Marketing managers' perceptions of corporate environmentalism: Conceptualization, measurement and antecedents

Recent trends indicate that firms are spending more money and resources on environmental protection and are seeking proactive ways to reduce the environment impact of their business actions. This dissertation discusses the impact of environmental issues on strategy formulation and proposes underlying themes of corporate environmentalism based on inclusion of the biophysical environment in strategy, formulation, and organization wide recognition of and response to environmental issues. Corporate environmentalism is proposed to consist of two constructs: an overall corporate environmental orientation wherein environmentalism is internalized as a corporate value, and an environmental strategic focus involving the integration of environmental issues into the strategic planning process. The construct of corporate environmentalism is operationalized and the relationship with its antecedents is empirically tested. Using theoretical perspectives from ecology, marketing, and strategic management, this study builds an integrated model of corporate environmentalism including its antecedents and consequences. Public concern, threat of legislation, top management commitment, long term focus, and the need for competitive advantage are some antecedents that were gleaned from the literature. A two-stage methodology was used: the first stage involved in-depth interviews with managers of 6 firms. Based on these interviews three models of corporate environmentalism were constructed. The second stage involved empirical testing of these models. A survey instrument was designed and mailed to 1012 firms. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the constructs of corporate environmentalism was done to examine the dimensionality of the constructs. The models were tested using path analysis. Top management commitment and the need for competitive advantage emerged as the two key variables that explained corporate environmentalism. Public concern and the threat of legislation indirectly influenced corporate environmentalism through top management commitment. Strategic implications of corporate environmentalism for firms are discussed and a framework for future research on environmental issues facing business is proposed.