نحوه هدایت زیست محیطی توسعه کسب و کار: دیدگاه کنترل مدیریت

A prerequisite for successful business development is that the control system is designed and used in such a way that strategically important areas can be planned and followed up. Thus, it must be possible to relate results on the quality front, for example, to the company's strategy, which is why quality systems are often integrated with the overall system of control. Environmental management systems, on the other hand, often tend to lead a life of their own, quite disconnected from the overall control system with its routines for strategic planning and follow-up. This can perhaps explain why environmental work has not become a natural part of corporate business development, despite the market for environmentally friendly products. In this article, we therefore focus particularly on control systems and their role in the promotion of an environmentally driven mode of business development. It appears that the integration of environmental management systems with other control systems has been found to be important. The tentative model presented here indicates the conditions under which such integration is possible. It also shows how a company's approach to environmentally driven business development can fall into various phases. The model includes three dimensions: (1) strategy, (2) control systems, and (3) attitude to environmental work. A number of hypotheses are formulated regarding the importance of these dimensions for the successful promotion of an environmentally driven mode of business development in large companies. The article concludes with some suggestions as to how the model can be used in further research.

The role of control systems in established and new businesses is becoming more and more important. Competition and rapid changes in the business environment mean that information from a monetary and externally focused control system arrives too late. Other difficulties are that information is distorted and presented at too high a level of aggregation (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987). With a view to bringing control closer to operations while also improving its links with the strategic level, new control methods have been presented. These models are particularly concerned with the way non-monetary key ratios at the business-unit level can be adapted to the strategy pursued (Dixon, Nanni & Vollman, 1990; Lynch & Cross, 1991; Kaplan & Norton, 1996). According to another approach the control systems used for the planning and follow-up of strategically important areas are integrated in something that for the company, is an overall control system. The systems used for quality control are an example of this. The information that these systems provide to management is of great importance, both for strategic planning and for the follow-up of previously decided strategies (Gummesson, 1993, p. 52ff.). To emphasize that systems of this kind are an integral part of the overall control of the typical large company with multiple products and strategic business units, researchers and practitioners both talk about an extended concept of management control (Samuelson, 1992, p. 16ff.). Extended management control includes all control systems that have a clear connection with the company's strategic planning and follow-up (Nilsson, 1997). The planning and follow-up of environmental work, however, do not appear to be included in this extended management control system. Empirical studies of trends in the environmental behaviour of large Swedish companies have found that many companies have routines for policies, measurable aims, plans of action, etc. Despite this, companies envisage major problems in designing and performing environmental strategies (Terrvik, 1995a and Terrvik, 1997), probably because they feel they lack adequate methods, tools and models for the challenge imposed by an environmentally driven mode of business development (cf. Strannegård, Wolff & Agri, 1996). Instead, the environmental management systems of large Swedish companies seem to be used for dealing with societal requirements about reducing environmental impact. Only a few such companies appear to have environmental management systems integrated with their other control systems (cf. Åhsbom, 1995; Belz & Strannegård, 1996). International studies have reached similar conclusions. Some attempts have been made to integrate standardized environmental management systems with quality management systems (Gelber, Hanf & Hüther, 1997; Hortensius & Barthel, 1997), but there are few examples of the planning and follow-up of environmental work forming a natural part of the overall running of the company. For example, according to Epstein (1996), companies fail to follow-up their environmental costs in such a way that these costs can be traced back to specific units, processes or products. Nor is the income from more environmentally friendly products and services reported in any systematic way. Thus, as company management does not have access to this type of information, environmental issues are given low priority in strategic planning. The fact that environmental management systems are not integrated with other control systems also makes it difficult to follow-up the implementation of an environmental strategy — even if one were to exist. All in all, control systems can play an important role in promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development. As noted above, a major problem is that environmental management systems are not integrated with the other control systems in companies, which means that environmental issues are not included as a natural part of the strategic planning or of the follow-up of previously determined strategies. These and similar problems have already been noted by several researchers who have also emphasized the need for research into the role of control systems in generating an environmentally driven mode of business development (Jönsson, 1995; Terrvik, 1995a; Strannegård et al., 1996). Since few empirical studies have been conducted in the area, the main aim of this article is to broaden the theoretical base for further research. As a step in achieving this aim a theoretical model and related hypotheses have been developed. The model shows that the process of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development can be divided into several phases. The model also shows that the process is influenced by the integration of environmental management systems with other control systems as well as by strategies and management attitudes. A task for future research will be to establish the importance of these dimensions, to the promotion of environmentally driven modes of business development, by testing the hypotheses. The following section provides a review of the literature in order to give some depth to the discussion of the main model dimensions. The review is followed by a detailed presentation and discussion of the tentative model. We then discuss how the model can be used in further research. The article concludes with a summary of the main results.

Interest in the connection between a company's operations and its environmental work greatly increased during the late 1980s. A growing number of CEOs have come to feel that consideration of the environment can also contribute to the creation and development of business. At the same time, empirical studies have shown that only a few companies have control systems in which environmental aspects are considered in the strategic planning and in the follow-up of previously determined strategies. Many researchers have also noted the need for research on the role of control systems in the creation of an environmentally driven mode of business development. It should be pointed out, however, that few empirical studies have been performed in this area. In light of this, the aim of the present article has been to broaden the theoretical basis for further research. As a step in achieving this aim, a tentative model and some hypotheses have been developed. The model describes the role of control systems in the creation of an environmentally driven mode of business development. Considerable attention has been paid to the integration of environmental management systems with other control systems. Further, the model shows how the way forward to an environmentally driven mode of business development can be divided into various phases based on (a) the group's and the business units’ strategic orientation, (b) the design of the control systems and the way they are used, and (c) management's attitude to environmental work. In order to give more concrete form to the way these three model dimensions affect the prospects of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development, the term PEB was introduced. PEB can assume a minimum value of 1 (limited prospects of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development) and a maximum value of 8 (good prospects of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development). On a basis of the PEB values it is possible to discern three phases on the way towards an environmentally driven mode of business development. These phases are referred to as the reactive phase (PEB 1–4), the active phase (PEB 3–7), and the proactive phase (PEB 5–8). The reactive phase is characterized by limited prospects of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development. Typical of this company category is that the corporate and the business-unit managements both have a negative attitude towards environmental work. Interest in promoting and developing business on a basis of a sustainable development, is slight. Companies in the active phases have discovered that consideration of environmental issues can be combined with profitable operations. Companies have progressed from simply reacting to new environmental legislation and moved on to actively investigating how environmentally friendly production can reinforce cost leadership or increase the degree of differentiation. However, the recognition that consideration of environmental issues creates major opportunities for developing business, can only be seen either in corporate management or in business-unit management. The proactive phase is characterized by good prospects of promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development. Corporate and business-unit management both have a positive attitude to environmental work. This means that companies see good opportunities for developing their business by paying more attention to the environment in their daily operations. Instead of just reacting to environmental legislation or following a general environmental trend, a proactive company aims to lead development in the environmental field. On a basis of the tentative model and a detailed examination of each phase, a number of hypotheses have been formulated about the prospects for the successful creation of an environmentally driven mode of business development. The hypotheses are based on the way the model dimensions can be assumed to affect PEB. The first four hypotheses state how the prospects for promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development can be improved, when (a) the group pursues an activity-sharing strategy, (b) the business unit pursues a differentiation strategy, and (c) there is a good fit between the requirements of the overall control system and the environmental management systems at the business-unit level, and (d) group management and business unit management are both positively inclined towards the environment. The following four hypotheses state how the prospects for promoting an environmentally driven mode of business development can be assumed to be impaired, when (a) the group pursues a portfolio management strategy, (b) the business unit pursues a cost leadership strategy, (c) there is a lack of fit between the requirements regarding the overall control system and the environmental management systems at the business-unit level, and (d) group management and business unit management are both negatively inclined towards the environment. As the aim of the article has been to broaden the basis for further research, these eight hypotheses have been formulated so that they lend themselves to testing. We have also tried to facilitate such testing by the methodological points raised in the concluding section of the article. In this way, we hope that, we have laid the foundations for further theoretical and empirical research in the field. In light of the discussions in the article it appears that this research should be based on several theoretical constellations, in particular strategic planning, management control and organization theory. Contributions in which theories stemming from these three areas are integrated, would be particularly welcome.