Proactive Environmental Strategies: An Exploration of the Effects of Cross-Sector Partnerships

Abstract:     
This study explores whether firms might improve their performance with respect to the natural environment by collaborating with organizations outside their industry, such as environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs). Such environmental performance may be manifest in two ways. Environmental proactivity indicates an internalized, authentic commitment to protecting the natural environment, whereas environmental legitimacy describes efforts to improve the image or appearance of an organization, in line with stakeholder expectations of environmental performance. The findings indicate that cross-sector partnerships drive environmental proactivity directly, as well as indirectly through environmental legitimacy.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 21

Keywords: cross-sector partnerships, environmental nongovernmental organizations, legitimacy, environmental proactivity, ENGO

working papers series