Environmental Management in German Hospitals—A Classification of Approaches

Abstract

This paper analyzes organizational environmental performance and environmental management approaches in German hospitals. Based on data from an online survey and a subsequent cluster analysis, three groups of hospitals are identified: traditionalists, pragmatists, and environmentalists. The clusters differ regarding their organizational environmental performance, i.e., the environmental management elements adopted (policy, goals, structures, processes, and monitoring) and the environmental issues addressed (energy, water, material consumption, waste, emissions into water and air). The environmental management approaches hospitals adopt range from least to most active. Despite perceived stakeholder pressure being generally low, differences between the clusters can be observed. The most relevant stakeholders are internal ones, i.e., management and owners, rather than external ones. Furthermore, some organizational characteristics distinguish the clusters. This paper adds knowledge in the under-researched setting of hospitals and discusses managerial possibilities for the types of hospitals to increase their organizational environmental performance and to pursue a more holistic environmental approach.

Corporate Environmentalism: An Emerging Economy Perspective

“…The adoption of environmental strategies depends on internal as well as external forces in the political and economic contexts in which the firm operates, including the internal as well as external stakeholders [24] (p. 22). The Banerjee model identified four factors which have an impact on corporate environmentalism: public concern, regulatory pressure, competitive advantage and top management commitment.…”

“…Pedersen and Neergaard [33] argued that the green consumer is a rare and exclusive demographic. Seifert, Damert and Guenther [24], while studying the impact of hospital clients on the environmental management system of German hospitals, found customers as irrelevant stakeholders, and Zhang et al [34] found customers' pressures as an insignificant predictor of firms adopting intentions to green innovation in China. In addition, according to Raiz et al [35], customer priorities and their environmental guidelines are very different in emerging markets.…”

“…Banerjee's [37] study of over 250 firms belonging to a variety of industries found that comprehensive environmental strategies by organizations are more common in industries that face stricter environmental regulations, which also explains the difference in response toward development and implementation of environmental strategies. Seifert, Damert and Guenther [24] found that with reference to external stakeholders, the German hospital management generally viewed regulators as the most significant stakeholder. Yet, the perceived pressure due to environmental regulations seems not to shape the characteristics of the environmental management approach of these hospitals.…”

“…Moreover, a manager's personal perception about environmental values and protection plays an important role in the organization's environmental stance [49]. The management of a firm is vital in seeking out emerging sources of competitive advantage such as environmental marketing to satisfy customers and other stakeholders, and in return, increase shareholder value [24,49,50]. Wijethilake et al [51] asserted the importance of top management commitment in the successful implementation of environmental strategies by organizations and put its own sustainability agenda over other organizational strategies.…”

“…When there is top management commitment, organizations proactively seek international certifications [55]. The emphasis of top management on environmental issues makes them more salient and can result in generating a positive response [24,50,56]. In the light of the above results, the following hypotheses are proposed: Hypothesis 4a (H4a).…”