Which competitive advantages can firms really obtain from ISO14001 certification?
Abstract: Ten years after the
introduction of ISO14001, in this paper we present empirical evidence about the
competitive advantages that managers associate to this environmental practice,
from a sample of industrial firms located in Spain. The results indicate that
the potential competitive advantages are: improvement of the internal
efficiency, differentiation advantages, attention to the stakeholders’
requirements, enhancement of the competitive position in the sector and
financial savings. Nevertheless managers’ expectations of improving internal
efficiency might be the real reason that encourages firms to make the voluntary
decision of investing in ISO14001 certification.
Author: Josefina Lucia
Murillo-Luna, Juan Carlos Ramón-Solans-Prat
Journal Code: jptindustrigg080009
