Michael A. Berry

Bio: Michael A. Berry is an academic researcher from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sustainable development & Environmental quality. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 18 publications receiving 1475 citations.

Proactive corporate environmental management: A new industrial revolution

Abstract: Executive Overview Corporations in North America, Europe, Japan, and in most newly industrializing nations are embracing environmental protection as part of their international competitive strategies. For many firms, the shift to proactive environmental management is driven by pressures from governments, customers, employees, and competitors. Both consumers and investors are beginning to see more clearly the relationship between business performance and environmental quality. The trend toward proactive environmental management is being accelerated by public pressures on governments almost everywhere to assure a cleaner environment. Government regulations have become more stringent, legal liabilities for environmental damage have become more burdensome, and customers have become more demanding. But more importantly, there is growing evidence that firms that adopt proactive environmental management strategies become more efficient and competitive. In many countries, the public has become more vocal in deman...

Corporate Environmental Management and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap

Abstract: Environmental policies have brought dramatic improvements in air and water quality during the past 25 years, but further expansion of command-and-control regulations is likely to have diminishing marginal returns. Corporations are taking new initiatives in managing their environmental impacts in ways that reduce their costs, increase their efficiency, lower their liabilities, and enhance their competitiveness while reducing pollution, conserving resources, and eliminating waste. In the future, significant gains in environmental quality are more likely to come from widespread adoption of pollution prevention practices than from more stringent regulation of end-of-pipe emissions. Bridging the gap between public policy and the trends in private-sector management will require fundamental changes in federal and state governments' approaches to regulation. New policies must use economic incentives to encourage clean manufacturing and the adoption of pollution prevention technologies and forge public-private par...

Comparison of biocontaminant levels associated with hard vs. carpet floors in nonproblem schools: results of a year long study.

Abstract: Choosing the appropriate floor surface for a school environment is a complex issue. To assist school personnel in determining which flooring is best for their school, we studied the biocontaminant levels associated with carpeted and hard surface flooring. Two schools were selected, one predominantly tiled and one predominantly carpeted, as similar as possible with the exception of their floor coverings. Neither school was a “problem” building. Multiple biocontaminants were measured. For flooring, there were statistically significant differences for all the tested biocontaminants except fungi. The carpeted surfaces, being strong sinks, generally had higher surface loadings of the biocontaminants, while the airborne levels were significantly higher over tiled floors. Significant differences in airborne levels were found for dust mass, spores, fungi, β-1,3 glucans, and endotoxins. The results suggest that carpet flooring was not the major contributor to airborne levels of biocontaminants in these two nonproblem schools.

Why Companies Go Green: A Model of Ecological Responsiveness

Abstract: The authors conducted a qualitative study of the motivations and contextual factors that induce corporate ecological responsiveness. Analytic induction applied to data collected from 53 firms in the United Kingdom and Japan revealed three motivations: competitiveness, legitimation, and ecological responsibility. These motivations were influenced by three contextual conditions: field cohesion, issue salience, and individual concern. In this article, the authors also identify the conditions that likely lead to high corporate ecological responsiveness.

Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development

Abstract: This study operationalizes corporate sustainable development and examines its organizational determinants. Data for this project pertain to Canadian firms in the oil and gas, mining, and forestry industries from 1986 to 1995. I find that both resource-based and institutional factors influence corporate sustainable development. By exploring time-related effects, I also find that media pressures were important in early periods and resource-based opportunities endured over time. This finding challenges the assumption that firms first adopt innovations in response to technical rewards which are later institutionalized. These counter-intuitive results may be attributable to the unique characteristics of the dependent variable, corporate sustainable development. They raise important questions and directions for future research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective

Abstract: This paper includes an empirical analysis of the linkages between environmental strategy and stakeholder management. First, it is shown that several simultaneous improvements in various resource domains are required for firms to shift to an empirically significant, higher level of proactiveness. Second, more proactive environmental strategies are associated with a deeper and broader coverage of stakeholders. Third, environmental leadership is not associated with a rising importance of environmental regulations, thereby suggesting a role for voluntary cooperation between firms and government. Finally, the linkages between environmental strategies and stakeholder management, based on a sample of 197 firms operating in Belgium, appear more limited than expected. Country-specific characteristics may to a large extent account for these results. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Influence of Green Innovation Performance on Corporate Advantage in Taiwan

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore whether the performance of the green innovation brought positive effect to the competitive advantage. This study found that the performances of the green product innovation and green process innovation were positively correlated to the corporate competitive advantage. Therefore, the result meant that the investment in the green product innovation and green process innovation was helpful to the businesses. This study argued that the businesses should cognize the correct value and positioning of the green innovation.

Green Human Resource Management: A Review and Research Agenda*

Abstract: The paper makes a case for the integration of the largely separate literatures of environmental management (EM) and human resource management (HRM) research. The paper categorizes the existing literature on the basis of Ability–Motivation– Opportunity (AMO) theory, revealing the role that Green human resource management (GHRM) processes play in people-management practice. The contributions of the paper lie in drawing together the extant literature in the area, mapping the terrain of the field, identifying some gaps in the existing literature and suggesting some potentially fruitful future research agendas. The findings of the review suggest that understanding of how GHRM practices influence employee motivation to become involved in environmental activities lags behind that of how organizations develop Green abilities and provide employees with opportunities to be involved in EM organizational efforts. Organizations are not using the full range of GHRM practices, and this may limit their effectiveness in efforts to improve EM.