When Social Norms and Pressures Are Not Enough: Environmental Performance in the Trucking Industry

Abstract

Why do some business firms and not others work hard to advance regulatory values such as environmental protection and comply with regulations? Previous research indicates that business firms are influenced in that regard by a number of variables—not merely the perceived likelihood of legal punishment but also the risk of negative reactions by societal actors (which we call “social license pressures”) and the intensity of managers' commitment to norms of law‐abidingness and environmentalism. This article reports on a study of control of diesel emissions in the trucking industry, a highly competitive market with many small firms, mobile pollution sources, expensive “best control technologies,” and weak regulatory demands. In contrast to findings in studies of large firms, we found that social license pressures on small trucking firms are minimal. Trucking companies' environmental performance—good and bad—flows from managers' economic choices, which are influenced by their particular market niche. In such highly competitive, small‐firm market contexts, these findings imply, significant improvement in environmental performance is not likely without strong direct regulatory pressures.

Greening road freight transport: evidence from an empirical project in Austria

“…This fact seems to be problematic as small firms form the backbone of most economies (Zorpas, 2010). Furthermore, 'social license' pressures are much higher on large companies than on small ones (Thornton et al, 2009); Wong and Fryxell (2004) show similar findings for fleet size as a moderator. Companies whose main business is not the transport of goods but which regularly perform transport on own account may perceive more room for the implementation of sustainable development and environmental measures.…”

Towards a new framework for SMEs success: a literature review

“…In fact, scholars concur that the ecological and environmental awareness of the small business sector is not yet as developed as that of large firms (Angel Del Brıo and Junquera, 2003;Lynch-Wood and Williamson, 2014;Nulkar, 2014;Raar, 2011). SMEs are less responsive to environmental issues (Lynch-Wood and Williamson, 2013;Patton and Worthington, 2003;Revell and Rutherfoord, 2003;Thornton et al, 2009;Williamson et al, 2006;Williamson and Lynch-Wood, 2001) and tend to adopt reactive strategies which focus on compliance rather than sustainability (Hobbs, 2000). This lack of responsiveness has been attributed to the size of the firm itself (Lepoutre and Heene 2006;Rutherford et al, 2000;EIM and Oxford Research for DG Environment, 2011).…”

Corporate environmentalism in emerging markets: Lessons from a country in transition

“…Companies from manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, and shoes are mostly among »greenwashers«, whereas those from manufacture of wood and paper as well as many of their counterparts from manufacture of metal products and machinery belong among the »non-compliers«. When comparing the importance of different motives for corporate environmentalism (see Table II), we noted that legislation does not seem to be an weighty criteria and legal constraints motivate all companies to a more or less the same degree; a finding in line with [20] and [21].…”