Determinants of Environmental Strategy in the Automotive Sector: Analysis of Key Factors

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of environmental strategy. The authors analyze the key factors that lead the firm to implement a particular environmental behavior that translates into a specific environmental strategy. The factors considered are firm size, managementu0027s attitude toward the environment, and the perceived importance of the stakeholders in influencing the firmu0027s environmental practices. The study focuses on the Spanish automotive sector. Using a typology of environmental strategies commonly used in the literature, the firms are classified into four groups: reactive, defensive, accommodative, and proactive. The relations between these strategies and the determinant factors are analyzed. The analysis also considers the different components of the value chain in the automotive sector. The results show a positive relation between the level of development of the firmu0027s environmental strategy and the factors analyzed. The factors characterizi...