We draw from upper echelons theory to investigate whether the presence of a chief sustainability ... more We draw from upper echelons theory to investigate whether the presence of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) is associated with better corporate environmental performance in highly polluting industries. Such firms are under strong pressure to remediate environmental damage, to comply with regulations, and to even exceed environmental standards. CSOs in these firms are likely to be hired as legitimate agents to lead and successfully implement environmental strategy aimed at reducing pollution levels. Interestingly and contrary to our expectations, we found that the presence of a CSO is associated with higher levels of pollution emissions. Nonetheless, we found that the CSO has a positive influence on a firm's environmental performance if faced with strict environmental regulations. We argue that the enforcement of environmental regulations enhances monitoring and accountability of pollution emissions. The sample for this study comprised all the S&P 500 firms required by the Environmental Protection Agency to annually report their toxic emissions to the Toxic Release Inventory. Data were collected for a 6-year period from 2006 to 2011. We used a panel data regression and employed propensity score matching to correct for potential endogeneity problems.
— According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in develo... more — According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in developing countries. Yet we know little about tourism operators' economic incentives to get certified. To help fill that gap, we use detailed panel data to analyze the Blue Flag beach certification program in Costa Rica where nature-based tourism has caused significant environmental damage. We use new hotel investment to proxy for private benefits, and fixed effects and propensity score matching to control for self-selection bias. We find that Blue Flag certification spurs significant new hotel investment, particularly in luxury hotels and in economically advantaged communities.
As environmental regulations increase, industry associations play a growing role in representing ... more As environmental regulations increase, industry associations play a growing role in representing their respective members. This role has been documented in many industrialized countries but less so in emerging economies. In this study, we investigate the level of corporate environmentalism exhibited by member firms of two industry associations operating in Trinidad and Tobago. Using a two-stage Heckman regression that corrects for the endogeneity introduced by self-selection bias in the evaluation of voluntary choices, our findings indicate that firms that are members of the foreign-originated American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago appear to show stronger corporate environmentalism than those belonging to the locally formed Chamber of Commerce. Enhanced institutional pressures from these respective industry associations, peers and competitors within associations, access and exposure to best practices, networking opportunities and service bundling may explain these differences. These results suggest that environmental policy makers in emerging economies may be able to leverage foreign-originated industry associations to promote stronger corporate environmentalism. Policy makers may need to consider how to encourage local chambers to emulate the some of the institutional conditions of foreign-originated ones.
The decision to internalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, to buy (outsource) ... more The decision to internalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, to buy (outsource) them in the form of corporate philanthropy, or to collaborate with other organizations is of great significance to the ability of the firm to reap benefits from such activity. Using insights provided by organizational economics and the resource-based view of the firm, this article describes how CSR centrality affects governance choice. This framework is tested using data collected from Central America. The findings suggest that the higher the centrality of CSR activities to the firms' mission, the more likely that the firms will engage in CSR internally. The article discusses directions for further research and concludes with the managerial implications of this research.
In this study, we examine how differences in environmental regulation characteristics are linked ... more In this study, we examine how differences in environmental regulation characteristics are linked to multinational corporations' (MNCs) foreign market entry (FME) investments decisions around the world. We rely on a data set with 29,303 observations from 94 European Fortune Global 500 companies operating across 77 countries during the period 2001–2007. We found that MNCs are more likely to enter countries with more certain—i.e., clearer and more stable—environmental regulations than those of their home countries. Results also suggest that there is a higher level of MNC entry into foreign countries with environmental regulations that are more stringent than those of their home countries. This finding challenges the controversial but commonly held view that more stringent environmental regulations deter MNCs' FME investments. Notably, the magnitude of the regulatory certainty relationship with MNCs' FME investments is larger than that of regulatory stringency. Findings also indicate that the increased tendency of MNCs to enter countries with more stringent environmental regulations is higher in more democratic countries and for cleaner industry firms.
The appeal of voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) lies in their promise to mutually serve gov... more The appeal of voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) lies in their promise to mutually serve government, industry, and environmental interests because they can reduce administrative burdens, provide flexibility to decide how to implement environmental improvements , and work toward superior environmental performance. In practice, however, one interest may be served to the exclusion of others, and this is a charge that often has been leveled at VEPs in the United States. If VEPs are used to serve some interests at the expense of others, they are likely to lose their value as alternative policy instruments. This article details a framework involving procedural, substantive, and practical tests to determine whether the common interest has been served. This assessment framework is applied to two different VEPs in the United States: the Forest Stewardship Council Certification and the Sustainable Slopes Program.
This study aims to identify how institutional forces, such as regulatory and stake-holder pressur... more This study aims to identify how institutional forces, such as regulatory and stake-holder pressures, are related to proactive environmental behavior by hotel facilities participating in Certification for Sustainable Tourism, a voluntary environmental program established by the Costa Rican government. This program is among the first third-party performance-based environmental certification initiatives implemented in the developing world. Findings suggest that voluntary environmental programs that include performance-based standards and third-party monitoring may be effective in promoting beyond-compliance environmental behavior when they are complemented by isomorphic institutional pressures exerted by government environmental monitoring and trade association membership. These results are consistent with neo-institutional theory from the organizational sociology literature. Surprisingly , findings also indicate that compared to locally owned hotels, foreign-owned and multinational subsidiary facilities do not seem to be significantly correlated with higher participation and superior environmental performance in Certification for Sustainable Tourism. Despite the recent growth of the literature on voluntary environmental programs, very few articles have evaluated their implementation in developing countries. In addition, empirical evidence is still contradictory about businesses' motivations for participating in voluntary programs and about the environmental effectiveness of these initiatives (Carmin, Darnall, and
The public policy literature has paid little attention to evaluating the ability of voluntary env... more The public policy literature has paid little attention to evaluating the ability of voluntary environmental programs to generate economic bene¢ts for ¢rms. Yet, given their voluntary nature, provision of economic bene¢ts to ¢rms is a necessary condition for these programs to become e¡ective environmental policy instruments. Additionally, little is known about why ¢rms operating in developing countries would participate in these initiatives. This paper provides some of the ¢rst cross-sectional empirical evidence about voluntary environmental programs established in developing countries. Speci¢cally, the paper focuses on studying hotel participation in the Costa Rican Certi¢cation for Sustainable Tourism (CST program). The CST program is probably the ¢rst performance-based voluntary environmental program created by a developing country government. Results indicate that hotels with certi¢ed superior environmental performance show a positive relationship with di¡erentiation advantages that yield price premiums. Participation in the CST program alone is not signi¢cantly related to higher prices and higher sales. The evidence also indicates that participation in the CST program was signi¢cantly related to government monitoring, trade association membership and hotels' focus on 'green' consumers.
This study evaluates whether the education, environmental expertise, and nationality of firms' ch... more This study evaluates whether the education, environmental expertise, and nationality of firms' chief executive officers (CEOs) are associated with greater participation and environmental performance in a voluntary environmental program implemented in a developing nation. Specifically, we collected data from the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program, a voluntary initiative aimed at promoting beyond-compliance environmental performance by hotels operating in Costa Rica. Our findings suggest that CEOs' level of formal education and environmental expertise appear to be significantly associated with higher corporate participation in voluntary programs and also with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance ratings. Contrary to conventional expectations, CEOs from industrialized countries (as opposed to developing countries) do not appear to show a statistically significant association with participation in the CST program and with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance.
This study focuses on two basic questions: Are voluntary programs effective in promoting higher e... more This study focuses on two basic questions: Are voluntary programs effective in promoting higher environmental performance by participant firms? If so, which distinct areas of environmental performance are more likely to be improved by firms joining a voluntary environmental program? We address these questions by assessing the environmental effectiveness of the ski industry's Sustainable Slopes Program in the western United States between 2001 and 2005. We found no evidence in our five-year analysis to conclude that ski areas adopting the SSP displayed superior performance levels than nonpartic-ipants for the following areas of environmental protection: overall environmental performance, expansion management, pollution management, and wildlife and habitat management. SSP participants only appear to show a statistically significant correlation with higher natural resource conservation performance rates. For policymakers, these results suggest that caution is needed before a priori assuming that strictly voluntary programs can be effective in promoting comprehensive superior environmental performance.
Ecosystems and Human Well-being: O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d C h a l l e n g e s f o r B u s ... more Ecosystems and Human Well-being: O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d C h a l l e n g e s f o r B u s i n e s s a n d I n d u s t r y 1
This study analyzes the initial implementation of the Sustainable Slopes Program a voluntary envi... more This study analyzes the initial implementation of the Sustainable Slopes Program a voluntary environmental initiative established by the U.S. National Ski Areas Association in partnership with federal and state government agencies. Our findings indicate that participation of western ski areas in the Sustainable Slopes Program is related to institutional pressures in the form of enhanced federal oversight and higher state environmental demands exerted by state agencies, local environmental groups and public opinion. The analysis also suggests that, despite these institutional pressures, participant ski areas appear to be correlated with lower third-party environmental performance ratings. This behavior seems to reflect the lack of specific institutional mechanisms to prevent opportunism in the current design of the Sustainable Slopes Program. That is, the program does not involve specific environmental standards, lacks third-party oversight, and does not have sanctions for poor performance.
Export processing zones (EPZs) are increasingly being established to promote economic growth in d... more Export processing zones (EPZs) are increasingly being established to promote economic growth in developing countries. However, they remain controversial and are often criticized for being associated with a ''race to the bottom'' characterized by the easing of labor and environmental standards. This paper investigates whether the decision to locate facilities inside these zones is associated with higher corporate environmental performance. Findings indicate that facilities operating in Trinidad and Tobago's EPZs are more likely to show higher corporate environmental performance than those outside. Additionally, firms in state-managed zones appear to show higher corporate environmental performance than those located in privately managed zones. Enhanced institutional pressures from regulators, local communities, and fellow tenant firms may explain these differences. These results suggest that environmental policy makers and environmentalists can take advantage of already established EPZs to promote enclave enhanced institutional pressures associated with superior corporate environmental performance.
This study examines the association between corporate social performance (CSP) practices and memb... more This study examines the association between corporate social performance (CSP) practices and membership in Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) between 1992 and 2006. BSR is a business association that seeks to help its members adopt enhanced CSP practices. While there is an emerging literature examining voluntary initiatives as alternative policy mechanisms to regulations, most research is focused on initiatives that emphasize environmental protection. Further, studies suggest that membership in strictly voluntary initiatives tends to be associated with lower environmental performance because of " free-riding " behavior by participants. BSR differs along two dimensions when compared with other voluntary initiatives examined in the literature. First, it is a comprehensive voluntary social initiative that helps firms from diverse industries address multiple CSP issues simultaneously. Second, it might limit opportunism by not offering blanket certification to its participants. Our results indicate that BSR members exhibit greater levels of positive social impacts without demonstrating significantly different levels of negative social impacts. This suggests that participation in voluntary initiatives that avoid granting blanket certifications may be associated with the adoption of new corporate social responsibility practices but not linked to the shedding of entrenched routines that produce negative externalities.
Initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental and s... more Initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental and social-welfare production standards are increasingly popular. According to proponents, these initiatives create financial incentives for producers to improve their environmental, social, and economic performance. We reviewed the evidence on whether these initiatives have such benefits. We identified peer-reviewed, ex post, producer-level studies in economic sectors in which certification is particularly prevalent (bananas, coffee, fish products, forest products, and tourism operations), classified these studies on the basis of whether their design and methods likely generated credible results, summarized findings from the studies with credible results, and considered how these findings might guide future research. We found 46 relevant studies, most of which focused on coffee and forest products and examined fair-trade and Forest Stewardship Council certification. The methods used in 11 studies likely generated credible results. Of these 11 studies, nine examined the economic effects and two the environmental effects of certification. The results of four of the 11 studies, all of which examined economic effects, showed that certification has producer-level benefits. Hence, the evidence to support the hypothesis that certification benefits the environment or producers is limited. More evidence could be generated by incorporating rigorous, independent evaluation into the design and implementation of projects promoting certification. Resumen: Las iniciativas de certificación de productores de bienes y servicios que se apegan a estándares ambientales y de producción de bienestar social son cada vez más populares. De acuerdo con los proponentes, estas iniciativas crean incentivos financieros para que los productores mejoren su desempeño ambiental, social y económico. Revisamos la evidencia para ver si esas iniciativas tienen tales beneficios. Identificamos estudios ex post y a nivel de productores sometidos a revisión cientifica external, en sectores económicos en los que la certificación es particularmente prevalente (plátano, café, productos pesqueros, productos forestales y operaciones turísticas), los clasificamos considerando si su diseño y métodos generaron resultados creíbles, sintetizamos los hallazgos de los estudios con resultados creíbles y consideramos como estos hallazgos pueden dirigir investigaciones en el futuro. Encontramos 46 estudios relevantes, muchos de ellos enfocados en café y productos comerciales y con certificación de comercio justo y Forest Stewardship Council. Los métodos utilizados en 11 estudios generaron resultados creíbles. De estos 11 estudios, nueve examinaron los efectos económicos y dos los efectos ambientales de la certificación. Los resultados de cuatro de los 11 estudios, todos examinando efectos económicos, mostraron que la certificación tiene beneficios a nivel de productores. Por lo tanto, la evidencia para apoyar la hipótesis de que la certificación beneficia al ambiente o a los productores es limitada. Se deben generar mas evidencia mediante la incorporación de evaluaciones independientes más rigorosas en el diseño e implementación de proyectos que promueven la certificación. Palabras Clave: ecocertificación, eco-etiquetas, paisaje dominado por humanos
Our goals in this article are to summarize the existing literature on the role business can play ... more Our goals in this article are to summarize the existing literature on the role business can play in creating sustainable peace and to discuss important avenues for extending this research. As part of our discussion, we review the ethical arguments and related research made to date, including the rationale and motivation for businesses to engage in conflict resolution and peace building, and discuss how scholars are extending research in this area. We also focus on specific ways companies can actively engage in conflict reduction including promoting economic development , the rule of law, and principles of external valuation, contributing to a sense of community, and engaging in track-two diplomacy and conflict sensitive practices. We conclude by developing a set of future research questions and considerations.
We draw from upper echelons theory to investigate whether the presence of a chief sustainability ... more We draw from upper echelons theory to investigate whether the presence of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) is associated with better corporate environmental performance in highly polluting industries. Such firms are under strong pressure to remediate environmental damage, to comply with regulations, and to even exceed environmental standards. CSOs in these firms are likely to be hired as legitimate agents to lead and successfully implement environmental strategy aimed at reducing pollution levels. Interestingly and contrary to our expectations, we found that the presence of a CSO is associated with higher levels of pollution emissions. Nonetheless, we found that the CSO has a positive influence on a firm's environmental performance if faced with strict environmental regulations. We argue that the enforcement of environmental regulations enhances monitoring and accountability of pollution emissions. The sample for this study comprised all the S&P 500 firms required by the Environmental Protection Agency to annually report their toxic emissions to the Toxic Release Inventory. Data were collected for a 6-year period from 2006 to 2011. We used a panel data regression and employed propensity score matching to correct for potential endogeneity problems.
— According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in develo... more — According to advocates, eco-certification can stem environmental damages from tourism in developing countries. Yet we know little about tourism operators' economic incentives to get certified. To help fill that gap, we use detailed panel data to analyze the Blue Flag beach certification program in Costa Rica where nature-based tourism has caused significant environmental damage. We use new hotel investment to proxy for private benefits, and fixed effects and propensity score matching to control for self-selection bias. We find that Blue Flag certification spurs significant new hotel investment, particularly in luxury hotels and in economically advantaged communities.
As environmental regulations increase, industry associations play a growing role in representing ... more As environmental regulations increase, industry associations play a growing role in representing their respective members. This role has been documented in many industrialized countries but less so in emerging economies. In this study, we investigate the level of corporate environmentalism exhibited by member firms of two industry associations operating in Trinidad and Tobago. Using a two-stage Heckman regression that corrects for the endogeneity introduced by self-selection bias in the evaluation of voluntary choices, our findings indicate that firms that are members of the foreign-originated American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago appear to show stronger corporate environmentalism than those belonging to the locally formed Chamber of Commerce. Enhanced institutional pressures from these respective industry associations, peers and competitors within associations, access and exposure to best practices, networking opportunities and service bundling may explain these differences. These results suggest that environmental policy makers in emerging economies may be able to leverage foreign-originated industry associations to promote stronger corporate environmentalism. Policy makers may need to consider how to encourage local chambers to emulate the some of the institutional conditions of foreign-originated ones.
The decision to internalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, to buy (outsource) ... more The decision to internalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, to buy (outsource) them in the form of corporate philanthropy, or to collaborate with other organizations is of great significance to the ability of the firm to reap benefits from such activity. Using insights provided by organizational economics and the resource-based view of the firm, this article describes how CSR centrality affects governance choice. This framework is tested using data collected from Central America. The findings suggest that the higher the centrality of CSR activities to the firms' mission, the more likely that the firms will engage in CSR internally. The article discusses directions for further research and concludes with the managerial implications of this research.
In this study, we examine how differences in environmental regulation characteristics are linked ... more In this study, we examine how differences in environmental regulation characteristics are linked to multinational corporations' (MNCs) foreign market entry (FME) investments decisions around the world. We rely on a data set with 29,303 observations from 94 European Fortune Global 500 companies operating across 77 countries during the period 2001–2007. We found that MNCs are more likely to enter countries with more certain—i.e., clearer and more stable—environmental regulations than those of their home countries. Results also suggest that there is a higher level of MNC entry into foreign countries with environmental regulations that are more stringent than those of their home countries. This finding challenges the controversial but commonly held view that more stringent environmental regulations deter MNCs' FME investments. Notably, the magnitude of the regulatory certainty relationship with MNCs' FME investments is larger than that of regulatory stringency. Findings also indicate that the increased tendency of MNCs to enter countries with more stringent environmental regulations is higher in more democratic countries and for cleaner industry firms.
The appeal of voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) lies in their promise to mutually serve gov... more The appeal of voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) lies in their promise to mutually serve government, industry, and environmental interests because they can reduce administrative burdens, provide flexibility to decide how to implement environmental improvements , and work toward superior environmental performance. In practice, however, one interest may be served to the exclusion of others, and this is a charge that often has been leveled at VEPs in the United States. If VEPs are used to serve some interests at the expense of others, they are likely to lose their value as alternative policy instruments. This article details a framework involving procedural, substantive, and practical tests to determine whether the common interest has been served. This assessment framework is applied to two different VEPs in the United States: the Forest Stewardship Council Certification and the Sustainable Slopes Program.
This study aims to identify how institutional forces, such as regulatory and stake-holder pressur... more This study aims to identify how institutional forces, such as regulatory and stake-holder pressures, are related to proactive environmental behavior by hotel facilities participating in Certification for Sustainable Tourism, a voluntary environmental program established by the Costa Rican government. This program is among the first third-party performance-based environmental certification initiatives implemented in the developing world. Findings suggest that voluntary environmental programs that include performance-based standards and third-party monitoring may be effective in promoting beyond-compliance environmental behavior when they are complemented by isomorphic institutional pressures exerted by government environmental monitoring and trade association membership. These results are consistent with neo-institutional theory from the organizational sociology literature. Surprisingly , findings also indicate that compared to locally owned hotels, foreign-owned and multinational subsidiary facilities do not seem to be significantly correlated with higher participation and superior environmental performance in Certification for Sustainable Tourism. Despite the recent growth of the literature on voluntary environmental programs, very few articles have evaluated their implementation in developing countries. In addition, empirical evidence is still contradictory about businesses' motivations for participating in voluntary programs and about the environmental effectiveness of these initiatives (Carmin, Darnall, and
The public policy literature has paid little attention to evaluating the ability of voluntary env... more The public policy literature has paid little attention to evaluating the ability of voluntary environmental programs to generate economic bene¢ts for ¢rms. Yet, given their voluntary nature, provision of economic bene¢ts to ¢rms is a necessary condition for these programs to become e¡ective environmental policy instruments. Additionally, little is known about why ¢rms operating in developing countries would participate in these initiatives. This paper provides some of the ¢rst cross-sectional empirical evidence about voluntary environmental programs established in developing countries. Speci¢cally, the paper focuses on studying hotel participation in the Costa Rican Certi¢cation for Sustainable Tourism (CST program). The CST program is probably the ¢rst performance-based voluntary environmental program created by a developing country government. Results indicate that hotels with certi¢ed superior environmental performance show a positive relationship with di¡erentiation advantages that yield price premiums. Participation in the CST program alone is not signi¢cantly related to higher prices and higher sales. The evidence also indicates that participation in the CST program was signi¢cantly related to government monitoring, trade association membership and hotels' focus on 'green' consumers.
This study evaluates whether the education, environmental expertise, and nationality of firms' ch... more This study evaluates whether the education, environmental expertise, and nationality of firms' chief executive officers (CEOs) are associated with greater participation and environmental performance in a voluntary environmental program implemented in a developing nation. Specifically, we collected data from the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program, a voluntary initiative aimed at promoting beyond-compliance environmental performance by hotels operating in Costa Rica. Our findings suggest that CEOs' level of formal education and environmental expertise appear to be significantly associated with higher corporate participation in voluntary programs and also with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance ratings. Contrary to conventional expectations, CEOs from industrialized countries (as opposed to developing countries) do not appear to show a statistically significant association with participation in the CST program and with higher beyond-compliance environmental performance.
This study focuses on two basic questions: Are voluntary programs effective in promoting higher e... more This study focuses on two basic questions: Are voluntary programs effective in promoting higher environmental performance by participant firms? If so, which distinct areas of environmental performance are more likely to be improved by firms joining a voluntary environmental program? We address these questions by assessing the environmental effectiveness of the ski industry's Sustainable Slopes Program in the western United States between 2001 and 2005. We found no evidence in our five-year analysis to conclude that ski areas adopting the SSP displayed superior performance levels than nonpartic-ipants for the following areas of environmental protection: overall environmental performance, expansion management, pollution management, and wildlife and habitat management. SSP participants only appear to show a statistically significant correlation with higher natural resource conservation performance rates. For policymakers, these results suggest that caution is needed before a priori assuming that strictly voluntary programs can be effective in promoting comprehensive superior environmental performance.
Ecosystems and Human Well-being: O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d C h a l l e n g e s f o r B u s ... more Ecosystems and Human Well-being: O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d C h a l l e n g e s f o r B u s i n e s s a n d I n d u s t r y 1
This study analyzes the initial implementation of the Sustainable Slopes Program a voluntary envi... more This study analyzes the initial implementation of the Sustainable Slopes Program a voluntary environmental initiative established by the U.S. National Ski Areas Association in partnership with federal and state government agencies. Our findings indicate that participation of western ski areas in the Sustainable Slopes Program is related to institutional pressures in the form of enhanced federal oversight and higher state environmental demands exerted by state agencies, local environmental groups and public opinion. The analysis also suggests that, despite these institutional pressures, participant ski areas appear to be correlated with lower third-party environmental performance ratings. This behavior seems to reflect the lack of specific institutional mechanisms to prevent opportunism in the current design of the Sustainable Slopes Program. That is, the program does not involve specific environmental standards, lacks third-party oversight, and does not have sanctions for poor performance.
Export processing zones (EPZs) are increasingly being established to promote economic growth in d... more Export processing zones (EPZs) are increasingly being established to promote economic growth in developing countries. However, they remain controversial and are often criticized for being associated with a ''race to the bottom'' characterized by the easing of labor and environmental standards. This paper investigates whether the decision to locate facilities inside these zones is associated with higher corporate environmental performance. Findings indicate that facilities operating in Trinidad and Tobago's EPZs are more likely to show higher corporate environmental performance than those outside. Additionally, firms in state-managed zones appear to show higher corporate environmental performance than those located in privately managed zones. Enhanced institutional pressures from regulators, local communities, and fellow tenant firms may explain these differences. These results suggest that environmental policy makers and environmentalists can take advantage of already established EPZs to promote enclave enhanced institutional pressures associated with superior corporate environmental performance.
This study examines the association between corporate social performance (CSP) practices and memb... more This study examines the association between corporate social performance (CSP) practices and membership in Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) between 1992 and 2006. BSR is a business association that seeks to help its members adopt enhanced CSP practices. While there is an emerging literature examining voluntary initiatives as alternative policy mechanisms to regulations, most research is focused on initiatives that emphasize environmental protection. Further, studies suggest that membership in strictly voluntary initiatives tends to be associated with lower environmental performance because of " free-riding " behavior by participants. BSR differs along two dimensions when compared with other voluntary initiatives examined in the literature. First, it is a comprehensive voluntary social initiative that helps firms from diverse industries address multiple CSP issues simultaneously. Second, it might limit opportunism by not offering blanket certification to its participants. Our results indicate that BSR members exhibit greater levels of positive social impacts without demonstrating significantly different levels of negative social impacts. This suggests that participation in voluntary initiatives that avoid granting blanket certifications may be associated with the adoption of new corporate social responsibility practices but not linked to the shedding of entrenched routines that produce negative externalities.
Initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental and s... more Initiatives certifying that producers of goods and services adhere to defined environmental and social-welfare production standards are increasingly popular. According to proponents, these initiatives create financial incentives for producers to improve their environmental, social, and economic performance. We reviewed the evidence on whether these initiatives have such benefits. We identified peer-reviewed, ex post, producer-level studies in economic sectors in which certification is particularly prevalent (bananas, coffee, fish products, forest products, and tourism operations), classified these studies on the basis of whether their design and methods likely generated credible results, summarized findings from the studies with credible results, and considered how these findings might guide future research. We found 46 relevant studies, most of which focused on coffee and forest products and examined fair-trade and Forest Stewardship Council certification. The methods used in 11 studies likely generated credible results. Of these 11 studies, nine examined the economic effects and two the environmental effects of certification. The results of four of the 11 studies, all of which examined economic effects, showed that certification has producer-level benefits. Hence, the evidence to support the hypothesis that certification benefits the environment or producers is limited. More evidence could be generated by incorporating rigorous, independent evaluation into the design and implementation of projects promoting certification. Resumen: Las iniciativas de certificación de productores de bienes y servicios que se apegan a estándares ambientales y de producción de bienestar social son cada vez más populares. De acuerdo con los proponentes, estas iniciativas crean incentivos financieros para que los productores mejoren su desempeño ambiental, social y económico. Revisamos la evidencia para ver si esas iniciativas tienen tales beneficios. Identificamos estudios ex post y a nivel de productores sometidos a revisión cientifica external, en sectores económicos en los que la certificación es particularmente prevalente (plátano, café, productos pesqueros, productos forestales y operaciones turísticas), los clasificamos considerando si su diseño y métodos generaron resultados creíbles, sintetizamos los hallazgos de los estudios con resultados creíbles y consideramos como estos hallazgos pueden dirigir investigaciones en el futuro. Encontramos 46 estudios relevantes, muchos de ellos enfocados en café y productos comerciales y con certificación de comercio justo y Forest Stewardship Council. Los métodos utilizados en 11 estudios generaron resultados creíbles. De estos 11 estudios, nueve examinaron los efectos económicos y dos los efectos ambientales de la certificación. Los resultados de cuatro de los 11 estudios, todos examinando efectos económicos, mostraron que la certificación tiene beneficios a nivel de productores. Por lo tanto, la evidencia para apoyar la hipótesis de que la certificación beneficia al ambiente o a los productores es limitada. Se deben generar mas evidencia mediante la incorporación de evaluaciones independientes más rigorosas en el diseño e implementación de proyectos que promueven la certificación. Palabras Clave: ecocertificación, eco-etiquetas, paisaje dominado por humanos
Our goals in this article are to summarize the existing literature on the role business can play ... more Our goals in this article are to summarize the existing literature on the role business can play in creating sustainable peace and to discuss important avenues for extending this research. As part of our discussion, we review the ethical arguments and related research made to date, including the rationale and motivation for businesses to engage in conflict resolution and peace building, and discuss how scholars are extending research in this area. We also focus on specific ways companies can actively engage in conflict reduction including promoting economic development , the rule of law, and principles of external valuation, contributing to a sense of community, and engaging in track-two diplomacy and conflict sensitive practices. We conclude by developing a set of future research questions and considerations.
Uploads
Papers by Jorge Rivera