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Tracking the relationship between environmental management and financial performance in the service industry

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Abstract

Attention to the relationship between environmental management and financial performance has been growing. Research in this area has, however, tended to focus primarily on manufacturing industries. Our goal in this study is to analyze the relationship between environmental management and financial performance in the context of the service industry. Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,228 service organizations spanning a wide range of business activities, we test a series of five hypothesized relationships using both univariate and multivariate analyses. The results are robust across the dataset and show conclusively that environmental management does indeed positively affect financial performance in the service sector.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the support of Peter Kinder of Kinder, Lyndenberg, Domini Research and Analytics (KLD) and of the University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler School of Business, Center for Sustainable Enterprise.

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Correspondence to Marilyn T. Lucas.

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Lucas, M.T., Wilson, M.A. Tracking the relationship between environmental management and financial performance in the service industry. Serv Bus 2, 203–218 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-008-0035-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-008-0035-5

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