This study examines how leading organizations are transforming themselves to attain competitive advantage by striving for environmental leadership. Using a grounded theory development perspective, in-depth process oriented case studies of swen organizations were undertaken. Three motival contests for leadership are identified: market-driven, regulation-driven and value driven.

An institutional analytic framework is applied to the Pacific Northwest timber and forest products industry, which has been under pressures from a number of sources in the last decade. The institutional approach offers a comprehensive rather than a segmented analytic framework for viewing the complex issues facing the industry.

Consumers, investors, and the political-legal system are all demanding more ecologically sensitive behavior on the part of business organizations. Sustainability strategies have emerged as potentially profitable approaches for dealing with these increasing concerns for the planet. Organizations like the International Chamber of Commerce and the Global Environmental Management Initiative have begun to focus on defining and implementing sustainability strategies. Are these efforts beginning to disseminate into the strategic management efforts of most organizations?

The state of the environment along the U.S.-Mexico border is an important issue in debates about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Yet little empirical evidence is offered to evaluate the possible impact of NAFTA on border ecology. This paper presents some of the evidence about environmental conditions that already exist in the Border Zone and the range of causes for environmental degradation

Two multi-party, problem solving groups are followed over a nine month period to explore how leaders influence members developing shared frameworks as they create solutions to air pollution. Preliminary analysis suggests that leaders influence frameworks during time prior to forming groups as well as during the rule development process.

The recent greening of management progressed by applying known and sometimes simple technologies. Future greening will require increased investment to achieve further advances. Investment justifications for organizational resources in environmental innovation are reviewed from a managerial perspective. Four justification types are identified then used to categorize organizations by their degree of environmental innovation.

Efforts to incorporate education about the natural environment into the business school curriculum is proceeding rapidly, and promises to continue to do so. This paper briefly reviews the development of the field and suggests some fundamental questions that those involved in such efforts must ask themselves. It suggests as a fundamental goal for these efforts the preparation of students to work for the achievement of sustainability, and discusses the managerial attributes and basic conceptual principles which are essential to such a goal. It also briefly discusses some of the possible implications for course activities related to these attributes and principles.

When teaching business ethics, one is often faced with the challenge of convincing students that they need to seriously consider the issues we ask them to confront. This paper describes a teaching exercise which has been successful in motivating students to seriously consider their future ethical behavior in business organizations. This exercise uses a combination of a simulation, case study, standard reading material, and current video vignettes.

Carroll (1991) encouraged researchers in Social Issues Management (SIM) to continue to measure Corporate Social Performance (CSP) from a variety of different perspectives utilizing a variety of different measures. However, Wolfe arid Aupperle (1991) (and other’s) have asserted that there is no, single best way to measure CSP and that multiple measures and perspectives help develop the field. Recently, Kinder, Lyndenberg and Domini & Co. (KLD - a social choice investment advisory firm) has made available their social performance database. The purpose of this paper is to present a concurrent validity study comparing the KLD data to other measures of CSP.

This study assesses the relationship between institutional ownership (ownership by pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, etc.) of large publicly-held firms and the corporate social performance (CSP) of the firm. We theorized that institutional ownership would be higher in firms with better CSP ratings. We constructed a new measure of CSP based on a commercial data base available from Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co., a group which rates companies across eight attributes of CSP. Our model controlled for firm profitability, size, debt level, and industry. The results, based on 429 large companies, show a significant and positive relationship between CSP and institutional ownership.

Though it was originally designed primarily for ethical investors, the KLD data base can be used by academics for both teaching and research purposes. This paper outlines several advantages of these academic uses of this data base and suggests several potential improvement areas for even wider academic usage.

The academic field of business and society was given early support by John D. Rockefeller 3rd. This attempt was not very effective, due partly to a lack of understanding about how academe functions. The conflicting interests of different generations of scholars in the field was also a factor which hindered the development of the field.

This study examines the background and opinions on SIM research of recently minted SIM doctoral graduates who have taken faculty positions within the past five years, and current doctoral candidates. Comparisons are made between this group and the more experienced SIM scholars discussed by Carroll (1992).

The dramatic potential for broad scale training offered by satellite-based training has excited educators and governments searching for cost effective tools to provide high qualiy management education using state-of-the-art techniques. However the benefits of every new technology are accompanied with associated costs. In the case of cross-national training programs (whether satellite or ground based), the primary costs may be political and cultural. The nature and extent of these costs should be considered when planning cross-cultural managerial training programs. This is especially tree in Eastern Europe where the failure to make significant economic progress risks destabilising an already perilous situation.