Examining the Institutional and Organizational Antecedents to Organizational Participation in Environmental Management

Abstract

Research into the institutional antecedents of organizational engagement in environmental management (EM) has revealed that organizations respond heterogeneously to homogenous institutional pressures. In this article, we employ complementary institutional and entrepreneurial perspectives to build upon research that examines how organizational characteristics may influence the institutional pressure to EM relationship. Specifically, we examine the moderating effect of an organizational entrepreneurial orientation (EO) upon the organizational visibility to EM relationship. Results from a sample of 252 public firms over a 10-year period confirm that organizational visibility significantly increases the rate of organizational participation in EM. Additionally, support is found for a positive aggregate EO moderation effect and significant accelerating moderating effects of three EO dimensions: autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, and innovativeness.