Over the last two decades environmental issues have become important in public and business policy. This book asks why firms sometimes voluntarily adopt environmental policies which go beyond legal requirements. It employs a new-institutionalist perspective, and argues that existing explanations, especially from neoclassical economics, concentrate on external factors at the expense of internal dynamics. Prakash argues that 'beyond-compliance' policies are due to two types of intra-firm processes, which he describes as power- and leadership-based. His argument is supported by analysis of ten cases within two firms - Baxter International Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company - including interviews with managers, and access to meetings and documents. This book therefore examines the internal working of firms' environmental policy in a theoretically rigorous way, providing a significant contribution to the theory of the firm. It will be valuable for students of business and environmental studies, as well as political economy and public policy.

This book asks why firms sometimes voluntarily adopt environmental policies which go beyond legal requirements.

About the Author
Aseem Prakash is Professor of Political Science and the Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington. He is the founding, General Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Business and Public Policy and the co-editor of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Professor Prakash's research examines core issues in the study of governance: how do institutions emerge, how they diffuse and get adopted, and how they impact outcomes. In doing so, he studies the complex relationship of businesses with governments and non-governmental organizations. His recent work focuses on the emergence, recruitment/diffusion, and efficacy of voluntary programs in the for-profit as well as the non-profit sectors. He is also examining issues pertaining to NGO advocacy, corporate responsibility, and the influence of trade and FDI networks on the cross-country diffusion of rules, standards, and norms in areas such as the environment, human rights, labor rights, property rights and women's rights. Aseem Prakash is co-author of The Voluntary Environmentalists: Green Clubs, ISO 14001, and Voluntary Environmental Regulations (Cambridge, 2006), and co-editor of Advocacy Organizations and Collective Action (Cambridge, 2010), Voluntary Regulations of NGOs and Nonprofits: An Accountability Club Framework (Cambridge, 2010),Voluntary Programs: A Club Theory Perspective (2009), Coping with Globalization (2000), Responding to Globalization (2000) and Globalization and Governance (1999). Professor Prakash received a joint PhD from the Department of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), Indiana University, Bloomington. His dissertation won the Academy of Management's 1998 Organization and the Natural Environment best dissertation award. Prior to gaining his PhD, he received an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and worked for Procter and Gamble, India. From 1997 to 2002, he served as

Reviews
"Prakash should be commended for providing a wealth of valuable research questions for the future." Administrative Science Quarterly



Book Information
ISBN 9780521664875
Author Aseem Prakash
Format Paperback
Page Count 196
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 300g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 11mm