Responsiveness of industry to eco-efficiency improvements in the product chain: the case of Akzo Nobel1
✍ Scribed by Jacqueline Cramer
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 152 KB
- Volume
- 9
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0964-4733
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Increasingly, arguments are being made concerning the benefits of a marriage between ecology and economy in life cycle management. This article provides insights into the business conditions under which market opportunities and eco-efficiency improvements in the product chain can indeed go hand in hand. The study focuses on the differences in responsiveness of six different sub-business units within the chemical company of Akzo Nobel to eco-efficiency improvements in the product chain and how these differences can be explained. The comparative analysis shows the importance of the following three criteria: (i) the level of environmental pressure; (ii) the room for manoeuvre and (iii) the degree to which the environment can be used to obtain a competitive advantage. These criteria may also be valid for other companies. However, research needs to investigate whether additional factors (e.g. the culture of the company, its technological capabilities and market strength) also influence corporate environmental response.