Claver E., López M.D., Molina J.F.

Environmental Management: Uncertainty and Competitiveness

Claver E., López M.D., Molina J.F.
Department of Business Management
Alicante University, Spain.
Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences
Campus de San Vicente del Raspeig, Ap. 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain
E-mail: md.lopez@ua.es; enrique.claver@ua.es; jf.molina@ua.es
Telephone (Fax): 0034 965903606

Abstract

This paper has as its aim to analyse managerial perceptions about the role played by the environment as a competitiveness factor in an uncertainty context. In order to achieve our objective, we have carried out a multiple case study of eight enterprises with a high level of environmental excellence, which belong to the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in Spain. The results indicate that, according to managers, the incorporation of environmental issues into the organisation must be regarded as a good competitive opportunity, in spite of the high uncertainty level. This situation of uncertainty is provoked by the slow, still very limited development of environmental legislation, by the lack of information in the sector and by the doubts about the response of domestic consumers. Besides, the results of the environmental practices focused on prevention activities or the changes that these practices have generated on the environment itself eventually become visible, this being an element that characterises the perception of uncertainty about the whole process. Moreover, in sectors with scarce valuable natural environment resources, the survival of the enterprises themselves depends on these resources, which makes competition more intense. If, besides, there is no control over these resources, the organisation’s environmental actions will be performed under uncertainty conditions.