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The purpose of this paper is to examine why firms governed by the same environmental management standards within an industry exhibit contrasting responses, with some adhering to the letter and others achieving the spirit behind the standards.

Using Arena et al. (2010) as an analytical schema to examine the institutional dynamics behind such contrasting responses, the paper analyses archival and interview data relating to firm strategy, control technology and human expertise in two contrasting Australian forestry firms.

The embedding and decoupling of environmental standards with a firm’s environmental management practices is influenced, first, by the extent to which founder directors and senior management integrate environmental responsibility with the underlying business motives and, second, by the use of organisational beliefs and values systems to institutionalise the integrated strategic rationality throughout the firm. Finally, informed by the institutionalised strategic rationality, the participation and expertise of actors across the organisational hierarchy determine the level to which the design and execution of the eco-control technologies move beyond merely monitoring compliance, and act to facilitate continuous improvement, knowledge integration and organisational learning at the operational level.

This paper responds to institutional theorists’ call for a holistic explanation that considers the interactions among several intra-organisational factors to explain the dynamics behind why some firms decouple while others do not, even though the firms exist in the same social and regulatory context.

This study aims to examine residents’ perceptions of environmental impacts and certification for the Milan World Expo 2015 as well as their overall attitude toward the mega-event.

A survey of Milan residents based on a convenience sample led to 221 useable questionnaires.

Residents perceived that the Expo will have minimal negative and positive environmental impacts. A minority of residents were aware of the environmental certification of the event. The less agreeable residents were with the perceived negative environmental impacts of the event, the more agreeable they were that a certification of event sustainability should limit the damage to the natural environment. Residents’ perceptions of the certification were positively related to their overall attitude toward the event.

The findings cannot be generalized to other mega-events but have several managerial implications in relation to the need for information provision to residents and better communication of the certification by event organizers and planners.

Despite rising concerns about environmental issues related to hosting mega-events, there is no research on perceptions of a certification of event sustainability by residents.

The purpose of this paper is to study whether environmental certifications increase customer satisfaction in kindergartens, and whether this relationship is influenced by kindergarten size or ownership type.

Data from a parental satisfaction survey in Norwegian kindergartens is combined with data on environmental certifications (n = 2033–3270 kindergartens over 7 years, approximately 11% certified). Regression models with extensive controls are used to test the relationships.

The main pooled cross-sectional regression and all panel data regression models show no significant relationships between environmental certification and customer satisfaction. Organizational size or ownership type (for-profit/non-profit) does not moderate the relationship.

Environmental certifications have little or no impact on customer satisfaction in this sample of kindergartens.

The study contributes by examining the effects of environmental certifications on customer satisfaction in kindergartens, a little studied topic and a sector, and by using a large sample, secondary data and panel data methods, avoiding some limitations in earlier research.

The purpose of this paper is to link consumer use of technology to two very popular themes in the hospitality industry: boutique hotels and environmental responsibility.

The case study focuses on how boutique hotels legitimize their green practices through the use of technology – web sites, social media – to communicate their environmental recognitions to discerning eco‐conscious consumers seeking small lodgings. The authors analyze the type of environmental legitimacy practices used by the boutique hotel segment of the tourism industry, using a variety of international, regional, or trade recognized environmental evaluation assessments to legitimize their boutique hotel green practices. A diverse sample of boutique hotel accommodations in two attractive, but similar international destinations – Istanbul, Turkey and San Francisco, California – are used, through content analysis of hotel web sites.

San Francisco Bay Area hoteliers, in the majority of instances, used their web sites to illustrate one international standard, LEED certification, for building structure. However, these hoteliers generally reported use of varying regional standards for legitimizing their green practices. Istanbul hoteliers reported on maintaining international standards for legitimizing their green practices, but did not seek specific standards for building structures.

Future research surveys of specific consumer perceptions of their search and experience would prove valuable in terms of destination selection and experience of environmentally‐conscious boutique hotels. Social media and related web sites utilize consumer self‐reporting, which would add additional insight for future research in this area.

The authors' analysis studies the web promotion of two similar geographic tourism destination boutique hotels' use of international versus regional legitimacy of their environmental practices.

The aim of this paper is to explore the driving forces and cost/benefit effects of introducing environmental management systems (EMS) and standards in education and nursing in five of the largest Norwegian cities. The relevant standard is the Eco‐Lighthouse program which offers a Norwegian environmental certificate.

Multivariate analyses of data on motivating factors and perceived costs/benefits from reported EMS adoption from a survey going to executives in 391 schools and 87 nursing homes.

The study confirms that EMS adoption is driven by resources and capabilities, rather than simply institutional pressure, and that managers in nursing and education perceive reduced costs and other benefits from EMS adoption. The value added of the Eco‐Lighthouse certification is ambiguous.

Since the study builds on survey data on perceived effects from EMS adoption, a potential limitation is non‐representativeness, although sampled and un‐sampled institutions are similar in relevant respects. Moreover, since data are cross‐sectional, dynamic effects from EMS adoption is difficult to assess.

The paper corroborates results from previous studies. A novelty in the study is its attempt to control for the effect of rationalization and/or social desirability bias in effects reporting. The likely impact of rationalization/social desirability bias is in general positive but not significant in analyses of cost reductions, although both positive and significant in analyses of other benefit effects.

This paper aims to investigate the role of certification in providing information and reducing market inefficiencies when the “certification process is imperfect”. In the setting, eco-labels imperfectly signal environmental product quality to consumers where the error in the process of certification could be either Type 1 or Type 2 error. The paper examines firms' incentive to get certified, equilibrium quantities and profits. The authors use perfect Bayesian equilibrium concept for the analysis. They then examine conditions for separating and pooling equilibrium to exist and welfare implications of certification process.

The paper uses a vertical product differentiated model where firms are competing in quantities. Consumers are unable to observe the environmental quality of the product. To signal the product quality to consumers, firms may adopt certification by a third party. Using a framework where certification process is imperfect, the paper derives conditions for Perfect Bayesian separating and pooling equilibrium to exist.

The paper shows that the existence of separating and pooling equilibrium depends on the certification fee. A separating equilibrium, where one firm seeks certification and other firm does not seek certification exists for an intermediate value of certification fee. A pooling equilibrium, where both firms seek certification, exists only when the certification fee is sufficiently small. The paper shows conditions for the certification fee for which welfare will be higher under separating equilibrium as compared to pooling equilibrium and analyses welfare implications for subsidy policy for the certification fee.

The paper contributes to the literature by examining the role of labelling under imperfect certification.

Environmental claims in advertising (green ads) provide competitive advantage to firms. This study aims to understand what kinds of environmental claims advertisers make in a developing nation like India. Further, implications for policymakers and advertisers are discussed.

A content analysis of 279 green print advertisements was conducted using a comprehensive list of claim categories identified from the advertising literature. These categories included advertiser profile; ad promotions – type, sector, appeal; claim – nature, type, focus, validity, emphasis; executional elements – illustration setting, presenter, format/structure and environmental issue, identified from past studies and practitioner interviews.

The findings suggest that majority of the advertisers using green ads are manufacturers. Consumer durables, real estate and power sector together constitute one-third of the total green ads. Further, most of the green ads are aimed at influencing consumer behaviour. Though most of the ads contain strong emphasis on environmental attributes, they are ambiguous. A large proportion of claims are credence in nature and lack product identification through environmental certifications. This study also identifies areas of concern including interpretation of the term green, use of multiple certifications, greenwashing and advertisers showing environmental responsiveness through event-based green advertising. Policy recommendations are made based on green advertising regulations governing them across developed and other developing countries.

The content analysis of the green advertisements in this study was limited to newspaper advertisements within the print media. Future studies may use advertisements from different media types, such as the internet ads and television commercials, to examine the effect of media type on the nature of green advertisements. It would also be interesting to examine the role of regulations as a moderator, influencing the claims made in green advertisements.

The findings of this study provide a comprehensive overview of the nature of green advertisements in India. Marketers may use these insights to design effective green advertising strategies.

Most of the extant literature has examined environmental claims in the context of developed nations, where regulations are well established. Very few studies have examined this issue in the context of developing countries. In addition, most of the previous studies have focused on specific issues like greenwashing, appeals and execution elements. The present study contributes to green advertising by examining environmental claims in case of a developing nation like India using a comprehensive list of claim categories. This study also identifies areas of concern and suggests recommendations for policymakers and advertisers.

Information on scales for measuring dimensions related to consumer concerns over production processes is scarce in the literature. The purpose of this study was to develop a more comprehensive scale for measuring concern over the production process (CPP).

The authors derive the concept based on the results of a bibliographic review, existing certification criteria, an interview with five experts and two consumer focus groups. The authors interviewed 725 frequent beef meat consumers to test the scale.

Statistical tests and purification yielded a final scale with 18 items and six latent variables: animal welfare, traceability, social responsibility, environmental responsibility, legality and sanitation in slaughterhouses. The authors confirmed the nomological validity of the instrument using product involvement as an antecedent construct and attitude related to sustainable consumption as a consequent of CPP.

The research results may lack generalisability. New research avenues are suggested for testing the scale in other cultural contexts and with different groups of consumers and food types.

This study provides insights for cattle ranchers, the industry and the retail sector in formulating communication strategies and product/brand positioning in response to consumer concerns about the production process.

There is no study at present that fully addresses the use of a scale to measure dimensions of production processes. The creation of the CPP scale is a relevant academic contribution that aids in assessing the influence of the environmental dimension in conjunction with other essential constructs.

Stakeholders such as customers, governments and environmental organisations are more concerned than ever about the impact of supply chain practices on the environment, leading firms to introduce environmental requirements into their supply contracts. While the extant literature on supply chains acknowledges this trend, it fails to inform comprehensively on the concept of “stringent environmental requirement” and its consequences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this concept and explore how such requirements may translate into supplier environmental performance.

Qualitative methodology was adopted by the study and data were collected through conducting eight case studies in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) industry.

A number of factors were found to be influencing suppliers’ perception of stringency, such as uncertainty relating to the newness and deadline of buyers’ environmental requirements, the complexity of implementing the requirements, and the use of buyer-specific frameworks. The research also shows that suppliers’ efforts in building environmental capability play a vital role in dealing with stringent environmental requirements.

The case studies are limited to the Bangladesh RMG industry. Given that environmental regulations vary across different countries and industries, the data may not reflect all the possible variations in stringent environmental requirements.

The new insight proposed by this research can guide firms to further understand how supplier environmental performance and the sustainability of their supply chain can be achieved. The research provides broad insight into how suppliers can address stringent environmental requirements and improve their environmental performance.

This research establishes evidence for the relatively new phenomenon of “stringent environmental requirements”, and develops a theoretical framework to demonstrate the relationships among the critical determinants relevant to this phenomenon.

This chapter seeks to understand the emergence of new institutions of business regulation, standard-setting and governance commonly referred to as multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs), and to consider their implications both from the perspective of regulatory effectiveness and sustainable development.

The analysis synthesizes the findings of a review of 20 such initiatives. It draws on a wide body of literatures and conceptual insights to understand the emergence of these new approaches to international business regulation. The assessment of their emergence, performance, and impacts highlights the complex dynamics of regulatory change.

The findings caution against simple generalizations about the positive or negative outcomes of these new forms of collaborative governance. Their somewhat mixed record can be partly explained by the diverse set of interests, preferences, and agendas of the actors involved; variations in institutional learning, capacities, and power relations; as well as how such initiatives are nested in broader institutions and structures. This points to the need, raised in the conclusion, for intellectual pluralism in advancing knowledge of the effectiveness of new regulatory institutions.

The analysis aims to go beyond studies that (i) tend to focus on just one or a few cases; (ii) that ignore the implications of such initiatives for development in the Global South; and (iii) draw on narrow bodies of theory and literature to understand complex issues.