Factors in organisational environmental management system implementation – Developed vs. Developing country contexts

Kola-Lawal, CO; Wood, MD; Alo, B; Clark, AP

Abstract

Country specificities and national cultures influence Environmental Management Systems (EMS) implementation and pro-environmental behaviour in organisations. Previous studies have focused on organisations in developed or emerging economies, creating a need to establish the extent to which findings are applicable to developing counterparts. This paper presents EMS implementation from a developing country perspective, reporting on EMS implementation factors (drivers, benefits, barriers) affecting Nigerian organisations’ pro-environmental behaviour, by analysing questionnaire responses from 136 Nigerian organisational respondents. Most commonly cited drivers were ‘environmental concern’ and ‘desire for improved organisational efficiency’. Key barriers were ‘cost of implementation/budget barriers’ and ‘regulatory agency bureaucracy’. Key benefits were ‘reduced environmental accidents and improved site safety’, ‘enhanced corporate image’ and ‘more efficient resource use’. To situate findings within a global construct, results were compared with previous studies in more developed economies. EMS implementation factors differed from those in more developed economies. Plausible explanations for differences are discussed.

Citation

Kola-Lawal, C., Wood, M., Alo, B., & Clark, A. (2014). Factors in organisational environmental management system implementation – Developed vs. Developing country contexts. Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, 2(4), 408-421. https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.2014.02.0032

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 26, 2014
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 408-421
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.2014.02.0032
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.2014.02.0032
• Related Public URLs: http://www.sdewes.org/jsdewes/index.php