From compliance to competitive advantage: The effect of corporate culture and profitability on environmental performance

In Silicon Valley, environmental regulations are extremely tough, rigorous, and stringent. For corporations, good environmental performance is compulsory and competitive. Few studies exist that try to understand why corporations in a tightly regulated area go beyond compliance. This dissertation examines why and how some Silicon Valley corporations develop proactive environmental perspectives, and the effect it has on organizational culture, performance and profitability.; This research is explored by case study examination based on interviews obtained from employees in three high tech, multinational corporations in Silicon Valley. The study describes my research question and theoretical assumptions about Silicon Valley and corporate environmental behavior. It explores environmental policy transformation as it relates to corporate environmental conduct examining factors that contribute to and influence proactive decision-making.; My findings indicate these Silicon Valley cases have flexible corporate cultures, a significant factor that motivated individual ethics to contribute to social responsibility and competitive behavior. In these examples, each company has developed unique proactive environmental approaches, in spite of regulatory stringency. There are similarities and differences, but most importantly, compliance has evolved to become a proactive strategy along with new technology and business culture, surpassing traditional environmental compliance and strengthening credibility, performance and the competitive advantage.