Perceived Stakeholder Influences and Organizations' Use of Environmental Audits

Abstract

While the use of internal, external, and both types of environmental audits are becoming more pervasive in society, little is known about the stakeholder influences associated with their use, in large part because previous research has viewed them as a uniform type of management practice. This study draws on stakeholder theory to explore organizations' use of different types of environmental audits. It uses international manufacturing data to show that significant variations in the use of environmental audits are associated with differences in stakeholder influences, and that a more nuanced treatment is needed when evaluating these audits.

Keywords: Environmental audit, stakeholder pressure, credibility, legitimacy, environmental management, environmental strategy, environmental accountancy, environmental report, environmental reporting, environmental auditing

JEL Classification: M49, G34, D21, L21, L60, M41, M14