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1 – 10 of over 2000Raquel Orcos and Sergio Palomas
The purpose of this paper is to explore how national cultures contribute to explain the uneven diffusion of ISO 14001 across countries. The paper focuses on two of the cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how national cultures contribute to explain the uneven diffusion of ISO 14001 across countries. The paper focuses on two of the cultural dimensions developed by the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness (GLOBE) project, namely, performance orientation and institutional collectivism.
Design/methodology/approach
A database containing information about the diffusion of ISO 14001 in 52 countries during the period 1999–2016 was built to carry out this research. The countries considered in this study represent about 90 percent of worldwide ISO 14001 certifications. The information was gathered from publicly available data sources: the ISO Survey, published every year by the International Organization for Standardization, the world development indicators of the World Bank, the cultural dimensions of the GLOBE project and the Index of Economic Freedom provided by The Heritage Foundation.
Findings
This research finds that both performance orientation and institutional collectivism influence the diffusion of ISO 14001. Whereas performance orientation slows down the diffusion of ISO 14001, institutional collectivism speeds it up. Additionally, this research shows that the slowing effect of performance orientation decreases in strength over time, while the accelerating effect of institutional collectivism becomes stronger.
Originality/value
The study adds to the understanding of the influence of national culture on the diffusion of environmental management standards, with an emphasis on ISO 14001. A key contribution of this research is that it explores how the influence of cultural dimensions change over time as a result of the development and maturation of ISO 14001.
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Dominik Zimon, Peter Madzík, Scott Dellana, Robert Sroufe, Muhammad Ikram and Kateryna Lysenko-Ryba
Comprehensive management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 are designed to help organizations improve processes, ensure customer satisfaction, efficient information flow…
Abstract
Purpose
Comprehensive management systems such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 are designed to help organizations improve processes, ensure customer satisfaction, efficient information flow, efficient use of resources and many other prosperous management areas. These systems can also bring unintended direct and indirect effects on organizations. In this study, the authors examine the environmental effects that the implementation of these management systems cause.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey-based methodology was used for this study, with textile organizations in three countries – Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The research focused on four areas related to environmental effects. The first area was the level of improvement of the organizations' environmental performance, which was examined by the methods of descriptive statistics. The second area was analyzing differences in environmental effects concerning the implementation of the systems using inferential statistics. The third area was the analysis of latent links between individual effects using factor analysis.
Findings
This study's insights shed some light on the benefits of implementing more, not fewer systems with benefits to organizations and entire industries with new possibilities for economic growth that do not have to come at the expense of the environment.
Originality/value
Organizations implementing management systems can realize dynamic benefits across a supply chain and within a manufacturing organization. Here the authors see an opportunity for ISO systems as a stepping stone to a more sustainable textile manufacturing economy.
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Aqeel Ahmed, Sanjay Mathrani and Nihal Jayamaha
The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 approach in meat industry for environmental performance and examine a proposed…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 approach in meat industry for environmental performance and examine a proposed conceptual framework by capturing insights from lean and ISO 14001 experts in New Zealand (NZ).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with a group of consultants (lean and ISO 14001) to evaluate the suitability of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 approach in the meat industry for environmental performance. A conceptual framework from literature has guided this study leading to its further development based on the empirical evidence collected.
Findings
Findings have illustrated a synergistic positive impact of lean and ISO 14001 implementation as an integrated approach for sustaining environmental performance in the meat industry. A joint implementation program provides more clarity in aligning ISO 14001 operational procedures with lean tools and techniques for an enhanced environmental performance outcome.
Practical implications
The application of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 framework is proposed in this paper, which can help industry practitioners and academia in developing a joint implementation strategy and conducting future research.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to assess the effective implementation of lean and ISO 14001 as an integrated approach in the NZ meat industry.
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Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria, German Arana Landín and José Francisco Molina‐Azorín
The ISO 14001 is already a global meta‐standard for implementing Environmental Management Systems. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the sources of…
Abstract
Purpose
The ISO 14001 is already a global meta‐standard for implementing Environmental Management Systems. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the sources of motivation that lead companies to adopt this global standard for its perceived benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of the academic literature published on ISO 14001, motivations, and benefits has been carried out in order to establish the working hypotheses that are analyzed based on the information obtained from 214 Spanish companies that participated in a survey.
Findings
The internal drivers to implement and certify the ISO 14001 standard have a degree of influence on the benefits that is significantly higher than external ones, irrespective of the size of the company and the sector of activity.
Practical implications
The findings help to characterize ISO 14001 certified firms and anticipate benefits of the implementation and certification of the standard.
Originality/value
The article sheds light on the relationship among the motivational factors and the benefits of the process of implementing and certifying ISO 14001 in the country in the world that has experienced the greatest intensity of certification. A typology of integration level from Boiral and Boiral and Roy is empirically analyzed for ISO 14001 for the first time in the literature.
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Goh Eng Ann, Suhaiza Zailani and Nabsiah Abd Wahid
To investigate the impact of EMS certification on the performance of firms, including economic and environmental aspects and perceived customer satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the impact of EMS certification on the performance of firms, including economic and environmental aspects and perceived customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this study is hypotheses testing in order to explain the variance in the dependent variable (firms' performance in terms of economic and environmental aspects) by establishing the nature of the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables through the testing of the hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that certification impacts positively on both the environmental and economic performance of enterprises. Respondents perceived “enhanced corporate image” to be the strongest impact of certification, and they believe that the benefits obtained from EMS certification far outweigh the cost of its implementation.
Research limitations/implications
The study only surveyed ISO 14001‐certified firms. Future research should include non‐certified firms.
Practical implications
To improve the quality of the environment there needs to be a partnership between government, businesses and the community.
Originality/value
ISO 14001 certification has a positive impact on firms' performance, specifically on perceived economic impact, perceived environmental impact and perceived customer satisfaction. By failing to perceive a marketing opportunity from using this well‐known standard, firms can lose market share.
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Gregor Radonjič and Polona Tominc
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether environmental management systems (EMS) according to ISO 14001 requirements have contributed to the implementation and adoption of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether environmental management systems (EMS) according to ISO 14001 requirements have contributed to the implementation and adoption of new technologies and to the issues related to technology performance in industrial enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on the questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of ISO 14001 certified Slovene manufacturing companies.
Findings
The results revealed that ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies still mostly used the combination of partly adopted and partly modified technologies in order to reduce environmental impacts. ISO 14001 was considered as a very useful tool for the promotion of technological modernisation. It was shown also that ISO 14001 standard can play a significant role as a support tool for the acceleration of technological innovation activities regardless of the origin of the technology.
Research limitations/implications
The research surveyed only industrial ISO 14001 certified enterprises in the Republic of Slovenia. Differences among industrial branches exist as well as among small, medium and large enterprises. These facts must be further studied.
Practical implications
ISO 14001 certification proved to be an important driver for technological modernisation in industrial practice. Some environmental indicators are still underestimated or nonsufficiently included into firms' environmental policies and must be certainly improved. Since adoption of new technologies and EMS were rarely covered together the findings are interesting for wider community.
Originality/value
The paper covers a subject on how adoption of ISO 14001 influences technological changes and related activities. Not many information and in‐depth case studies have been available until now.
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Antony Paulraj and Pieter de Jong
This study aspires to explore how the US stock market reacts to ISO 14001 certification announcements.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aspires to explore how the US stock market reacts to ISO 14001 certification announcements.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs an event‐study methodology on a sample of 140 announcements and matching control firms to study the impact of ISO 14001 certification announcements.
Findings
The results suggest that ISO 14001 certification announcements have a negative impact on stock performance. More importantly, they show that the shareholder wealth reduced due to these certifications announcements.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on short‐term stock market reaction. Future studies should consider the entire sample of ISO 14001‐certified firms within the USA and use certification date to evaluate short‐ as well as long‐term improvements in shareholder wealth.
Practical implications
The results suggest that firms will need to educate shareholders about their actions towards the betterment of the environment. Such coordinated communication will ensure that the ISO 14001 standard is highly regarded, widely adopted, and even requested by shareholders.
Originality/value
Past empirical studies indicate that certified environmental management systems help organizations to reduce waste and pollution, thereby ultimately resulting in superior environmental and economic performance. At the same time, given its focus on the process rather than performance outcomes, opponents criticize ISO 14001 suggesting that it is just a label for image building. Owing to this dilemma, it is pertinent to evaluate how shareholders perceive a firm's attainment of ISO 14001 certification announcements.
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Yuxiao Ye, Andy C.L. Yeung and Baofeng Huo
In this research, we examine the impact of ISO 14001, an international environmental management accreditation, on the long-term financial risk and sales growth of firms.
Abstract
Purpose
In this research, we examine the impact of ISO 14001, an international environmental management accreditation, on the long-term financial risk and sales growth of firms.
Design/methodology/approach
We employ a quasi-experimental design and construct 682 treated and control firms that are matched using propensity score matching. We then test our hypotheses using the difference in difference model.
Findings
We find that, although ISO 14001 leads to lower financial risk, standard management systems such as ISO 14001 actually hinder the sales growth of firms, an unanticipated outcome. In particular, this trade-off worsens over time, becoming particularly more severe among firms that adopt ISO 14001 early and operate in less-polluting industries.
Research limitations/implications
We present a hidden side of environmental accreditations, indicating a potential trade-off in the long-term efficacy of environmental standard management systems.
Practical implications
Firms must be cautious about adopting environmental management systems. Over time, a focus on environmental certification could potentially hinder firms' long-term growth. Firms should also be aware of certification timing and levels of industry pollution to resolve the tension in the trade-off.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first studies demonstrating that environmental accreditations result in a trade-off between reducing financial risk and improving sales growth.
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Cory Searcy, Oguz Morali and Stanislav Karapetrovic
The purpose of this paper is to present concrete recommendations on how the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems can be improved.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present concrete recommendations on how the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems can be improved.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents the key results of a Canadian colloquium on ISO 14001. The theme of the colloquium was “How can ISO 14001 be improved in its next incarnation?” In total, 22 people from a wide variety of sectors participated in the colloquium. The discussions included a combination of plenary and small group discussions and were led by two professional facilitators. The colloquium was a part of a series of four events that have occurred since 2002. The next colloquium will be held in approximately two years.
Findings
The improvements suggested by the participants were organized around seven key areas: definitions; purpose; environmental policy; public reporting; monitoring and measurement; management review; and other changes. The changes are presented in detail in the paper.
Originality/value
The participants in the colloquium believed that the suggested changes will make significant improvements to ISO 14001. The suggestions are timely, given that the standard is up for review in the near future.
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S.X. Zeng, P. Tian and Jonathan J. Shi
The aim of this study is to evaluate implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) based ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for construction firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to evaluate implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) based ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for construction firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Supported by a structured questionnaire survey, this paper examines several related issues in the implementation of IMS in construction firms in China. The researchers interviewed the auditors of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and senior managers of ten construction firms. The structured questionnaires were sent to 300 construction firms in China. Among them, 68 completed questionnaires were received.
Findings
The findings reveal that a majority of the firms support an integration of the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. “Similarity” and “compatibility” between the two standards are considered as the main reasons for pursuing such an integration. The benefits resulted from the integration include “avoidance duplication of procedures”, “reduced conflict of procedures”, and “reduced requirements for resources”. The research also finds that organizations need technical guidance and support from certifying bodies to complete the integration.
Practical implications
Proposes some useful suggestion for the contractors which are implementing (or will implement) both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.
Originality/value
It provides a possible solution by IMS with combining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 for the contractors which are implementing (or will implement) both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. The IMS could help the contractors to overcome the challenges faced by them and achieve continual improvement.
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