Does coercion drive firms to adopt ‘voluntary’ green initiatives? Relationships among coercion, superior firm resources, and voluntary green initiatives

Institutional theory, one of the most developed in the management literature, argues that external forces drive firms' decision-making. The resource-based view, one of the fastest growing, argues that internal forces drive firms' decision-making. This research uses both theories, investigating relationships among external coercion, internal resources and voluntary green initiatives (VGIs). Institutional theory offers that firms will only perform conscientiously if coerced by governments. Recent literature largely argues that firms initiate VGIs without coercion. This study found that coercion is positively related to VGIs, but the relationship is contextual, dependent on firms' level of superior resources focused on environmental strategies. This research found that internal superior firm resources are positively related to VGIs. The study also found these same internal firm resources dampen the relationship between external coercion and VGIs. That is, relationships between coercion and VGIs are weaker or nonexistent for firms with superior resources associated with environmental strategies.