Resumen de Motivations for implementing voluntary environmental actions in Argentine forest companies
Ana Faggi, Gustavo A. Zuleta, Marina Homberg
Several motivations play an important role in the design and implementation of voluntary environmental actions in forestry, which include systems and procedures of production that minimize environmental impacts and satisfy eco-demanding customers. The aim of this study was to explore what motivations inspire forest managers from large landholding companies in the Northeast of Argentina to implement voluntary actions and how these motivations are perceived outside the companies. To achieve the objective we compared the opinion of private foresters and companies� external consultants who scored motivations based on their importance as driving forces for environmental initiatives. The findings were also compared with motivations described for North American foresters. Multiple factors motivated the companies to participate in voluntary environmental actions following a four driver model with five motivational mechanisms defined as Learning, Signaling, Economic, Legal and Moral. Results showed that of the thirteen analyzed motivations, only two: effective resource management and corporate social responsibility differed significantly between Argentine foresters and consultants and were higher ranked by foresters. Both corresponded to the motivational mechanism Signaling. Our findings confirm that market pressure (via forest production certification) or the enrichment of the company image (through corporate social responsibility) were major motivations but not the only ones. In coincidence with foresters in USA, legal followed by moral motivations were major drivers and were more valued than financial gains. In Argentina bottom up mechanisms influenced by the individual concern for the environment of the decision makers and other workers seemed to be distinctive. Discrepancies between Argentine foresters and consultants highlighted the need to address some improvement in management and communication beyond the company.
