Lifting the Veil of Linking Stakeholder Salience and Environmental Proactivity: The Perspectives of Attention-Based View
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Amid escalating regulatory and stakeholder pressures, corporate environmental practices emerge as strategic competitive advantages. Yet, research lacks depth on the interactions among PLU (power, legitimacy, and urgency) attributes and resource-constrained decision pathways. Integrating stakeholder theory and the attention-based view (ABV), a pressure–attention–action model is developed in this study to explain the voluntary adoption of ultra-regulatory proactive environmental practices (PEPs). An analysis of 503 Taiwanese firms using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) reveals that (1) stakeholder legitimacy (β = 0.146, p < 0.01) and urgency (β = 0.215, p < 0.001) significantly increase perceived stakeholder pressure, whereas power exhibits no significant effect (β = 0.067, p > 0.05); (2) firm size positively moderates the pressure–resource linkage (β = 0.239, p < 0.001); and (3) urgency triggers partial mediation (57.4% VAF) through pressure and resources to drive proactive environmental practices. Firm size moderates pressure–resource linkages, with urgency prompting resource reallocation for environmental proactivity across scales. A dynamic PLU assessment tool and scale-sensitive strategies are proposed, challenging power-centric paradigms and aiding SMEs through collaborative networks. Limitations of the study include cross-sectional data and a regional focus, necessitating longitudinal and cross-industry validation.
Source: Sustainability
DOI: 10.3390/su17177665
Authors: Luo Chih-Liang, Chang Hui-Chen, Tsai Kuen-Hung
Institution: National Taipei University
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
OpenAlex ID: W4413670857