Proactive environmental strategy development: from laggard to eco-innovative firms

Abstract

The environmental management literature has focused on the analysis of the variety of strategic options with regards to environment protection, without providing an interesting detail of the transformation and change process between the different alternatives. Therefore, this paper studies pro-environmental change processes in firms, focusing on the width and the intensity of environmental measures implemented in a three-year period in different areas (productive process, product, management and supply chains). Methodology Performing a cluster analysis based on a sample of 303 Spanish firms, the study finds four categories of pro-environmental change. Findings The comparative analysis of these categories leads us to describe the pro-environmental change process as one with four stages that firms can go through. The first pro-environmental stage focuses on process measures. The second stage focuses on the adoption of management measures together with process measures. In the third stage, the firm moves after including measures in the product and in the supply chains. Companies that wish to advance further in this process, reaching the fourth stage of pro-environmental change, do so by increasing the intensity of the different measures adopted in previous stages, and through eco-innovation. Research implications The main contribution of this paper relative to the previous literature is a more detailed vision of the strategic possibilities in environmental protection, providing information about the process of change and about how firms evolve to more advanced environmental strategy stages. Knowledge of this evolution process, little studied in the previous literature, helps us to understand the complexity and strategic significance of adopting environmental protection measures. This knowledge is useful for academics and for public and private managers responsible for designing and developing environmental strategy. Originality/value One of the most original findings of this paper points out that it is possible to identify a pattern of environmental change through which firms can evolve. In this change process, firms start by adopting process measures, while they adopt eco-innovation behaviour only in the most advanced stage of environmental proactivity.

Classification and Measurement of the Firms’ Resources and Capabilities Applied to Eco-Innovation Projects from a Resource-Based View Perspective

“…CF_STRA-Capability to align the business strategy with the regional policy for eco-innovation (strategy) [135] CF_AGE-Age of the firm [105,121] CF_REG-Firms' capabilities to overcome legislation barriers [136] CF_MANAG-Managerial capabilities and leadership for eco-innovation [74,128,137,138] CF_COL-Capability to collaborate for environmental R&D and public/private communication for eco-innovation [47,64,128,135,139,140] Environmental Capabilities [97,[141][142][143] CE_SCOPE-Technological capabilities to achieve the scope of the eco-innovation projects [141,143] CE_ENVS-Advanced environmental management systems' implementation [41,50,109,141,144] CE_QUAL-Environmental quality standards [2,31,51,64,135,144,145] CE_CSR-RSC, reporting and environmental accounting [25,31,32,41] Table 5. Variables for measuring the projects' outcomes and some of the authors who have analysed these variables.…”

How Is Environmental Proactivity Accomplished? Drivers and Barriers in Firms’ Pro-Environmental Change Process

“…This decrease in impact can involve pollution prevention and control, a significant decrease in the use of resources, or changes in operation or management procedures, among other possibilities. The empirical definition of this variable is based on the work of Garcés-Ayerbe et al [39], which considers the scope or diversity in the adoption of these types of measures and the extent to which they are adopted.…”

“…Following the methodological purpose of Garcés-Ayerbe et al [39], this analysis included the level of application (intensity) and the level of the extent (scope) of the pro-environmental change measures applied by companies in their production cycles. The variable resulting from the cluster analysis enables us to classify companies into four groups.…”

Corporate dynamic approach to natural environment – a strategic approach

“…Dominującą siłą sprawczą osiągania proaktywności strategicznej przedsiębiorstwa jest impuls w postaci zmian prawnych. Proaktywność stanowi aktywność celową, zdeterminowaną sytuacyjnie i dyspozycyjnie 15 .…”

“…14 W artykule zamiennie stosuje się termin proaktywna strategia proekologicznego rozwoju i proaktywna strategia środowiskowa (PSŚ). 15 cyjną dotyczącą aspektów środowiska naturalnego. Ta często unikalna interakcja jest możliwa dzięki posiadanym organizacyjnym zasobom i zdolnościom przedsiębiorstwa.…”