Testing the Drivers of Corporate Environmentalism in Vietnam

What motivates private firms’ willingness to invest in green technologies and environmentally friendly operations? Some emphasize enhanced government regulation and enforcement, while others point to the greater potential of societal pressure. In this study, we use a survey experiment with more than 10,000 firms in Vietnam to test which type of stakeholder pressure has the strongest impact on domestic and foreign business leaders’ intention to invest in green operations. We find that the effectiveness of stakeholder pressure is conditioned by the firms’ target markets. Foreign investors are more susceptible than domestic firms to intensive regulatory pressure. Accounting for export orientation, however, we find that the most amenable policy targets for regulatory pressure are foreign firms aiming to sell in the Vietnamese domestic market.究竟是什么因素驱动私营企业投资绿色技术与环保型运营的意愿？部分学者强调强化政府监管与执法的推动作用，另有观点则认为社会压力具备更强的驱动潜力。本研究依托针对越南境内逾万家企业开展的调查实验，旨在检验哪一类利益相关方（stakeholder）压力，对国内外企业管理者投资绿色运营的意愿影响最为显著。研究结果表明，利益相关方压力的作用效果会受到企业目标市场的调节。相较于本土企业，外国投资者更易受到高强度监管压力的影响。不过在纳入出口导向性因素后，研究发现，监管压力的最易感政策目标群体，是计划在越南本土市场开展销售的外国企业。