Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Abstract
This research seeks to illuminate which managerial and organizational factors lead large corporations to operate in an environmentally conscious manner. We used a blended quantitative approach to test the effects of managerial and organizational factors on a corporation's environmental performance. We used three data sets: (a) firm's actual environmental performance, (b) firm's actual safety performance, and (c) survey from top executives of the Fortune 500 companies. Our data shows that profit seeking positively affects environmental performance; in contrast, a manager's intrinsic values have little effect; and surprisingly a corporation's environmental performance is inversely related to coercive external pressure and risk aversion. Furthermore, environmental performance is positively associated with elevated concerns for employee safety. Results also indicate that pro-environmental behaviors are improved by an organization's ability to transfer knowledge across functional boundaries: best performing corporations were able to source and exploit new information to improve safety and environmental performance. Overall, the study provides new and surprising insights into what motivates and enables firms to achieve superior ecological performance.
Keywords
Fortune 500, safety performance, environmental performance, organizational mindfulness, absorptive capacity, coercive pressure, profit seeking, risk aversion, corporate social responsibility
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Klossner, David, "Managerial And Organizational Factors That Influence A Firm's Safety And Environmental Performance: An Examination Of The Fortune 500 Companies" (2013). Student Scholarship. 295.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/295