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What are the drivers of corporate environmental strategy in

the Dutch energy market?

A study on the forces of sustainable strategy

Bachelor Thesis

Economics and Business, Business Administration track F.J. Köllen - 10788549

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Statement of Originality

This document is written by Student Florian Jaap Köllen who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

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Table of contents

1. Introduction ___________________________________________________________ 5 2. Literature review _______________________________________________________ 7

2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility _________________________________________________ 7

2.2 Corporate environmental strategy ______________________________________________ 10

2.2.1 External pressures and corporate environmental strategy ________________________________ 10 2.2.2. Internal drivers and corporate environmental strategy __________________________________ 11 2.2.3 Corporate strategy and environmental corporate strategy _______________________________ 11 2.2.4 Competitive advantage and environmental corporate strategy ____________________________ 12 2.2.5 Firm performance and corporate environmental strategy ________________________________ 12

2.3 Drivers of corporate environmental strategy _____________________________________ 12 2.5. Conceptual Model __________________________________________________________ 14 3. Methodology _________________________________________________________ 17

3.1 Selection of sample and sector analysis __________________________________________ 17

3.1.1 Sector analysis __________________________________________________________________ 18

3.2 The interview process and transcription _________________________________________ 20 4. Results ______________________________________________________________ 23

4.1 Environmental orientation and environmental strategy _____________________________ 23 4.2 Public concern and corporate environmental strategy ______________________________ 23 4.3 Regulatory forces and corporate environmental strategy ___________________________ 25 4.4 Competitive advantage and corporate environmental strategy _______________________ 26 4.5 Ethical considerations and corporate environmental strategy ________________________ 27 4.6 Top management commitment and corporate environmental strategy ________________ 28 4.7 Technological innovation and corporate environmental strategy _____________________ 29 4.8 Overview results and model ___________________________________________________ 29 5. Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 32 6. Discussion ___________________________________________________________ 34 7. References ___________________________________________________________ 37 8. Appendices ___________________________________________________________ 44 Coding scheme ________________________________________________________________ 44

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Abstract

After the Paris Climate Agreement, the business world has received considerable attention on the environmental aspects of their corporate strategies. To understand what drives some firms to formulate such environmental strategies, the forces underlying the strategy

formulation process must be identified and understood. This research focuses on the drivers of corporate environmental strategy in the Dutch energy market. Based on a literature review the following drivers can be identified: public concern, regulatory forces, competitive advantage, ethical considerations and top management commitment. In addition, interviews were conducted to understand these relationships and expand the model. On the basis of the results, we identify two new drivers: technological innovation and employee

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1. Introduction

On December 12 2015, governments of 195 countries agreed on what is later to be called the Paris Climate Agreement (UNFCC, 2015). In this agreement, the countries agreed to minimalize the warming of the earth under 2 degrees Celsius and to be ‘climate-neutral’ by 2050. Following this agreement, the Dutch government presented their policy on achieving these goals. Concretely, the administration wants emissions to be reduced by 80-95% in 2050 compared to current the current state (Ministerie van Economische zaken, 2016).

This climate agreement is following an increasing amount of studies which show, without substantial discussion, that human activities are responsible for global warming and its effects (Oreskes, 2011). According to these scientists, the effects of global warming are causing surface air and oceans to rise. To quote Leonardo DiCaprio in his documentary on global warming: ‘’The science is clear, the future is not’’ (2016).

Government bodies and scientists aren’t the only ones increasingly concerned with the effect global warming could have on our planet. As discussion about global warming has left the crypts of public debate, it emerged as a popular theme in news media and

mainstream culture. Documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth (2006), from former vice-president Al Gore, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Before the Flood (2016) received considerable attention and led to a mainstream discussion (Kellstedt, Zahran & Vedlitz, 2008).

As 100 companies have been responsible for more than 70% of the emission of greenhouse gas since 1988 (Carbon Disclosure Project, 2017), the business world has an important role in the achievement of the Paris agreement. In reaction to the intensified attention, corporations began to recognize their responsibility in reducing the effects of global warming and started to incorporate environmental aspects to their corporate strategies (Buil-Carrasco, Fraj-Andrés & Matute-Vallejo, 2006; Menon & Menon, 1997).

Firms adopting this ‘Corporate Environmental Strategy’ pledge to undertake

environmental actions beyond the applicable legal requirements (Chrun, Dolsak & Prakash, 2016). This is interesting as firms shifted from being just standard economic units to go beyond what is required by regulation (Jamali & Mirshak, 2007). In the literature, the drivers of this corporate environmental strategy have been studied (Banerjee, Iyer & Kashyap, 2003; Bansal & Roth, 2000).

However, these models severe from some serious limitations. The research focuses on the firm in an isolated and simplistic environment and on lower strategic parts of the organization (Banerjee et al., 2003). Furthermore, the models aren’t focused on industries which rely heavily on their natural environment, like energy suppliers. At last, the study of these drivers isn’t updated to meet current trends as accelerating technological innovation (Schilling, 2010) and increased attention for corporate environmental behavior by society (Kellstedt et al., 2008). In order to update and expand on the motivations driving corporate

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This research will focus on the Dutch electricity market. As the production of electricity relies heavily on its natural environment, The Dutch electricity market has an important role in achieving the climate goals. Right now, 14,72% of energy usage in the Netherlands is consumed by the energy sector (Triarii, 2012). Furthermore, as energy suppliers fulfill the demand of energy, the source of this energy has high impact on

nationwide emissions. At this moment, almost 95% of the Dutch energy is powered by fossil fuels (Ministerie van Economische zaken, 2016). When burned, fossil fuels generate high amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Stamm, Clark & Eblacas, 2000) that will deteriorate the environmental goals set. Therefore, to contribute the environmental goals the Dutch energy sector needs to find a path to a more sustainable way of doing business.

Ultimately, this study will focus on identifying the drivers of corporate environmental behavior in the Dutch energy market. Furthermore, the motivations of each of these forces will be researched. Therefore, the question that will be answered is: what are the factors driving corporate environmental strategy in the Dutch energy market?

The design of the research is structured as follows. First, an overview of current literature on the subject will be presented. Based on the literature, a conceptual model will be developed. Second, the methodology will be elaborated on. Third, the results of the research will be presented. At last, conclusions will be made and limitations and

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2. Literature review

To be able to interpret the results, a solid theoretical foundation is required. This literature review is structured as follows. First, the construct of Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) will be defined and elaborated on. Second, as the construct of CSR expanded, the extension of the CSR concept started to incorporate environmental issues. This trend will be reviewed. At last, previous models of the drivers of corporate

environmentalism will be presented. Based on the literature, the conceptual model will be given.

2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility

In an infamous quote, Milton Friedman (1970) stated that the ‘social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.’ The authors of this view, which is one side of the two-sided debate, state that a firm only has a responsibility towards itself. The sole criteria by which its behavior is judged, is by boundaries of the law and minimal ethical constraints (Levitt, 1958). However, the opposite side of the debate stated that firms also have a broader responsibility towards society (Andrews, 1973). Therefore, this debate has intrinsically focused on the relationship between the firm and the society within it is

operating (Schwartz, 2017). To understand this relationship, the concept of corporate social responsibility must be defined.

The relationship between a firm and its responsibilities revolves around a central theme, which in literature is called ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR). As the debate continued, scholars couldn’t reach consensus over a working definition due to the different interpretations of the construct. Specifically, the question was which dimensions should be included in the construct in order for it to be comprehensive (Torugsa, O’Donohue & Hecker, 2012). Archie Carroll (1979) tried to bridge the gap between the two sides by proposing the following definition: ‘The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that a society has of organizations at a given point in time’ (p. 500). Following this definition, he graphically modeled the construct to gain insight into the components. This model is called the ‘Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility’.

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Figure 1: Carroll’s (1979) pyramid of CSR

In this model, Carroll identified 4 kinds of social responsibilities for firms: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. Economic responsibilities focus, in line with the traditional view of Friedman, on the profit motive as the legitimation of the existence of corporations. Therefore, organizations should act as basic economic factors and focus solely on providing goods and services to members of society. Legal responsibilities consist of the legal

boundaries in which a firm is expected to operate. Society requires firm to behave in a lawful manner, as it is part of the ‘social contract’ between society and firms. The next level is Ethical responsibilities, which refers to the duty a firm has to act in an ethical manner. As many laws are translucent of ethical standpoints, some stated that only the legal dimension should be sufficient. However, Carroll stated, there are still many ‘unwritten rules’ which are still expected by society and should be included in the model. Lastly, Philanthropic

responsibilities focus on the societal expectation of firms to act as a ‘good’ corporate citizen. This means that society demands organizations to actively engage in emphatical acts for the sake of the whole. For example, promoting human welfare or participating in programs set up to diminish hunger in developing countries.

As the ‘traditional’ definition of CSR lasted many decades, Carroll itself acknowledges the stretch of the definition to include alternative frameworks and areas. In a meta-study by Dahlsrud (2006), the evolution of the CSR concept was explored. Dashlrud found that among 37 definitions, 5 congruent dimensions can be found, which in some ways are additional to Carroll’s pyramid. These 5 dimensions are the environmental-, social-, economic-,

stakeholder- and voluntariness dimension. Almost all dimensions were (broadly) equally found in the meta study.

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Furthermore, as the construct of CSR was ‘stretched’ into other frameworks, the definition also changed. Lozano (2013) stated that CSR can be defined as:

’Corporate activities that proactively seek to contribute to sustainability equilibria, including the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of today, as well as their inter-relations within and throughout the time dimension (i.e. the short-, long-, and longer-term), while addressing the company’s systems, i.e. operations and production, management and strategy, organizational systems, procurement and marketing, and assessment and

communication; as well as with its stakeholders’ (p. 33).

This broadening is in reaction of numerous firms reaching further than their legal requirements and also incorporating environmental and social dimensions in their strategy (Sharfman, Shaft & Tihanyi, 2004, emphasis added). The expansion of the firms’

responsibilities is interesting. Conventional economic theory states that firms should only be compliant to regulation, but overly comply. This is because it is stated that environmental reductions under the regulation norm, which is overcompliance, would increase costs, while not producing further benefits (Wu & Wirkkala, 2009).

This raises the question, what is driving these firms to act further than their traditional (regulatory) motivations? To answer this question Prandy and Lozano (2011) identified multiple drivers for (the broadening) of CSR.

Internal drivers External drivers

• Attract and retain employees • Avoid fines and penalties • Help improve trust within the

company

• Help improve trust outside the company

• Have a more compliant workforce • A belief that corporations must earn their ‘license to operate’

• Increase employee productivity • Meet and exceed stakeholder expectation

• Help to increase product quality • Behave ethically • Help boost innovation and

innovative practices

• Improve relations with regulators and ease access to permits • Help manage risks, intangible assets,

and internal processes

• Improve access to markets and customers

• Improve performance and generate more profits and growth

• Improve customer satisfaction

• Reduce costs • Help to restore trust in corporations

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As can be seen in Table 1, multiple drivers affecting environmental dimensions can be found which shows the expansion of the construct. Furthermore, based on an extensive literature review, Montiel (2008) argues that the research on Corporate Sustainability (CS) and CSR is converging. By this is meant that CSR is incorporating ecological issues into its definition. This is a good example of the versatility of the CSR construct, which adapts to current trends in society and science (Blowfield, 2005). In the following part, the conceptual stretch of CSR to include environmental aspects will be discussed.

2.2 Corporate environmental strategy

The extension of the CSR construct to include ecological issues was driven by the increased attention on ecological issues the last past decades, as there has been intensified pressure on firms to address these issues (Baker & Sinkula, 2005). In response, firms began to incorporate ‘green’ drivers in their corporate strategy formulation (Buysse & Verbeke, 2003). Firms that are aware of their ecological responsibility started to adopt

environmentally friendly strategies (Andrés, Salinas & Vallejo, 2008). Some authors go as far to state that environmentalism is the most significant force in the economy (Murphy & Poist & 2002). In line with the latter, scholars laid out the foundation of corporate environmental strategy (CES)1, which focuses on the way firms ‘perceive, react and interact’ with respect to issues concerning the environment (Etzion, 2007). In the literature, 5 streams can be

identified that study the incorporation of green issues into corporate strategy. Those 5 will be discussed briefly.

2.2.1 External pressures and corporate environmental strategy

The first stream focuses on the role of external factors that pressurize firms into the adoption of ecological friendly strategies. In this stream, the regulatory force is considered the strongest (Kassinis & Vafeas, 2006). Many scholars find that (environmental) legislation is, in some industries, the most important driver of the incorporation of sustainability issues in corporate strategy (Ochsner, 1998; Willamson, Lynch-Wood & Ramsay, 2006; Henriques and Sadorsky, 1996). Regulatory forces, like the protection of nature reserves, are an important pressure to consider in relation with corporate environmentalism as these forces are legally binding (Tan, 1996). It can be seen that firms that operate in more legislative-intensive industries are more likely to adopt environmental friendly strategies (Menon & Menon, 1997). Also, Saha & Darnton (2005) state that the most important factors for firms to adopt environmental orientation is regulation. Examples of environmental legislation can be seen in the EU’s emission trading system, which is the is the first global intranational cap and-trade system on greenhouse gas emission (Parsons, Ellerman & Feilhauer, 2009).

1 Note that the terms Corporate Environmental Strategy and Corporate Environmentalism are interchangeably

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Another important part of governmental drivers is the use of subsidiaries (Kostova & Roth, 2002).

Beside the legislation driver, three other external forces can be identified. First, the pressure of environmental movements (Mirvis & Googins, 2006). Environmental movements are strong, societal pressures from mostly activists. These forces demand that firms

incorporate environmental issues into their way of doing business (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). Secondly, there is pressure from community stakeholders. It was noted by Stone, Joseph and Blodgett (2004) that as a local community expresses ecological concerns, firms tend to form eco-oriented organizational cultures. At last, the role of competitors and consumers is discussed. Menon and Menon (1994) state that as competitors and consumers become more ecological friendly, other firms will adapt to this new status quo.

2.2.2. Internal drivers and corporate environmental strategy

The second stream focuses on internal drivers creating corporate environmental strategy. In this stream the most studied subject is the role of the manager. Previous research has already studied the influence of managers in the strategy making process. Hambrick and Mason (1982) state that corporate strategy and outcomes can be partially predicted by managerial background characteristics. These characteristics include managers personal values and perceptions. However, the research has now extended to the study of the manager’s willingness to adopt a green strategy (Banerjee et al., 2003). In turn, the drivers of the managers actions are studied, for example on the role of the manager’s environmental values (Duarte, 2010). Furthermore, following up on the dynamic capabilities framework, managers play a distinctive role in the selection of investments and initiation of green routines, making it an important driver of strategy (Augier & Teece, 2009).

2.2.3 Corporate strategy and environmental corporate strategy

The third stream focuses on different elements of the corporate strategy, which have been studied in the light of environmental issues. This literature stream conducted studies in most of the company's areas, including R&D, design, manufacturing, and marketing (Foster and Green, 2000; Lenox & Ehrenfeld, 1997). Of these elements, manufacturing has received the most attention (Klassen & Whybark, 1999). This is due to the fact that manufacturing firms are an essential driver of environmental performance (Hart, 1995; Schmidheiny, 1992). Another large portion of literature is dedicated to the green marketing strategy. For

example, Menon and Menon developed the concept of ‘Enviropreneurial Marketing’, which recognizes the use environmental friendly practices and innovation to create a competitive advantage (Shrivastava 1995) and in the same time resolving environmental concerns (Menon & Menon, 1997).

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2.2.4 Competitive advantage and environmental corporate strategy

The fourth stream focuses on the acquirement of competitive advantage by green strategies (Knudsen & Madsen, 2001). As Esty and Winston (2009) note, corporations have historically only looked at environmental strategy as a cost, not as a driver or accelerator of firm performance. In this stream, literature has focused on the ‘how and when’ other than ‘whether or not’ (Orsato, 2006). In this light, Porter (1990) states that environmental regulation (and consequently firm environmental management) creates technology innovation and long-term competitive advantage Following this argument, multiple eco-friendly strategy models have been developed. An example of this is the knowingly targeting of ecological conscious consumers (Banerjee et al., 2003).

Furthermore, the relationship between firms adopting a ‘green strategy’ and financial performance have been studied intensively. Most of the literature finds a positive

relationship between investments to protect the environment and financial performance (King & Lenox, 2001). Also, empirical studies have been conducted. Lee, Singal and Kang (2013) conducted research in the hospitality industry and found a positive relationship between investments in sustainability projects and financial performance.

2.2.5 Firm performance and corporate environmental strategy

The fifth stream relates to the performance implications of environmental friendly strategies. As in the fourth stream the benefits of eco-friendly practices has already been established, scholars here focus on the relation between environmental performance and financial measures (Leonidou, Samiee, Aykol & Talias, 2014). A meta-study done by

Horváthová (2010) concluded that over time there is a positive link between environmental- and financial performance. The time variable was added to integrate short term losses due to environmental friendly investments. Furthermore, Dangelico and Portrandolfo (2015) study is on firm capabilities to implement product- and process related ecological actions into their strategy. This capability was studied in relationship with a firm’s market

performance. Convincing results were found that stated that there is indeed a relationship between strong environmental capabilities and firm performance.

2.3 Drivers of corporate environmental strategy

The two most cited models of the factors that drives firms to behave in a sustainable manner are, respectively, created by Banerjee et al. (2003) and Bansal and Roth (2000).

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Figure 2: Framework by Banerjee et al. (2003)

Banerjee et al. (2003), conceptualize a model consisting of the drivers of corporate environmental strategy. This framework can be found in Figure 2. The authors state that corporate environmental strategy can be divided into two components. The first being ‘environmental orientation’, which is the recognition of managers that their companies influence their natural surroundings and they have, in some degree, a responsibility towards it. Succeeding corporate orientation, environmental strategy arises which is the degree to which environmental issues are eventually implemented in the corporate strategy.

The authors identify 4 drivers of corporate environmental strategy: public concern, regulatory forces, competitive advantage and top management commitment which are in line with the 5 research streams earlier mentioned. Public concern for the environment is an external force that is exerted by various stakeholders from the community such as NGO’s or economic, as customers demanding more ‘green products’ (Banerjee et al., 2003).

Regulatory forces are drivers exerted by government on that influence firms in for example packaging (McCrea, 2003) or product development (Ottman, 1993). Competitive advantage is merely an economic force, which influences corporate environmental strategy (Taylor & Welford, 1993). Top management commitment is a strong internal driver that influences corporate environmental strategy (Drumwright, 1994).

The other model focused on the drivers of Corporate Ecological Responsiveness (CER) (Bansal & Roth, 2000). This model can be found in Figure 3. CER can be defined as: ‘a set of corporate initiatives aimed at mitigating a firm's impact on the natural environment.’ In this qualitative study, the authors try to define the underlying motives for corporate ecological responsiveness. Based on their study, a preliminary model is created, which is listed below.

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Figure 3: Model by Bansal & Roth (2000)

As can be seen, this study focuses on initiatives of ecological nature. The difference between initiatives and strategy is the length of the process. Initiatives can be seen as a first move, where strategy is a comprehensive plan that focuses on long term actions (Mintzberg, 2000). In other words: strategy is the approach you take to reach your objectives, while initiatives are actions which are influenced by the strategy. To state in it the words of Martin and Lafley (2013), a strategy is an integrated set of choices. Initiatives are a part of this. This model is interesting as it adds ethical motives to the model of Banerjee and colleagues (2003). The ethical motives are based on firms that behave in a eco-friendly way, because it’s the ’right thing to do’ (Wood, 1991).

The models will provide a solid foundation for this research. However, the models severe from some limitations. The authors itself provide the limitations of their models. Banerjee et al. (2003) mention the focus on the firm in an isolated environment, mainly focusing on factors in the direct surroundings instead of more macro- or global trends. Furthermore, the focus by Banerjee and it’s colleagues is mainly on lower parts of the organization instead of the top-level. Furthermore, Bansal and Roth (2000) mention that their model isn’t based on environmental-dependent industries like the energy market. At last, there is the outmoded characters of the models. In the light of the increased attention the last decade of ecological issues earlier discussed, a model from, at best, 2003 might be outdated. Due to this, the forces driving corporate environmental behavior might have changed.

2.5. Conceptual Model

Based on the models by Banerjee et al. (2003) and Bansal and Roth (2000) a simplified conceptual model is made. This model can be found in Figure 4. The conceptual model is a combination of the two models with some simplifications and moderations. The differences will be explained in this section.

First, as responsiveness can be considered as an element of an integrated strategy (Martin & Lafley, 2013), the dependent variable is Corporate Environmental Strategy. This is done because it will be more interesting to study the overhanging strategy instead of just a

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element. Because of this choice, the model by Banerjee et al. (2003) can more dominantly be found in the conceptual model.

Second, in the study of Banerjee et al. (2003), the drivers of corporate environmental orientation are also studied. As this study focuses on the actual results of these drivers, in the form of environmental strategy, the relationships between the drivers and corporate environmental orientation aren’t relevant for this research. Furthermore, Corporate Environmental Orientation can be just ‘greenwashing’ without Corporate Environmental Strategy (Entine, 1995). Also, as stated by Banerjee et al. (2003), corporate environmental orientation can be considered a prerequisite for the actual environmental strategy. This is following on the logic that to take action on a certain problem a firm should identify their selves within the environment of the problem and have some sort of responsibility in it to be able to act upon it. Therefore, as the literature stresses the actual strategy over the

orientation, the conceptual model only included the drivers of corporate environmental strategy.

Third, ethical considerations was added as Bansal and Roth(2000) found that this could be a driver of Corporate Environmental Strategy. This driver wasn’t included in the model of Banerjee et al. (2003) and therefore it was added to study the integrality of the conceptual model.

At last, in the model by Banerjee et al. (2003) top management commitment is studied in two ways: the drivers of top management commitment on its own and secondly, the implications of this on corporate environmental orientation and corporate

environmental strategy. For this conceptual model, only the latter relationship is studied. This is done because the models of Banerjee et al. (2003) and Bansal and Roth (2000)

contradict each other where in the latter, leadership corporate values are used as a driver of ethical considerations instead of a direct link to strategy. Furthermore, as managers

motivations are extensively studied, this research isn’t focused on this relationship as it can be more interesting to study the direct relationship of top management commitment on corporate environmental strategy.

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3. Methodology

In this section, the methods used to conduct research will be discussed. For this research, a qualitative approach was chosen and interviews were conducted. The qualitative approach has been chosen due to two reasons. First, as the models in the literature might be outdated, it can be assumed that not all drivers are included. Furthermore, the specific drivers of corporate environmental management in the Dutch electricity market haven’t been studied. Second, there is a lack of validated models explaining the drivers of corporate environmental strategy. For that reason, this research also has the goal of gaining insight in these factors. Therefore, an exploratory research method has been chosen. Following these two arguments, qualitative research is the most appropriate method (Lehu, 2004).

Furthermore, as strategy is formulated by people, it is important to study the underlying motives of the people creating and implementing the strategy. Therefore, the research is dual in a way that it is both exploratory as explanatory. As the drivers of

corporate environmental strategy are identified, the underlying motives are also studied. To assess such motives, qualitative research in the form of interviews is able to explore and identify the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of complex human behavior while at the same time providing insight in the ‘why’ of this relationship (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). As the research focuses on strategy, it implicitly needed the cooperation of managers who designed the strategy which is studied. Furthermore, because managers are more likely to agree to an interview than a survey (Saunders et al., 2009), a qualitative method is desirable.

An inductive approach was chosen to develop new theories and patterns (Dubois and Gadde, 2002). This method is called grounded theory, whereby the collection, reviewing, and process of continuous re-evaluation of the data is used to determine research findings (Sanders et al., 2009). The reason the study is set up in such is way is because the research focuses on exploring new relationships and motivations. However, as the research will be conducted on the foundation of the two models by Banerjee et al. (2003) and Bansal and Roth (2000), there are also some deductive elements in the research. This is because this study aims to identify the reasons or motivations of the specific drivers found in earlier studies. By doing this, the research expands the knowledge of particular drivers in this industry. However, the inductive approach is leading to prevent the limitation of just investigating relationships already found.

The research started with an extensive study of the current literature in the field. Secondary literature was found on Google Scholar, the UvA-catalogue, Catalogueplus and the UvA thesis database. Furthermore, physical books and articles were borrowed from the UvA library. To get a grasp of the Dutch energy market, informal conversations were held to explore this sector. Furthermore, a Dutch energy conference was visited where multiple workshops were followed to get in contact with employees of energy suppliers.

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As there are many ways to retrieve a sample for qualitative research, a non-probability sampling method was used. A non-non-probability sample is a sampling method which isn’t random (Saunders et al., 2009). Sampling was done in a purposive manner. Extensive networking was used to gain access to interviewees which met the requirements for the research. The main requirement for the sample was that all of the interviewees are on management level and are involved in the strategy formulation process. Furthermore, the respondent needed to be working in the Dutch electricity sector. The management level requirement is set to ensure the information retrieved is as close to the source as possible, so potential participant bias won’t occur. Participant bias could occur as lower-level

employees might say what their bosses want to hear (Saunders et al., 2009). Also, a

purposive sampling method was used to prevent the sample to be unrepresentative for the population.

3.1.1 Sector analysis

The industry that will be studied is the Dutch energy market and more specifically the Dutch electricity sector. The Dutch electricity supply has been centralized since 1895 (CBS, 2015), where municipalities started to arrange the electricity networks. For more than a century, the structure remained unchanged. In the light of the liberalization in the European Union, the Dutch electricity market started to deregulate and suppliers- and network

managers of electricity were separated. In 2015, the largest part of electricity was produced with fossil fuels like natural gas and coal. The other part was produced by renewable sources like wind turbines, solar cells, waterpower and the burning of biomass. The market of

electricity suppliers is divided by three large players and multiple smaller ones (Wielders, Afman, Schuurbiers & Cherif, 2015). To collect a sample, the criteria set by the annual ‘Onderzoek Nederlandse stroomleveranciers’ (Consumentenbond, Greenpeace, Natuur & Milieu, Wise, 2017) was used. This study ranks all firms active in the electricity sector in the Netherlands on basis of sustainability. The criteria are:

• The supplier is in possession of their own suppliers’ permit • Every inhabitant of the Netherlands can become a customer • Customers can apply and sign out at every moment in the year

• The company was active in 2016 and thereby received an electricity label of the electricity supplied that year

• The supplier supplied at least 1.000 households

After filtering on these criteria, 30 companies remained. It is important to note that only 7 of these 30 suppliers have the possibility to generate power on their own. The companies can be found in Table 2 and 3.

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With production capacity, only active in NL With production capacity, internationally active

Greenchoice Eneco

HVC ENGIE

Pure Energie Nuon

Qurrent

Table 2: Energy suppliers with production capacity (Constumentenbond, 2017)

Without own production capacity

Anode energie NieuweStroom

Budget Energie Noordelijk Lokaal Duurzaam

Om Oxxio

DGB Powerpeers

E.ON Qwint

Energiedirect.nl Robin Energie

Energieflex SEPA Green

Essent ServiceHouse

Fenor UnitedConsumers

Huismerk energie Vandebron

NLE Vrijopnaam

Nieuw-Hollands energiebedrijf

Table 3: Energy suppliers without production capacity (Consumentenbond, 2017)

29,00% 22,00% 21,00% 5,00% 5,00% 4,00% 3,00%2,00% 2,00% Nuon Essent Eneco GreenChoice NEM Oxxio EnergieDirect Delta E.ON

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After the population of which a sample needed to be taken was defined, potential respondents were contacted through extensive networking. Based on this, 4 interviews were conducted. An overview of the respondents can be seen in Table 4. Due to the sensitive information given, such as competitive strategies, the respondents names aren’t mentioned and the associated companies are presented in a cryptic manner to assure confidentiality. As the main organizations in the Dutch electricity sector are included in the sample, the

research can be assumed to be relevant for the entire industry.

Respondent number Organization

Respondent 1 Strategy director of one of the largest electricity

suppliers in the Netherlands

Respondent 2 Manager of a major region in the Netherlands

for one of the largest electricity suppliers in the Netherlands

Respondent 3 Manager strategy of one of the most

sustainable electricity suppliers in the Netherlands

Respondent 4 Former corporate strategy manager of one of

the largest electricity suppliers in the

Netherlands. Currently active in the academic world and as consultant in the energy market

Table 4: Overview respondents

3.2 The interview process and transcription

On basis of the conceptual model, research themes and subsequently an interview guide was developed. The interview guide is structured into 4 parts: general questions, challenges for the Dutch electricity market, the role of the organization in this challenge and drivers for the environmental corporate strategy. These parts will be discussed briefly.

The aim of the general questions is to get an understanding of the respondent and his/her function within the organization. The latter is, explicitly, done to ensure that the respondent is able to discuss the strategy making process of the organization and the answers could be used in the research. If applicable, the relationship with the mother- or daughter concern of the organization is discussed, as it is important for this research that the strategy is formulated independently, without major strategic interference from any other party.

Secondly, the major challenges for the Dutch electricity sector are discussed. This question was used to get an insight into this sector and develop theories on basis of a solid understanding of the industry. According to Orlikowski (2010), understanding of the context of the phenomenon researched is crucial to develop richer conclusions. Also, as it might be important, as perceived differences in sustainability are asked.

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In the third place, the drivers of corporate environmental strategy for specific firms are discussed. The questions are based on the conceptual model. Furthermore, there is room for the respondent to expand the model by identifying drivers currently not included. At last, the relative intensity of the drivers was discussed.

During the interviews, the audio has been recorded. On basis of the audio, the interview was transcribed naturally. As the content of the answers given were dominant for the research, a literal transcription wasn’t necessary. The transcription was done with an online tool that can slow down the audio file, which speeds up the transcription process. After the interviews were transcribed the documents were imported in the qualitative research tool Atlas.ti. First, the interviews were openly coded. After all the interviews were coded, all the codes were grouped on basis of the literature or a common theme which was appearing repeatedly. As the largest amounts of codes could be placed under a group code, the coding process went back and forth between analyzing the documents and adding codes. This was done as during the research, relationships emerged that might also appear in interviews that were already coded (Saunders et al., 2009).

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Variable clusters Illustrative questions

General information § Who are you?

§ How did you get to your current

position?

§ How do you feel about a sustainable

strategy for your organization?

Challenges Dutch electricity market § What is, according to you, the biggest

challenge for the Dutch electricity market?

§ In what degree would you consider

differences in sustainability practices among the Dutch electricity sector? Specific organization and strategy formulation

process

§ What kind of role does your

organization have in this challenge? § To which extent would you classify your

organization as sustainable?

§ How does the strategy formulation

process at your organization work?

§ Could you provide some concrete

initiatives that result from the organizations strategy?

Drivers of corporate environmental strategy § How do you consider (national)

environmental regulation with relation to your corporate environmental strategy?

§ How do you consider customers with

relation to your corporate environmental strategy?

§ How do you consider NGO’s with

relation to your corporate environmental strategy?

§ How do you consider a competitive

advantage with relation to your corporate environmental strategy? § How do you consider the role of the top

management with relation to your corporate environmental strategy? § If you consider the formulation of the

corporate environmental strategy, what drivers should be considered?

§ What of the drivers discussed has the biggest impact on corporate

environmental strategy?

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4. Results

In this chapter, the results of the study will be presented. The results are given in a thematic way. First, the observed relationships already found in literature will be elaborated on. Furthermore, other drivers that weren’t included in the literature are presented. Within the constructs, the main findings per relationship will be presented. At last, an overview of the main findings will be given.

4.1 Environmental orientation and environmental strategy

All respondents stated that their organizations are active in orientating on environmental issues and the relationship of their organizations with the natural

environment. When asked what sustainability meant to their organization, respondent 1 answered: ‘I believe all big players are orienting on their impact on the environment.’ Some respondents stated that their complete strategy is based on their responsibility towards the energy transition: ‘As a company, we want to focus mainly on the decentral energy

transition’ (respondent 3).

However, a perceived discrepancy between environmental orientation and environmental strategy was found. Respondent 1 noted: ‘I believe all big players are

orienting on their impact on the environment. However, I don’t believe that all organizations are that sustainable because they understand the problem. Sometimes it’s just not strategic but something just happened the way it did.’ When asked for the cause of this discrepancy, results are ambiguous. One respondent stated that: ‘Sustainability is a big hype. However, the large players have tremendous interests. They have always worked in the same way. And you need to convince them that acting in an environmentally friendly way is needed. For now, everything seems green but really isn’t’ (respondent 4).

Another respondent didn’t agree and stated that: ‘I see the big companies investing huge amounts of money in, for example, solar parks. We appreciate the fact that they do this’ (respondent 3).

4.2 Public concern and corporate environmental strategy

Main findings Respondents

The entire industry is actively orientating on environmental issues

1, 3 A discrepancy between environmental orientation and environmental strategy is found

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The results indicate a diverse influence of public concern on corporate environmental strategy.

First, we analyzed the perceived concern for environmental issues. All respondents answered that the concerns about the environment are increasing. One respondent answered: ‘The pressure from society is increasing. 10 years ago, this pressure was limited. But now, things have changed. You also have a societal responsibility for the environment. What you see, the last couple of years, that people are taking up their responsibilities and are willing to consider an extra investment’ (respondent 2). Another respondent answered: ‘It is increasing slowly. 10 years ago, it wasn’t really there’ (respondent 4). Respondent 1

answered: ‘What you see is that people are saying that environmental issues are increasingly important.’

However, some respondent noted that there is a difference between the spoken opinions of society and the actual actions that follow these. One responded, in answer to the question if people are willing to pay extra for green power, that: ‘I would love if I can build a solar park and add one or two euros to the price. However, people aren’t willing to pay this difference. Nobody wants to pay extra for this. That is a very dual signal. Changing electricity supplier is done based on price. Sustainability is named as an argument, but the figures don’t reflect this. To me, this is a disconnect’ (respondent 1). When asked for a reason for this disconnect, the respondent answered: ‘If you really map out the Netherlands, only 5 to 10% can afford to buy solar panels. Because of their financial position.’ Not all respondents agree with this, as some believe the actions are in line with the spoken opinions of society: ‘You can see a technical and economic improvement of renewable products. For example, the payback period of solar panels has been decreased from 20 to 8 years. And if you don’t have space for a solar panel on your roof, you can place one at an external location or your neighbors roof’ (respondent 2).

The literature stated that NGO’s can pressurize firms to adapt a ‘greener’ strategy. However, our results indicate that NGO’s don’t have a direct relationship with corporate environmental strategy. When asked what the role of NGO’s is in the formulation of the environmental strategy, respondents answered: ‘No, NGO’s don’t have a role in that. Greenpeace has sat at our table and complimented us on our strategy’ (respondent 1). Another respondent was more critical on the role of NGO’s: ‘I find the NGO’s in the Netherlands to be too soft. I’m at the table with Greenpeace and they really pick out their campaigns. The NGO’s are really political and more of a marketing agency’ (respondent 4). Another finding is that while NGO’s don’t have a direct relationship with environmental strategy, they can influence public concern. As stated by respondent 2: ‘They contribute to

Difference between public opinion and public action 1, 2, 4 NGO’s don’t exert direct pressure on environmental

strategy but their publications do

3 Consumer organizations yield power on

environmental strategy

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the public debate of the energy transition. It’s not just about us, but there needs to be

communication from a variety of angles on the chances the energy transition has to offer. So, you are very happy when, for example Greenpeace, lets their voice be heard’ (respondent 2). Furthermore, the impact of reports published by NGO’s was assessed. This was done by asking the respondents how they felt the annual ‘Onderzoek duurzaamheid

stroomleveranciers’ impacted their corporate environmental strategy. All respondents stated that in, some way, the report had impact. However, the intensity of this force differs among the respondents. One respondent stated that: ‘We see at the commercial side of our company that it is very important. They want us to score well on this report, because they feel this is important, based on insights from the market. It is also being watched by potential customers. Therefore, we are influenced. Also, we consider the following: what would the customer think if we did this?’ (respondent 3).

However, the respondents stated a difference between NGO’s and consumer organizations as consumer organizations, in the opinion of the respondent, do yield power over electricity suppliers. It is stated that: ‘While NGO’s don’t, consumer organizations do exercise power on corporations as they can force managers to resign’ (respondent 4)

4.3 Regulatory forces and corporate environmental strategy

All respondents agreed on the role of the government and following regulatory measures as a driver for their environmental strategy. For example, respondent 3 noted that: ‘Of course, the government has an important role in how something will eventually play out’ (respondent 3).

However, the nature of this force differs among the respondents. We can summarize these dimensions in fourfold. First, regulatory forces as a facilitator. For example, by creating a level playing field in the industry: ‘The role of the government is really important. As it is mainly on creating a level playing field’ (respondent 1). Another respondent noted that: ‘the government is a facilitator in the process. They should inform and assist. The government also allows you to connect with other stakeholders in the field of interest’ (respondent 2).

Main findings Respondents

Government and its subsequent regulation has influence on environmental strategy

1, 2, 3, 4 4 dimensions of regulatory pressure were found:

facilitating, pace making, boundary setting and monetary incentivizing

1, 2, 3, 4

The pressure of local government on environmental strategy is found to be smaller than national

government

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have a conversation with the government on speeding up of the amortization of coal plants’ (respondent 4). Furthermore, a respondent stated that: ‘And all of this is stimulated by clear government policy. Otherwise, the strategy will be there, but 2 to 3 times as slow.’

(respondent 1). Thirdly, respondents noted that the government can provide certain juridical boundaries and therefore create certainty for investments in environmentally friendly products: ‘It just creates security for your investments. Regulation has a major role in this’ (respondent 3). Another respondent agreed and stated that: ‘Based on the decisions made in the Climate Agreement, a certain direction is chosen. This gives the industry a lot of certainty and it allows it to build something valuable’ (respondent 1). At last, the importance of grants is stressed by respondents: ‘We see the role of the government in the strategy of decreasing the amount of fossil fuels used. We believe that you should tax fossil fuels and stimulate sources from renewable energy’ (respondent 2). Also, the impact of grants on the

development of gas-free products has been mentioned: ‘I cannot sell it when my customer has to pay 2-3 times the amount for a gas-free solution. That won’t be accepted by the market. You should work with grants to make this possible’ (respondent 1).

One respondent mentioned that the role of national government is greater than the one from regional administrations as: ‘Local government doesn’t apply any pressure, but they should. They have a role to play there’ (respondent 4).

4.4 Competitive advantage and corporate environmental strategy

All respondents agree that a well-developed environmental strategy can result in a

sustainable competitive advantage and therefore drives corporate environmental strategy. Respondent 4 states: ‘I believe you can absolutely achieve a competitive advantage with a sustainable corporate strategy.’ When asked how to, concretely, achieve such a sustainable advantage the answer is: ‘If you come up with a good product, where the customer won’t have to pay a premium to be green, you will have a competitive advantage in the future.’ The latter quote indicate results which are substantial in the findings. All respondents note that on the short term, competitive advantage is minimal: ‘The

Main findings Respondents

Competitive advantage was found as a driver for corporate environmental strategy

1, 2, 4 A perceived difference was found on the timing of the

competitive advantage

1, 3 The role of current image in the mind of the customer has influence on the intensity of the relationship between competitive advantage and environmental strategy

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commercial benefit is limited on the short term’ (respondent 1). The respondents state that the cause of this is that the electricity market is mainly competing on price: ‘Energy is a price effect market’ (respondent 2). The results indicate that all managers predict a tipping point in where an environmental friendly strategy becomes a competitive advantage: ‘If due to price technical developments, prices start to decline, then you can come up with a similar model as we have with fossil energy. There is a tipping point, where sustainability becomes a competitive model’ (respondent 2). As for consumers the tipping point may be in a few years, a respondent noted that for the B2B this might be different: ‘B2B is something

different. There you have some companies that also work on their own perception. It is going somewhat faster there’ (respondent 1).

As the respondents agree on the competitive advantage in the long-term, some mention the role of image on competitive advantage. Some companies will achieve superior performance with an environmentally friendly strategy over other firms. Respondent 3 noted that: ‘We are already positioned well to be a convincing, green, player in the market. You see a lot of organizations trying to be green now. They will never be in the same position as us, because we’ve always been green. Therefore, sustainability in the scope of competitive advantage will most likely be larger for us than for other firms.’ Another respondent agreed with this stating that: ‘Some parties already have a certain positioning in the market. We don’t have the position of the most sustainable, which means there has already been a shift in customer base. People who believe sustainability is important, have most likely already left us’ (respondent 1).

4.5 Ethical considerations and corporate environmental strategy

If the respondents were asked if ethics played a role in the development of environmental strategy, the answers were mixed. Some respondents believed that ethics was a significant driver of their strategy: ‘I believe that we can make choices from our beliefs. And in our beliefs, we are sustainable. Also for the long term. It is in our DNA to behave sustainable and we are motivated to achieve some results in the energy transition’ (respondent 3). Another respondent agreed: ‘Our vision is shaped by intrinsic motivation and values’ (respondent 2).

However, not all respondents agreed that ethics is a driver of corporate environmental strategy: ‘I believe the reason for the strategy of company X doesn’t

Main findings Respondents

The relationship between ethical considerations and corporate environmental strategy wasn’t found with all respondents

2, 3

Respondents noted that the ethical considerations maybe aren’t genuine and more a case of profiling

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instragrammable places and projects and they want to do that. That is the profiling’ (respondent 4). Another respondent also noted that this profiling is very important: ‘We want the leading position as the green energy supplier, the dark green segment. That if people think: I want green power, they think of us’ (respondent 3).

4.6 Top management commitment and corporate environmental strategy

In literature, top management commitment was implemented as a driver of corporate environmental strategy. The results indicate this to be accurate.

When talking about the former CEO, a respondent noted that: ‘He was the main booster of the sustainable strategy. He really made a case of the need for sustainable

strategy. That vision was originated from intrinsic motivation’ (respondent 2). Respondent 1 added: ‘It’s just the goal of the top-level managers. If you have the commitment there, it will eventually become plans. Because what you see is that the business units below the top-level start to undertake new initiatives. Because if you give people a certain assignment, they start to think about it’ (respondent 1). If asked what the consequence was of this top

management commitment, a respondent answered: ‘If the management is so committed, you start to see people thinking: what does this mean for my department? Plans arise, and they get approved where they first weren’t. So now the plans actually start to happen!’ (respondent 1).

The latter quote indicates that there is another internal driver which has a critical impact on corporate environmental strategy. Respondent indicate that, besides top management, employees also play a distinctive role in (the creation of) environmental strategy: ‘At a certain moment we were in negotiation with company X to acquire their coal plant. It almost got to a revolution internally’ (respondent 4). Another respondent noted that their employees are the most important driver of their strategy: ‘When you are sustainable to the core, you also attract employees who are. With their own norms, values and motives. Then you start to notice: a company is a collection of its employees. If you have a lot of employees who value a sustainable strategy, you start to notice that you make certain choices based on that’ (respondent 3). Not only the strategy formulation process was

stressed, but also the implementation: ‘You can think of things, you can say things. But when

Main findings Respondents

The findings suggest a relationship between top management commitment and corporate environmental strategy

1, 2

The relationship is twofold: top management as a direction setter or enabler

1, 3 Besides top management commitment, findings

suggest that employees play a distinctive role in the corporate environmental strategy.

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your employees don’t want to do it, you are stranded’ (respondent 2). Another respondent noted that having employees who care about sustainability, forces managers and therefore organizations to become greener and greener: ‘If you are green, you attract green people. How more green people you attract, the more people start to resist if your strategies aren’t understood’ (respondent 4).

4.7 Technological innovation and corporate environmental strategy

During the research, another driver of corporate environmental strategy, that wasn’t included in the conceptual model, was discovered. This driver is technological innovation.

If we asked the respondents if they missed any of the drivers, all respondents answered something that was related to the theme of technology. For example:

‘Technology. It is very important. Some things don’t lie. If a technology is good, we all want to have it. Like Apple and Google. We all hate them, but they are good devices so everybody wants to have it. I believe that is also true for the electricity market’ (respondent 4). Another respondent stated that customers are also following the technological innovations closely. For example, a solar panel which is developed is only good enough if the technology is right: ‘People are waiting for the technology to develop. So we will wait for that moment’

(respondent 1).

4.8 Overview results and model

Relationship Main findings

Environmental orientation and corporate environmental strategy

• The entire industry is actively orientating on environmental issues • A discrepancy between

environmental orientation and environmental strategy is found Public concern and corporate

environmental strategy

• Public concern on environmental issues is increasing

• There is a difference between public opinion and public action

Main findings Respondents

Findings suggest a relationship between technological innovation and corporate environmental strategy

3, 4

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• NGO’s don’t exert direct pressure on environmental strategy, but their publications do

• Consumer organizations yield influence on environmental strategy Regulatory forces and corporate

environmental strategy

• Government and its subsequent regulation has influence on environmental corporate strategy • 4 dimensions of regulatory pressure

were found: facilitating, pace making, boundary setting and monetary incentivizing

• The pressure of local government on environmental strategy is found to be smaller than national

government Competitive advantage and corporate

environmental strategy

• Competitive advantage was found as a driver for corporate

environmental strategy

• A perceived difference was found on the timing of the competitive

advantage

• The role of current image in the mind of the customer has influence on the intensity of the relationship between competitive advantage and environmental strategy

Ethical considerations and corporate environmental strategy

• The relationship between ethical considerations and corporate environmental strategy wasn’t found with all respondents • Respondents noted that ethical

considerations aren’t genuine and more a case of profiling

Top management commitment and corporate environmental strategy

• The findings suggest a relationship between top management

commitment and corporate environmental strategy

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• The relationship is twofold: top management as a direction setter or enabler

• Besides top management

commitment, findings suggest that employees play a distinctive role on top management commitment Technological innovation and corporate

environmental strategy

• Findings suggest a relationship between technological innovation and corporate environmental strategy

• This relationship is confirmed by all respondents

Figure 6: Overview results of research

The findings suggest that all relationships articulated in the conceptual model can also be found in the research. Furthermore, two drivers can be added to the conceptual model: technological innovation and employee commitment. The results indicate that technological innovation has direct influence on corporate environmental strategy. Employee

commitment doesn’t have direct influence on the corporate environmental strategy because employees don’t directly make the strategy in the industry studied. However, the impact of employee commitment on top management is found across all respondents. Therefore, it is added as an indirect driver of corporate environmental strategy.

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5. Conclusion

In this research, the drivers of corporate environmental strategy were studied. The question this research tried to answer was: What are the factors driving corporate environmental strategy in the Dutch energy market? On basis of a conceptual model and interviews, multiple drivers found in literature were reviewed and missing drivers in the model were assessed. This part will summarize the main findings of the research.

First, the relationship between environmental orientation and corporate

environmental strategy was analyzed. All participants agreed that the entire industry is actively orientating on their natural environment and the responsibility of their firm towards it. However, a discrepancy between the orientation and actual environmental strategy was suggested by respondents. Reasons for this were that some environmental choices aren’t based upon strategy but merely on coincidence. Furthermore, respondents have stated that sustainability is more of a hype than a long-term strategic influencer. Not all respondents agreed with this with referring to the amount of money invested on sustainable projects by large companies in the industry.

Second, the relationship between public concern and corporate environmental strategy was studied. All respondents noted that the public concern on environmental issues is increasing. Therefore, public concern influences the corporate environmental strategy. However, respondents noted that there is difference between public opinion and the actual actions that follow on these opinions. This was illustrated by examples that customers don’t want to pay a premium for green power. Therefore the influence is limited. Furthermore, respondents noted that NGO’s don’t apply direct pressure on firms. However, their

publications (for example the ‘Onderzoek Duurzaamheid Energieleveranciers’) does. At last, respondents stated that consumer organizations do yield power on environmental strategy.

Third, the relationship between regulatory forces and corporate environmental strategy was analyzed. The results show a strong relationship between regulatory forces and corporate environmental strategy. This relationship was found across 4 dimensions:

facilitating, pace making, boundary setting and monetary incentivizing. At last, respondents noted that the pressure of local government on corporate environmental strategy is smaller than national government.

Furthermore, the relationship between competitive advantage and corporate environmental strategy was studied. The results show a relationship between competitive advantage and corporate environmental strategy. However, timing is an important element in this relationship as all respondents note that on the short-term sustainability isn’t a competitive advantage, where in the future it might be. Furthermore, results show that the established ‘green’ image of an energy suppliers in the mind of the customer influences the intensity of this relationship.

Next, the relationship between top management commitment and corporate environmental strategy was studied. The findings suggest a relationship between the two constructs. This relationship is to be found in twofold. First, respondents see top

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management as a potential direction setter. Therefore, the actions of the top management has influence on the corporate environmental strategy. Secondly, top management as an enabler. This can be seen as top management allowing more sustainable initiatives from lower parts of the organization.

Last but not least, other drivers not mentioned in the literature were studied. Results show two ‘missing’ drivers. First, all respondents add technological innovation as a driver of corporate environmental strategy. This relationship can be found where organizations let the roll out of sustainable initiatives depend on technological innovation. Furthermore, respondents note that also customers act according to this reasoning. Based on the tipping point for customers to acquire sustainable energy products, organizations try to supply on this point. Therefore, this influences corporate environmental strategy. Second, employee commitment was added as a driver of corporate environmental strategy. However,

employees don’t have direct influence on corporate environmental strategy as they aren’t directly involved in the strategy creation process. Therefore, this driver was added to influence top management commitment.

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