Firm environmental performance under scrutiny: The role of strategic and organizational orientations

Reducing firm environmental burden is not easy. Thus, several studies have investigated the antecedents of good firm environmental performance; however, they provide contrasting results, focus on specific categories of antecedents, and often rely on subjective performance measures. This study overcomes these gaps by jointly considering the effects of different firm strategic and organizational orientations on several dimensions of environmental performance, objectively measured. Through the analysis of 269 large global companies included in the Newsweek Green Ranking 20141, we found that: both market and environmental management orientations have a positive effect on carbon, energy, and water productivity; green supply chain management orientation has a positive influence on waste and water productivity; and technology orientation negatively affects carbon and waste productivity. Based on these findings, we advise managers that strategic and organizational orientations do not affect all types of environmental performance in the same way, thus calling for caution when they are designed for environmentally friendly purposes.