Environmental Strategies: Insights into Local and Non-Local Business Practices and Innovation

This study investigates businesses’ environmental strategies, examining how businesses interpret stakeholder demands within local communities and environmental contexts. By categorizing firms as local or non-local, two research questions emerge: (1) the impact of institutional pressures and environmental conditions on environmental initiative configurations, and (2) how these configurations influence innovation. Utilizing Coincidence Analysis and Panel Logistic Regression, we identify diverse environmental choice configurations and their relationship with innovation. Findings reveal distinct environmental practices between local and non-local firms, with the former displaying a focused approach and the latter employing varied strategies. The research makes two contributions: from a management standpoint, the analysis may help corporations design sustainable strategies that are matched with environmental demands and institutional constraints, therefore increasing company image and customer trust. It contributes to understanding the linkages between environmental circumstances, institutional constraints, environmental efforts, and innovation from a theoretical approach, giving useful insights for the literature on corporate sustainability.