The Dynamic of Corporate Self-Regulation: ISO 14001, Environmental Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Law & Society Review, Forthcoming

51 Pages Posted: 24 May 2009 Last revised: 23 Jun 2009

See all articles by Oren Perez

Oren Perez

Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law

Yair Amichai-Hamburger

Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) - The Research Center of Internet Psychology (CIP)

Tammy Shterental

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: May 1, 2009

Abstract

This article examines the institutional impact of environmental management systems (EMSs), focusing on ISO 14001. It develops a pluralistic framework for thinking about the dynamic of corporate self-regulation that we term the polyphonic model. It argues that the adoption of ISO 14001 can move the firm into a new equilibrium trajectory, which enmeshes together environmental and economic goals and reflects greater sensitivity to ecological concerns. There is a positive reciprocal cycle between the pro-environmental structural changes induced by ISO 14001 and the employees' attitudes toward the firm and the environment. In order to examine ISO 14001 institutional impact, we conducted a series of interviews with managers, and administered questionnaires to employees in 24 Israeli firms with and without certification. The findings indicate that the perceived environmental commitment of certified firms was higher than that of non-certified firms and was higher among employees that perceived the EMS as more highly integrated in the firm. Perceptions of the standard's integration were also found to be positively correlated with personal environmental commitment. The results also indicate that the increase in the firm's environmental commitment was positively associated with employees' organizational citizenship behavior within certified firms. Further indications of the pro-environmental dynamic induced by ISO 14001 were found in the in-depth interviews.

Keywords: self-regulation, ISO 14001, corporate social responsibility, environmental commitment, organizational citizenship behavior

JEL Classification: K32

Suggested Citation

Perez, Oren and Amichai-Hamburger, Yair and Shterental, Tammy, The Dynamic of Corporate Self-Regulation: ISO 14001, Environmental Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (May 1, 2009). Law & Society Review, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1407227 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1407227

Oren Perez (Contact Author)

Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Faculty of Law
Ramat Gan, 52900
Israel
+972-3-5317798 (Phone)
+972-3-5351856 (Fax)

Yair Amichai-Hamburger

Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) - The Research Center of Internet Psychology (CIP) ( email )

P.O.Box 167
Herzliya, 4610101
Israel

Tammy Shterental

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

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