Prominent factors influencing environmental activities: Application of the Environmental Leadership Model (ELM)

Qualitative research on leadership: A critical but appreciative review

“…Qualitative research on leadership has been especially at the forefront of investigating new forms of leadership, such as e-leadership (Brown & Gioia, 2002), ethical leadership (Treviño et al, 2003), leadership in relation to TQM (Waldman et al, 1998), and environmental leadership (Dyck, 1994;Feyerherm, 1994;Flannery & May, 1994). It is not that quantitative research on leadership has been unconcerned about these forms of leadership but that qualitative researchers have been quick to turn their attention to these emergent forms.…”

Environmental Leadership and Consciousness Development: A Case Study Among Canadian SMEs

“…An understanding of managers' work in this area can hardly be reduced to the traditional extrinsic factors described in the literature: external pressures, economic benefits, search for legitimacy, etc. (Bansal and Roth 2000;Anderson and Bateman 2000;Dechant, et al 1994;Flannery and May 1994). Whatever their importance, the way these factors are interpreted and managed largely depends on managers' worldviews, values and meaning-making frameworks, which in turn are shaped by the particular stage of their consciousness development.…”

“…Although environmental leadership is generally considered as a prerequisite to corporate greening (Egri and Herman 2000;Flannery and May 1994;Boiral et al 2009), few empirical studies have focused on the way managers' meaning systems and abilities can influence sustainability commitments, notably in the case of SMEs.…”

“…From this perspective, the environmental commitment of SMEs is often quite limited and cannot adequately develop without the support of top managers. Although environmental leadership roles, motivations and values have been widely studied in the literature (Egri and Herman 2000;Dechant et al 1994;Flannery and May 1994;Anderson and Bateman 2000;Bansal 2003), the respective meaning systems and abilities underlying this leadership remain underexplored. As a result, research in this area tends to be focused on what environmental leaders do, rather than address the underlying meaning system and abilities that inform their actions.…”

The Concept of Environmental Leader

“…Environmental leaders who promote environmental sustainability infuse their desire to protect the natural environment into their decision-making and action processes [ 15 ]. Although the traditional focus of environmental leaders has been on individual development, today it involves two levels of influence: individual and institutional.…”