Managerial Interpretations and Organizational Context as Predictors of Corporate Choice of Environmental Strategy

Examined links between managerial interpretations of environmental issues and corporate choice of environmental strategy among 99 firms in the Canadian oil and gas industry. Questionnaires were mailed to persons identified as the CEO or member of the top management team, a staff specialist, or a line or operating manager. Results indicate that environmental strategies ranging from conformance to regulations and standard industry practices on the one hand to voluntary actions for environmental preservation on the other were found to be associated with managerial interpretations of environmental issues as threats or as opportunities. Differences in managerial interpretations were influenced by certain factors in the organizational context, including the legitimation of environmental issues as an integral aspect of corporate identity and the discretionary slack available to managers for creative problem solving at the interface of the business and the natural environment. A table of survey measures is appended.