Stakeholder influence on environmental proactivity of Brazilian companies

Abstract

This paper analyzes stakeholders influences on environmental proactivity of Brazilian companies. Research related to 112 Brazilian companies was undertaking to test the hypothesis that stakeholders pressure has a positive influences on company environmental management activities. Factorial analysis grouped the stakeholders into two categories called “market” and “non-market”. The market category involves those stakeholders which participate directly into the supply chain and includes suppliers, clients, international and domestic competitors, employees, subcontractors and unions. “Non-market” stakeholders, in turn, are those which do not participate directly in the supply chain such as shareholders, government, media and NGOs. Econometric models demonstrated that stakeholders exert significant and positive pressure on environmental proactivity actions, related planning, operations and communication practices. This pressure is more effective when coming from the so-called “non-market” stakeholders, which indirectly influence the organizations. The paper shows that sustainability ideas and practices are increasingly present on stakeholder agendas, which are starting to acknowledge their interdependences and their power to influence companies to adopt proactive environmental practices.