The impact of environmental management systems (EMSs) and ISO 14001 standards on corporate performance

This work is based on the systematic literature review method and investigates the impacts of the EMS and ISO 14001 Standards towards corporate performance. Two units are considered through the methodology of research; firm size and market orientation. The evidence comes from the analyzed dataset of 17 papers. Aggregated search results show that global firms orientated towards export have a higher probability to achieve product and process innovation than companies who focus primarily on regional and local markets due to higher competition in the global market. Moreover, firms who adopted EMS and ISO 14001 standard have a greater impact on performance, a positive influence on innovation and commitment to the environment related to company targets than those firms who did not apply it. Integrating voluntary adoption is due to consumer pressures, investors and society, which then leads firms to switch from regulation driven management objectives to proactive strategies. The results show that there is a time lag among first initiative steps of environmental efforts and the realization of economic performance. Indeed, in the first few years, the effect of EMS implementation is weaker in the improvement in productivity than through an increase in demand. The results show that there is a time lag among first initiative steps of environmental efforts and the realization of economic performance. Indeed, in the first few years, the effect of EMS implementation is weaker in the improvement in productivity than through an increase in demand. It is important that all environmental management activities are considered in estimation models; otherwise it may become insignificant during the process of improvement in productivity. The results of this research could be interesting for both investors and academics to know how the voluntary adoption of these two standards affects corporate performance.