دانلود مقاله ISI انگلیسی شماره 5998
ترجمه فارسی عنوان مقاله

انگیزه برای صدور گواهینامه ایزو 14000: توسعه یک مدل پیش بینی

عنوان انگلیسی
Motivation for ISO 14000 certification: development of a predictive model
کد مقاله سال انتشار تعداد صفحات مقاله انگلیسی
5998 2001 18 صفحه PDF
منبع

Publisher : Elsevier - Science Direct (الزویر - ساینس دایرکت)

Journal : Omega, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2001, Pages 525–542

ترجمه کلمات کلیدی
() - 14000 سیستم مدیریت زیست محیطی () - توسعه مدل پیش بینی شده - استاندارد ایزو 14000 - سنگاپور - صنعت الکترونیک - صنعت شیمیایی
کلمات کلیدی انگلیسی
پیش نمایش مقاله
پیش نمایش مقاله  انگیزه برای صدور گواهینامه ایزو 14000: توسعه یک مدل پیش بینی

چکیده انگلیسی

Environmental issues have become critical concerns of businesses in recent years. The Singapore Environment Ministry is urging organizations to consider adopting the ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standards. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and identify a number of variables which would be able to predict the motivation of organizations in adopting the ISO 14000 Standards. Through extensive literature search eight possible predictive variables/factors (cost savings, top management concern, employee welfare, meeting environmental regulations, meeting customer expectations, concern over trade barriers, following head office environmental practices, and gaining competitive advantages) were identified. In total, 300 pre-tested survey questionnaires were mailed out to companies from the Electronic and Chemical industries in Singapore. A response rate of about 20% was obtained. The survey instrument was tested for reliability and validity. Using stepwise discriminant analysis, a predictive discriminant function was developed. Only four out of the originally identified eight variables were included in the model. Possible benefits of such a model for Singapore and other industrializing countries are highlighted.

مقدمه انگلیسی

An enduring society must be based on a system of commerce and production that is sustainable and restorative [1]. Sustainable development is an approach that uses the earth resources in such a way that future generations’ needs are not compromised. In other words, sustainable development seeks a balance between economic growth and environmental protection. This implies that countries and businesses need to integrate economic, biologic, and human systems to create a sustainable system of commerce, and that governments need to incorporate flexibility that rewards proactive environmental management. As we approach the 21st century, it is clear that new ways of thinking are needed to tackle the environmental and societal issues that face our global community. The consequences of not managing the organizational environment properly may result in severe pollution and other related problems, which may kill thousands of people and damage the physical environment [2]. For example, in the last quarter of century there were a number of large-scale industrial disasters which spurred global concerns about industry's impact on the environment and motivated the international community to consider new ways of preventing pollution. Events such as the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, the radiation release in Chernobyl, USSR, the oil spilled by Exxon Valdez off the coast of Alaska, the fire at a warehouse of a chemical manufacturer at Basel, Switzerland, and many others [2], [3] and [4] raised global concerns about industry's impact on the environment and generated global interest in preventing pollution [5]. Environmental management attracted interest only in the 1970s. For example, the first European Community Directive pertaining to the disposal of waste oil was issued in 1975. This was followed by subsequent directives covering toxic waste, dangerous waste, titanium oxide and pollution of water and air [6]. Following the 1980 Earth Day, the publication of the United Nations’ Brundtland Report in 1987, highlighted that though economic growth has been the cause of much environmental damage, economic development is necessary to remove poverty. The report further suggested the adoption of sustainable development as a solution to attain both economic and environmental goals [4]. This triggered a philosophical change from the “anti-growth” perspective of the 1970's environmentalists to one of “sustainable development” [7]. As a result of the Brundtland report, the Earth Summit in June 1992 (also known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) was held in Rio de Janeiro and was attended by heads of states and leaders of 170 nations [6]. The Earth Summit covered areas such as biological diversity, climate change and a detailed blueprint for implementing sustainable development based on 27 principles known as the Rio Declaration [7]. Furthermore, environmental standards were prepared in order to guide businesses in their efforts to set up environmental management systems and also to provide an objective measure to determine the appropriateness of the different environmental management systems set up by business enterprises [5]. Besides governmental efforts in environmental management, businesses are also starting to focus on environmental issues. For instance, the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) was established in 1991 with a total of 48 members. Its main mission was to provide a business input during the Rio Conference. Its members are heads of major global companies like Dow, Dupont, Ciba-Geigy, Shell, Chevron, Trans Alta Utilities, Nippon Steel, ALCOA, Volkswagen and Nissan. The principle of eco-efficiency, which describes the practice of adding most value with the least use of resources and the least pollution, was developed. Based on this principle, BCSD believes that corporate environmentalism will lead to competitive advantage and increasing profitability [8]. Codes of environmental behavior for businesses have also been developed in recent years, most notably, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) Principles and the Business Charter for Sustainable Development (BCSD). With the Exxon Valdez oil spill incident as the triggering effect, the CERES principles were released in 1989. The CERES principles promote responsible economic activity for a safe, just and sustainable future. Signatories to the CERES principles include companies like the Sun MicroSystem, General Motors and Ben & Jerry's [9]. In 1990 the International Chamber of Commerce also developed a set of 16 guiding principles known as the Business Charter for Sustainable Development or the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) Principles [10] and over 1000 companies have since endorsed the charter [9]. A number of empirical studies have also concluded that adopting environmental management does bring certain advantages for businesses. For instance, Klassen and Whybark [11] concluded that improved manufacturing performance could occur simultaneously with investments that improve environmental performance; Russo and Fouts [12] confirmed that high levels of environmental performance were associated with enhanced profitability. Furthermore, they also concluded that as industry grows, environmental performance would have a greater positive impact on firm profitability. Klassen and McLaughlin [13] concluded that both environmental performance and firm performance are positively linked. Finally, Sharma and Vredenburg [14] concluded that proactive measures in environmental responsiveness is associated with the emergence of organizational capabilities and that had no negative impact on corporate competitiveness [5]. Companies are realizing that proactive environmental management can prevent such disasters and result in a more effective organization with an improved bottom line. The best-managed companies have demonstrated that implementing an environmental management system can produce significant increases in productivity and profitability [15]. 1.1. What is ISO 14000? The ISO 14000 standards are international voluntary, consensus standards [2]. These standards were developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), located in Geneva, Switzerland, is a non-governmental, international organization. The goal of the ISO is to develop standards on a worldwide basis to allow commerce to transcend national boundaries without creating trade barriers. The standards are process oriented; they do not establish goals or limits. Instead, they establish management system guidelines that help organizations ensure compliance with customer, industry, or regulatory limits. The early 1990s saw developments in the area of Environmental Management Systems (EMS). BS7750, the British Standards for EMS was introduced in 1992, and revised in 1994. Concurrently, the work on the European Union's environmental standard for companies began, and led to the launch of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in 1993 [2] and [16]. In 1993, the ISO established a Technical Committee (TC207) to develop and produce a set of unified, voluntary standards for environmental management that could be accepted and implemented worldwide. ISO 14000 has been developed to help any company in any country to meet the goal of “sustainable development” and environmental friendliness. The ISO 14000 family of standards (i.e., ISO 14001—Environmental Management Systems: specification with guidance for use, 14004—Environmental Management Systems: general guidelines on principles, systems and supporting techniques, 1410—Guidelines for Environmental Auditing: general principles, 1411—Guidelines for Environmental Auditing: Audit procedures and 1412—Guidelines for Environmental Auditing: qualification criteria for environmental auditors) were published as an official document in late 1996. Other standards related to the family (ISO 14024—Environmental labeling, ISO 14040—Life cycle assessment and ISO 14060—Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards) were not issued in final form at that time. The ISO 14000 series aims to provide guidance for developing a comprehensive approach to environmental management and for standardizing some key environmental tools of analysis such as labeling and life cycle assessment. The standards are non-prescriptive. They are meant to be complementary to national regulatory regimes and are not intended to replace or duplicate a country's regulatory system [2] and [16]. The ISO EMS consists of 5 principles as shown in Fig. 1: • Environmental policy • Planning • Implementation and operation • Checking and corrective action • Review and improvement1.2. Relationships between ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 ISO 9000 was released to the world in 1987 and was subsequently revised in 1994. At first , a few companies were certified as many companies were already registered to their respective national standards for management systems of quality assurance, such as BS5750. However, when the European Union regulations started to indicate ISO 9000 as a faster way to get easier access to their markets, and when specific industries started asking their suppliers for conformance, the use of ISO 9000 exploded [16]. For example, in 1990, only a handful of companies were ISO 9000 registered but by 1995 more than 6000 companies were registered, with more than 20,000 in line to be registered. The largest of this were the automotive and defense industries. Clements [16] argues that the concept of an environmental management system, specially one designed to dovetail into ISO 9000, has considerable merit. He further argues that the exploding use of ISO 9000 is an indication of the possible path of growth for ISO 14000. There are regulations in force in the European Union to enforce the use of ISO 14000. Also there is a growing interest for companies to demonstrate that their products are “green”. Clement [16] claims that as with ISO 9000, virtually any company can use ISO 14000 standard. It is to be noted that like ISO 9000, the ISO 14000 standard was developed using the same technical system. The second revision of ISO 9000 has been published in 2000. This revision broadens the ISO 9000 family of standards to include portions of other management issues, such as health, safety, finance and the environment. To quote from Clements [16]—“This means that ISO 14000 will move from being a cousin of ISO 9000 to being a full sister to the standard”. Further examination of the details of the two standards it would reveal that there are similarities in structure and content of the clauses of both the standards [2, pp. 21–22]. 1.3. The extent of adoption of ISO 14000 standard in Singapore The Singapore Green Plan has been developed as the blueprint for environmental management and protection [17]. It includes a comprehensive range of programs to encourage both the corporate sector and the community to play a more proactive role in environmental protection. The environmental management strategy that has been adopted is based on the principle that ‘prevention is better than cure’. The key elements in this strategy include planning control, provision of environmental infrastructure, setting and maintaining an effective institutional and legal framework and implementing a comprehensive monitoring system such as ISO 14000 [18]. As in the case of ISO 9000 standards the ISO 14000 series have attracted a lot of attention in Singapore. The lSO 14000 guidelines would serve as a useful structure for firms wanting to improve their environmental management system. Multinationals like Sony Display Devices, IBM, Philips, Sieko Instruments and Baxter Healthcare have had their operations certified as being lean and green. Among the local companies Singapore Airlines and Stamford Press are the pioneers in this respect. As of early 2000 about 170 companies have already been certified under the standard. Sony Display Devices and Baxter Healthcare were the first two companies being certified in Southeast Asia [19]. Organisations with Environmental Management System (EMS) in place have reported having benefited from implementing such a system [20], [21] and [22]. Firstly, the image of the organisation as being environmentally responsible is enhanced. Stakeholders are assured of the organization's commitment to demonstrable environmental management. This helps to maintain good public and community relations. In addition, there is potential cost savings from resource conservation and waste minimization. For example, Sony Display Device saved S$ 10 million in 1995 by cutting chemical usage, conserving water and electricity and re-using packaging materials [19] and [23]. Both Sony Display Devices and Baxter Healthcare were part of a pilot scheme that was started by the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) in December 1995 to help organisations prepare for ISO 14000 certification. The structured EMS approach also ensures legislative compliance. Organisations with a good track record of legislative compliance will have less intervention from regulatory bodies and fewer incidents that result in liability. Furthermore, implementation of such a system would possibly help improve industry–government relations. This also often results in insurance premiums being lower [19]. From literature review, it is observed that no study has been reported on the development of a predictive model to identify the companies that may be the candidates for ISO 14000 certification. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to identify a set of possible variables and then developing a model to predict whether an organization would be motivated in adopting the ISO 14000 standards. The above objective is especially important for the government of Singapore. As indicated earlier, the government's “Green Plan” includes a comprehensive range of programs to encourage both the corporate sector and the community to play a more proactive role in environmental protection. The findings of the study would help the government design and implement various incentives schemes and other appropriate measures for organizations to adopt the standard. It is expected that such adoption in turn would help realize the “Green Plan”. Information on Singapore Government's plans and schemes to assist organizations to get ISO 14000 certification is presented in Section 7.4.

نتیجه گیری انگلیسی

7.1. Sample size One of the major concerns of this study is small sample size. Although the sample size met minimum overall sample size requirement of five observations per independent variable and the ratio of smallest group size and the number of independent variables i.e., the smallest group size must exceed the number of independent variables [56, p. 258], it is important to note that the results of discriminant analysis become unstable as the sample size decreases relative to the number of independent variables. However, it is to be recognized that at any given alpha level, increased sample size always produces greater power of the statistical test. But increasing sample size can also produce “too much” power. Therefore, the researcher must always be aware that sample size can impact the statistical test by either making it insensitive (at small sample size) or overly sensitive (at a very large sample size). Based upon results of number of two-group data simulations, Foley [58] found that when n/p (where, n=the number of units in each of the two groups and p=number of response variables) was greater that 3, the average internal hit-rate across applications was “reasonably close”. As the present study did not have equal number of units in each of the groups, this guideline is not applicable. However, it is to be noted that the hit-rate obtained from the present study is very high (90.7%). Huberty [59] argues that validity is a matter of degree, the larger the sample size, the greater the validity estimation i.e., the larger the sample, the better the hit-rate assessment. He further points out that for the ratio of ‘test sample’ to ‘design sample’, only limited guidance has been given in terms of rule of thumb for minimum total sample size. Hair [56, p. 258] suggests that as a practical guide, each group should have at least 20 observations. In case of a large sample size, many times the sample is divided into two sub-samples, one used for estimation of the discriminant function (called analysis sample) and another for validation purposes (called holdout sample). No definite guidelines have been established for dividing the sample analysis and holdout groups [56, p. 258]. In view of the above discussion it is understandable that in case of the present study the small sample size, although it meets the minimum sample size requirement, runs the risk of being less sensitive to the statistical tests. With a larger sample size, the results of the analysis could also be validated with the holdout sample. 7.2. Criterion-related validity and outcome measures Criterion related validity, sometimes called predictive validity or external validity, is concerned with the extent to which the measuring instrument is related to an independent measure of the relevant criterion. In their study on “An Instrument of Measuring the Critical Factors of Quality Management” Saraph et al. [47] used two measures of quality performance: (a) quality performance of the responding division of the company for the past three years and (b) customer satisfaction with quality for the past three years. These two ratings, which were collected on a 5-pont scale, were averaged to form a single measure. The criterion-related validity of the combined set of eight measures of quality management was measured by examining the multiple correlation coefficient computed for the eight measures and the computed outcome measure described above. This study used a similar procedure as that of Saraph et al. But only one outcome related measure was used to test the criterion-related validity of the constructs. Two issues need to be addressed here: (a) the measurement of the outcome variable(s) and (b) the statistical method available to assess the validity. Regarding the measurement of the outcome variable, it is noted that Saraph et al. [47] used two subjective measures. The respondents were asked to indicate their subjective assessments on the two outcome measures based on past three years. Whereas, Ahire et al. [60] used six measures of product quality. In contrast to study of Saraph et al., the Ahire et al. study apparently did not ask the respondents to indicate the outcome for the ‘past few years’. The present study also did not ask the respondents to provide the outcome related information for a specific number of past years. The measure that was used in this study was subjective in nature because of the difficulty in identifying and obtaining an objective measure that would be appropriate for the different types and sizes of businesses in the sample [47]. Yeo [5] in his study on “Identifying the Critical Factors of Environmental Management and Developing Their Performance Measures” used two outcome variables which were then averaged to form a single measure. The two measures used were (a) subjective assessment of the environmental performance of the company for the past three years and (b) an assessment of the stage of environmental development the company is in, based on the Environmental Development Model developed by Hunt and Auster [52]. The stages of environmental development are “beginner”, “fire fighter”, “concerned citizen”, “pragmatist” and “proactivist”. These authors have developed quotes that are characteristics of organizational practices at each development stage. Yeo [5] asked the respondents to mark the quotes that best described the practices of their company. It is felt that the two measures used in Yeo's study are appropriate but one could argue that it may not be appropriate to combine the two outcome variables which are different in nature to develop the single outcome measure. This is because of the fact the nature of the first measure i.e., the assessment of the environmental performance of the company for the past three years is different from the nature of the information captured under the second measure i.e., assessment of the stage of environmental development the company is in. These two measures should be used separately to see whether similar results are obtained. Measures similar to those used by Yeo may be adopted in future studies of this nature. Different authors have used different methods in assessing criterion-related validity. For example, Saraph et al. [47] and Yeo [5] have used multiple correlation. Ahire et al. [60] have used structural equation modeling to estimate the correlation between the various constructs. On the other hand Flynn et al. [36] have used canonical correlation approach. The authors argue that structural equation modeling takes into account measurement error by estimating measurement error variances from the data and model specification, whereas canonical correlation does not. Because of the nature of the outcome measure used in the present study, it was appropriate to use multiple correlation coefficient to assess the criterion-related validity. 7.3. Application of discriminant analysis in environmental management related issues A review of the recent literature on the application of discriminant analysis indicate that this multivariate technique has not been applied in issues related to environmental management. Ninety recently published articles related to discriminant analysis (1999-to date) were reviewed and found that this technique had been used in numerous areas like market segmentation [61] and [62], determination of shopping profile of house wives [63], human resource management [64], knowledge management [65], stock evaluation [66], real estate [67], strategic planning/management [68] and [69], entrepreneurship [70], information management [71], health care [72] and company performance evaluation [73]. As indicated above, it is interesting to note that there is no recent publication relating to environmental issues similar to the study presented here. In view of this it may be noted that the present study is filling a gap in the recent literature on the application of discriminant analysis in an emerging field. 7.4. Usefulness of the study in the context of Singapore and other countries Predictive discriminant function developed in this paper can be used by both private and public agencies as a marketing tool to identify the potential customers. For example, The Singapore Productivity and Standards Board (PSB), the leading government-linked organization in Singapore, which is promoting the standards, can use the result of the study to further promote the certification of ISO 14001 among Singapore companies. For example, PSB may want to consider partnering with the Ministry of Environment in establishing policies based on the four significant discriminating factors identified from the study. Such policies may be targeted towards MNCs, which in turn may influence their local suppliers in adopting ISO 14001 as a recognized self regulated environment management standards. These policies could include incentives such as lower license or refuge fees; forms of tax incentives for certified companies who are willing to share their experiences with the policy-making bodies and the like. The Singapore government provides substantial incentives to the companies to go for the ISO 14000 certification. For example, as was in the case of ISO 9000 certification, up to 70% of the cost of certification including the cost of external consultancy services are subsidized for ISO 14000 certification. It is therefore, important for the government to know the intentions of the companies and formulate the marketing strategies accordingly. For example, if it is found that there are lack of understanding and/or initiatives on the part of the target companies, the PSB and or other related organizations can design intervention programs for such organizations. It may be assumed that many developing countries are eager to export their products to industrialized nations including the European Union member countries. The governments of such countries may find this study useful in identifying the target companies for designing and implementing intervention programs. Similarly, consulting firms may also find the study useful in targeting the potential clients. 7.5. Direction for further studies Factors influencing the intention to adopt ISO 14001 were identified primarily based on the review of global literature on environmental management and quality management. Hence, it is expected that the findings reported here are also applicable across countries. However, the study has some weaknesses specially in two areas: (1) sample size and (2) the measurement of the outcome variables used for criterion related validity test. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies be conducted with larger sample size (i.e., a ratio of at least 20 observations for each predictor variable to test the accuracy of the predictive discriminant function developed in this paper. It is also suggested that replicative studies be conducted in different countries and in different industries with large sample size to confirm the validity of the model reported here.