| As the limits of the command-and-control environmental governance system in the United States have become clear, policy makers have begun to consider the environmental management system (EMS) as a tool to improve environmental performance. In addition, businesses have increasingly adopted EMSs to assist them in managing their environmental impacts. This research examines the EMS as a business management and policy tool to catalyze superior environmental performance. It considers the efficacy of the EMS as the center of a system of environmental governance based on the tenets of reflexive law in which intermediate social institutions such as customers, community members, professional peers and regulators work cooperatively with businesses managing environmental impacts.; This research examines the EMSs of 41 facilities in the electronics, metal finishing, chemical manufacturing, government operations and energy sectors. It proposes a typology, which incorporates three EMS dimensions: the level of external legitimacy the EMS seeks, the level of involvement of external and internal stakeholders in EMS design, and the overall environmental goal which the EMS addresses. This typology is tested using a cluster analysis methodology to identify types of EMSs present in the 41-facility research sample. Three EMS types are evident: Middle Roaders with limited environmental management experience whose EMSs focus on compliance and pollution prevention; Efficiency Experts, whose ISO 14001-certified EMSs seek to promote eco-efficient operations; and Visionaries, whose EMSs were developed with assistance from a variety of stakeholders and focus in addition on product stewardship and sustainable management practices. Case studies of six facilities are undertaken to provide context and add descriptive value to the empirical analysis.; Finally, this research examines qualitative case study and survey data in detail to develop a theory of the influences on facilities designing EMSs. The theory proposes that cooperative and coercive influence from intermediate social institutions on facilities designing EMSs are mitigated by facility culture and experience. |
