Green infrastructure is a range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement, s... more Green infrastructure is a range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement, storm water harvest, and reuse to store, filtrate, or evapotranspiration storm water and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters. Modifying regional capital assets with green infrastructure systems can provide multiple benefits, such as slower rates of evaporation, reduced regional heat, and social benefits like communal green spaces. In this study, we aim to create a spatial methodology to identify desirable places for green infrastructure where those benefits could be maximized in communities. To apply the methodology, the eastern Fairfax County, along the Route One Corridor in Virginia, was chosen as an experimental case. We find that multidimensional considerations can facilitate the creation of green infrastructure systems in places where storm water mitigation capacity and capital flow are strengthened, and long-term communal benefits are reaped more significantly.
Firms with well-formulated competitive market strategies could still fail due to their lack of ef... more Firms with well-formulated competitive market strategies could still fail due to their lack of effective nonmarket strategy. Climate change poses significant threats to firms and presents firms' need to develop nonmarket strategy integrated with market strategy. Relying on the unique dataset of US S&P 500 firms' responses to climate change, this study seeks to ask why some firms attempt to engage in climate policy making, while others do not do so. The results found that firms with organizational resources and capabilities underlying their carbon market strategy are more likely to support mandatory climate policy. It sheds light on the significance of integrated market and nonmarket strategies, particularly when business opportunities are controlled more by governments than by markets.
Teaching and learning in higher education have dramatically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.... more Teaching and learning in higher education have dramatically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis has forced faculty to experiment with virtual teaching in a short amount of time, and students were compelled to learn online. While online instruction during COVID-19 is considered contingent-based virtual instruction, it would be most likely that online courses would be part of the instruction modalities in the post-COVID era. In this article, we document the process of creating an asynchronous online course swiftly, guided by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. It sheds light on the value of the UDL to expedite the scaleup of online professional learning while sustaining student interaction and engagement.
For centuries, coal extraction and production provided lowcost energy that powered the American e... more For centuries, coal extraction and production provided lowcost energy that powered the American economy. Currently, an estimated 5.5 million people in the Appalachian region live within one mile of an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) site. The site remediation has been funded and promoted by the AML program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, and public engagement has been required. However, little is known about the AML program and the public engagement requirement for site remediation decision-making. Relying on State and Tribal Reclamation Plans and community surveys, we investigate how AML states and tribes engage the public and which barriers limit successful participation in the AML program. We found that AML states and tribes rely heavily on traditional methods of public engagement, such as public meetings, hearings, and comment periods, rather than nontraditional methods that could include more diverse stakeholders. We also found (1) lack of information on public participation opportunities and (2) unclear project selection and awards processes as key barriers limiting public engagement. Three recommendations specific to AML program are suggested.
Mushroom Packages: An Ecovative Approach in Packaging Industry, 2019
The challenge of global sustainability presents enormous opportunities for product innovation and... more The challenge of global sustainability presents enormous opportunities for product innovation and creative response. Concerns about the rising volume of packaging waste particularly request the redefinition and redesign of conventional products in the packaging industry. Ecovative Design, being founded by a young mechanical engineering student in 2007, develops an array of environmentally friendly materials that perform like plastics but are made from mushrooms. The mushroom packaging is renewable and biodegradable and can be made with crop waste brought from local farms. Drawing on the case of Ecovative Design, this chapter aims to describe a creative destruction approach to redress sustainability challenges and to explore pivotal factors that fostered the company’s ability to decarbonize and dematerialize in support of sustainability. We find that a company’s technical competency with systems-thinking skills and stakeholder engagement capacity can lead to the realization of ecological modernization principle.
While many scholars have discussed the merits of collaborative governance, especially for address... more While many scholars have discussed the merits of collaborative governance, especially for addressing complicated modern policy challenges, the literature has paid less attention to how business can serve as an effective collaborative partner during the formation of mandatory policies and regulations. Drawing on scholarship in the management sciences and combining it with literature in public administration and public policy, we elaborate on four distinct types of business responses to proposed regulations based on degrees of political activity and social responsiveness: defensive, reactive, proactive, and anticipatory. We then characterize the reasons why proactive firms are more likely to be valuable collaborative partners with policy makers and public managers in that their engagement may avoid costly stalemates that frequently hinder policy making, and develop cost-effective, flexible policy approaches to complex social problems.
While there is little empirical evidence regarding which types of environmental management system... more While there is little empirical evidence regarding which types of environmental management systems (EMSs) are associated with greater environmental improvements, governments worldwide are encouraging facilities to adopt them. This research compares the environmental performance of facilities that adopt ISO 14001-certified EMSs, complete (uncertified) EMSs, and incomplete EMSs, across multiple environmental media. We analyze these relationships for manufacturing facilities in seven countries using a two-stage model to control for selection bias. Our findings indicate that the adoption of all types of EMSs is related to improved environmental performance in an international setting. However, ISO 14001-certified EMSs are associated with environmental improvements to a broader array of environmental media. These findings offer important implications about which types of EMSs have greater promise as voluntary environmental governance tools.
Nicole Darnall is associate professor of management and public policy at Arizona State University... more Nicole Darnall is associate professor of management and public policy at Arizona State University in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Sustainability. Her research examines fi rms' sustainability responses to the regulatory and social setting.
Green infrastructure is a range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement, s... more Green infrastructure is a range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement, storm water harvest, and reuse to store, filtrate, or evapotranspiration storm water and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters. Modifying regional capital assets with green infrastructure systems can provide multiple benefits, such as slower rates of evaporation, reduced regional heat, and social benefits like communal green spaces. In this study, we aim to create a spatial methodology to identify desirable places for green infrastructure where those benefits could be maximized in communities. To apply the methodology, the eastern Fairfax County, along the Route One Corridor in Virginia, was chosen as an experimental case. We find that multidimensional considerations can facilitate the creation of green infrastructure systems in places where storm water mitigation capacity and capital flow are strengthened, and long-term communal benefits are reaped more significantly.
Firms with well-formulated competitive market strategies could still fail due to their lack of ef... more Firms with well-formulated competitive market strategies could still fail due to their lack of effective nonmarket strategy. Climate change poses significant threats to firms and presents firms' need to develop nonmarket strategy integrated with market strategy. Relying on the unique dataset of US S&P 500 firms' responses to climate change, this study seeks to ask why some firms attempt to engage in climate policy making, while others do not do so. The results found that firms with organizational resources and capabilities underlying their carbon market strategy are more likely to support mandatory climate policy. It sheds light on the significance of integrated market and nonmarket strategies, particularly when business opportunities are controlled more by governments than by markets.
Teaching and learning in higher education have dramatically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.... more Teaching and learning in higher education have dramatically changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis has forced faculty to experiment with virtual teaching in a short amount of time, and students were compelled to learn online. While online instruction during COVID-19 is considered contingent-based virtual instruction, it would be most likely that online courses would be part of the instruction modalities in the post-COVID era. In this article, we document the process of creating an asynchronous online course swiftly, guided by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. It sheds light on the value of the UDL to expedite the scaleup of online professional learning while sustaining student interaction and engagement.
For centuries, coal extraction and production provided lowcost energy that powered the American e... more For centuries, coal extraction and production provided lowcost energy that powered the American economy. Currently, an estimated 5.5 million people in the Appalachian region live within one mile of an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) site. The site remediation has been funded and promoted by the AML program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, and public engagement has been required. However, little is known about the AML program and the public engagement requirement for site remediation decision-making. Relying on State and Tribal Reclamation Plans and community surveys, we investigate how AML states and tribes engage the public and which barriers limit successful participation in the AML program. We found that AML states and tribes rely heavily on traditional methods of public engagement, such as public meetings, hearings, and comment periods, rather than nontraditional methods that could include more diverse stakeholders. We also found (1) lack of information on public participation opportunities and (2) unclear project selection and awards processes as key barriers limiting public engagement. Three recommendations specific to AML program are suggested.
Mushroom Packages: An Ecovative Approach in Packaging Industry, 2019
The challenge of global sustainability presents enormous opportunities for product innovation and... more The challenge of global sustainability presents enormous opportunities for product innovation and creative response. Concerns about the rising volume of packaging waste particularly request the redefinition and redesign of conventional products in the packaging industry. Ecovative Design, being founded by a young mechanical engineering student in 2007, develops an array of environmentally friendly materials that perform like plastics but are made from mushrooms. The mushroom packaging is renewable and biodegradable and can be made with crop waste brought from local farms. Drawing on the case of Ecovative Design, this chapter aims to describe a creative destruction approach to redress sustainability challenges and to explore pivotal factors that fostered the company’s ability to decarbonize and dematerialize in support of sustainability. We find that a company’s technical competency with systems-thinking skills and stakeholder engagement capacity can lead to the realization of ecological modernization principle.
While many scholars have discussed the merits of collaborative governance, especially for address... more While many scholars have discussed the merits of collaborative governance, especially for addressing complicated modern policy challenges, the literature has paid less attention to how business can serve as an effective collaborative partner during the formation of mandatory policies and regulations. Drawing on scholarship in the management sciences and combining it with literature in public administration and public policy, we elaborate on four distinct types of business responses to proposed regulations based on degrees of political activity and social responsiveness: defensive, reactive, proactive, and anticipatory. We then characterize the reasons why proactive firms are more likely to be valuable collaborative partners with policy makers and public managers in that their engagement may avoid costly stalemates that frequently hinder policy making, and develop cost-effective, flexible policy approaches to complex social problems.
While there is little empirical evidence regarding which types of environmental management system... more While there is little empirical evidence regarding which types of environmental management systems (EMSs) are associated with greater environmental improvements, governments worldwide are encouraging facilities to adopt them. This research compares the environmental performance of facilities that adopt ISO 14001-certified EMSs, complete (uncertified) EMSs, and incomplete EMSs, across multiple environmental media. We analyze these relationships for manufacturing facilities in seven countries using a two-stage model to control for selection bias. Our findings indicate that the adoption of all types of EMSs is related to improved environmental performance in an international setting. However, ISO 14001-certified EMSs are associated with environmental improvements to a broader array of environmental media. These findings offer important implications about which types of EMSs have greater promise as voluntary environmental governance tools.
Nicole Darnall is associate professor of management and public policy at Arizona State University... more Nicole Darnall is associate professor of management and public policy at Arizona State University in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Sustainability. Her research examines fi rms' sustainability responses to the regulatory and social setting.
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Papers by Younsung Kim