: Theorizing and operationalizing political influences," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 653-685, July.
    9. Kent Walker & Na Ni & Weidong Huo, 2014. "Is the Red Dragon Green? An Examination of the Antecedents and Consequences of Environmental Proactivity in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(1), pages 27-43, November.

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