| This thesis examines how organizations interpret and respond to various pressures for sustainable environmental management. This research identifies five major pressures regarding firm behavior, examines how firms respond in different ways to these pressures, and offers two distinct and contrasting storylines that illustrate firm behavior.; A sample of six chemical facilities near Edmonton in Canada was chosen in order to eliminate as many demographic and context variables as possible. These firms co-exist in a limited geographic vicinity with identical political and regulatory pressures, and similar social pressures, yet large differences in attitude and practice are apparent.; This research examines the academic literatures of corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, and issues management, as well as management literature that addresses environmental issues. Over fifty interviews with corporate executives and employees, and individuals representing the community, activist groups, and government were undertaken. Over 800 pages of transcript data were generated, then coded and re-coded using a grounded-theory-like analysis process, resulting in 260 indicators regarding factors of influence. These indicators were further categorized into five major pressures which are broadly defined as: Economic, Government and regulatory, Community, Internal, and Customer.; A storyline was found in each firm which claims to support sustainable values. A contrasting business-as-usual storyline, focusing on unavoidable economic and regulatory pressures, significantly constrains this practice of more sustainable behaviors. The firms have a range of behavior from doing nothing to doing much, once they have met mandatory economic and regulatory conditions.; This research found that economic factors drive most environmental behavior including behavior beyond economic and regulatory demand. Overlap between the economic and sustainable development storylines is sought and desired by the firms. Firms claim that social responsibility is a driver of environmental behavior, but corporate social responsibility is commonly used as politically acceptable rhetoric that expresses economic concerns. |
