Environmental management intentions: an empirical investigation of Argentina's polluting firms

Abstract

This paper builds on past behavioural research which explicitly recognises that 'actions' are preceded by 'intentions' which are in turn determined by individual mindsets, locus of control, principles of governances and context factors. More concretely, it presents a model that investigates the extent to which environmental behavioural intentions are explained by i) managers' core values, basic assumptions, and beliefs, ii) individual and socio-cognitive frames, iii) principles of governance, and iv) context factors. Context factors include obstacles and drivers of greener behaviours, market pressures, and firm demographics. The resulting theoretical framework is tested empirically through regression analyses that use data gathered from a survey of 536 Argentinean firms in polluting industries. The model performs well, explaining approximately 50% of the variations in the (pro) environmental behaviour of firms. Policy implications are briefly discussed.