Motivations, incentives, & barriers for environmental leadership by small-to-medium-size enterprises : a resource-based view of "beyond compliance" voluntary environmental actions by golf courses, ski areas, & marinas

Abstract

This research focuses on exploring the motivation, incentives, and barriers of "beyond compliance" voluntary environmental actions by small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Italso examines whether the neoclassical economic theory of the firm, and more specifically the Resource-Based Theory of the firm, helps to explain and predict the behavior of firms taking these actions. Voluntary environmental actions as exhibited and documented through "beyond compliance" voluntary environmental programs (i.e., actions taken by firms beyond their minimum environmental regulatory requirements) have significantly impacted business strategy and management in recent years. Yet, little is known of the reasons for the actions by firms and related YEP participation in small-and-medium sized businesses. While research to date has shown that "beyond compliance" voluntary environmental actions in larger firms are motivated in order to gain competitive advantage (i.e., building capabilities that are valuable, rare, nonimitable, or non-substitutable), this research reveals that this is not the case in SMEs. Rather, YEP-related actions are motivated by lead "environmental champions" in these firms, based on moral-ethical motivations, not profit maximization.

An exploration of three eco-dependent business types participating in "beyond compliance" voluntary environmental programs-specifically, the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, Sustainable Slopes Environmental Charter, and the Florida Clean Marina Program-reveals that SMEs share many of the same motivations for participation as larger firms (i.e., credit, public recognition), but not an overwhelming drive for finding business value (i.e., cost savings). This study found that incentives for participation in YEPs are lacking for SMEs, with typical management concerns (i.e. budget goals, quarterly profit) and compliancebased environmental regulatory requirements driving most environmental action in SMEs. This exploration does corroborate findings from research on manufacturing-based SMEs on barriers for YEP participation-with lack of time, limited resources, lack of upper management commitment, and lack of knowledge given as the most common barriers. Finally, a factor absent from other research on YEP uptake is revealed; namely, the role that promotion, marketing, and sales plays in YEP awareness and participation by target businesses. This is especially critical based on whether the YEP is sponsored and managed by industry, government, or an environmental group.