No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Private investment and environmental protection:: Alcoa-Köfém's strategy in Hungary
Abstract
The future costs of environmental cleanup and protection in Central and Eastern Europe will be enormous, but governments and international organizations have inadequate resources to bring countries in the region up to international standards. Domestic and foreign private investment in the region can play important roles in reversing environmental degradation and in ensuring that manufacturers are more responsible in protecting the environment in the future. The experience of one multinational firm — Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) — in acquiring a Hungarian enterprise and installing world-class environment, health and safety procedures illustrates how private investors can contribute significantly to improving environmental conditions in Central and Eastern Europe.
... Further, this situation not only benefits DPRI, but also improves social well-being through improving environmental conditions (see Du et al., 2018;Porter & Linde, 1995;Wagner, 2003). Although Du et al. (2018) empirically confirmed the Porter hypothesis by finding that environmental regulations positively impact innovations and investment efficiency, Rondinelli & Vastag (1998), in their case study, showed that strict environmental regulations are not needed for firms to implement environmentally benign production measures. ...
Although many aspects of domestic private investment (DPRI) have been empirically studied in the literature, evidence regarding the effect of DPRI on environmental sustainability is rather nascent. This research attempts to fill this gap by investigating how DPRI in Turkey affected environmental degradation (namely ecological and carbon footprints) for the 1975-2017 period by employing Fourier-based approaches. The findings in this research indicate that employed variables (environmental degradation, income, energy use, and DPRI) have a long-run association in both proposed models. Furthermore, the dynamic relationship captured by the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method shows that DPRI and primary energy use induce ecological and carbon footprints in the long-run. At the same time, income intensifies both environmental degradation indicators in the short-run. These results indicate that DPRI threatens Turkey's long-term environmental sustainability.
... Deregulation, which is measured by the ratio of the number of SOEs to the total number of firms, is positively associated with cross-border M&As, with statistical significance at the 1 per cent level. This result, although contrary to Hypothesis 6 may confirm previous findings that cross-border M&As in China are driven by the privatization of state-owned enterprises, which is also indicated by FDI studies on other transitional markets (Rondinelli & Vastag, 1998;Rondinelli & Black, 2000;Uhlenbruck, 2000;Chen & Findlay 2003). Our result shows that foreign acquisitions tend to concentrate in SOE-intensive sectors. ...
Employing a panel database, this article investigates empirically the behaviour, at an industry level, of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the People's Republic of China for the period 1991–2005. The study reports that many of the cross-border M&As over the past decades in China have been driven by broad fundamental factors, such as industry size and profitability. Moreover, technological intensity is significantly associated with the level of acquisition activity, indicating the tendency that intangible resources and intellectual capability favour more acquisition into China. It is found that deregulation, as a specific industry shock, affects acquisition activities significantly. The findings, it is concluded, have important managerial and policy implications.
... The company's aluminum is recognized worldwide by industrial users for its extremely consistent high quality. The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), which has its own stringent environmental management standards, acquired the plant from Alumax in 1998 (Rondinelli and Vastag, 1998, 1999). ...
An increasing number of corporations around the world are certifying their environmental management systems by ISO 14000 series standards. Advocates of ISO 14001 claim substantial operational, managerial, and competitive benefits for corporations that adopt the international guidelines. Critics contend that ISO 14001 does not ensure either legal compliance or continued performance improvements. They claim that at plants or facilities already complying with environmental regulations, ISO 14001 certification may merely be an image-building or public relations effort.Theoretically, ISO 14001 could serve as a comprehensive framework for significantly improving performance in a firm with minimal environmental management capacity (in a sense, a `panacea') or as a set of common sense guidelines for enhancing performance in a firm with regulatory compliant practices. Some firms may, indeed, simply use ISO 14001 as a `label' for image-building. The following Case Study of an operationally efficient and regulatory-compliant aluminum plant that certified its environmental management system under ISO 14001 guidelines in 1996 identifies the impacts three years later. Drawing on the literature of program evaluation, and using archival material, interviews with managers, and a concept mapping exercise, four sets of impacts were found of certifying the plant's environmental management system by ISO 14001 standards. They included improvements in (1) employee awareness, (2) operational efficiency, (3) managerial awareness, and (4) operational effectiveness.Many of the world's largest multinational corporations have certified their environmental management systems (EMS) under ISO 14000 standards during the past few years, and many other companies are in the process of doing so. ISO 14000, the International Organization for Standardization's guidelines for environmental management systems, has become the international benchmark by which corporations can voluntarily develop and assess their environmental practices. The ISO 14000 standards, approved in 1996, describe the components and characteristics of an effective system for managing a corporation's environmental impacts (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). They offer a format for developing an environmental policy, identifying environmental aspects, defining objectives and targets, implementing a program to attain a company's goals, monitoring and measuring effectiveness, correcting deficiencies and problems, and reviewing management systems to promote continuous improvement.Some firms are using ISO 14000 guidelines to develop new environmental management systems, or adapting their environmental practices to the international standard, without formally certifying them. Other corporations, government agencies, and environmental interest groups are skeptical about the real impacts of ISO 14000 certification, and either ignore the guidelines or question their effectiveness in improving environmental performance (Krut, R. and Gleckman, H. 1998). But an increasing number of corporations are, through external registrars, formally certifying their EMSs based on ISO 14000 standards or the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).Despite the growing interest in voluntary environmental management standards for industry, little empirical information exists and few in-depth case studies have been done on the effects of adopting an ISO 14000-certified EMS. Why and how do companies adopt voluntary EMSs? What impacts does ISO 14000 certification have on a plant or facility? How does certification affect the operations and management of a manufacturing plant? Is certification merely a formality, or does it change the way management and employees conceive of and deal with the environmental impacts of their operations? Are there significant benefits to companies that have certified their quality management systems under ISO 9002 of also certifying their environmental management systems under ISO 14001?In this article we assess the impacts of ISO 14000 certification through an in-depth case study of a plant that began preparing in 1995, more than a year before the international standards were officially approved. The analysis focuses on the Alumax aluminum ingot production facility, called Mt Holly, in South Carolina. Alcoa purchased the plant in 1998. This study traces the history of the ISO 14001-certification process at Alumax — which already had strong environmental practices in place and had earlier certified its quality management system under ISO 9002 — and analyzes its impacts. The case study demonstrates how the certification of a manufacturing facility affects both its operations and management processes. Data were derived from archival sources, from plant site visits, from interviews with key personnel involved in the development of Mt Holly's EMS, and from a concept-mapping exercise involving 15 of the plant's managers and pollution prevention team members. The researchers also interviewed environmental, health, and safety (EHS) managers at other Alcoa facilities and drew heavily on the program evaluation literature in applying the concept mapping exercise.
... Facility managers must provide an analysis of the deficiencies, outline corrective action that will be taken, and submit quarterly progress reports. Sites with unsatisfactory ratings are audited again within a year (Rondinelli and Vastag, 1998). ...
Environmental policies have brought dramatic improvements in air and water quality during the past 25 years, but further expansion of command-and-control regulations is likely to have diminishing marginal returns. Corporations are taking new initiatives in managing their environmental impacts in ways that reduce their costs, increase their efficiency, lower their liabilities, and enhance their competitiveness while reducing pollution, conserving resources, and eliminating waste. In the future, significant gains in environmental quality are more likely to come from widespread adoption of pollution prevention practices than from more stringent regulation of end-of-pipe emissions. Bridging the gap between public policy and the trends in private-sector management will require fundamental changes in federal and state governments' approaches to regulation. New policies must use economic incentives to encourage clean manufacturing and the adoption of pollution prevention technologies and forge public-private partnerships for improving environmental quality.
... The banking sector is one of the most powerful sectors of the Greek economy and the banks have made heavy investments in the IS/IT arena. Privatization is seen as one means of placing pressure on former public enterprises to effect major changes in their strategies as they adapt to the competitive pressures of a market-based and open economy (Rondinelli & Vastag, 1998). Until the early 1990s, the Greek banking system was regulated by state laws; interest rates, terms of lending, and many other issues of banking established and maintained by the state. ...
This article describes the idiosyncrasies towards information systems investment evaluation approaches in the emerging market of Greece. Five case studies are examined from the banking industry, each of them representing a different positioning in the market. The article discusses forms of formal and informal investment evaluation techniques used, relating them with the business and strategic concept of information systems and formulating a matrix that positions the organizations based on the techniques used and market maturity. The research highlights how the differentiation towards the concept of information systems investment evaluation correlates with market maturity and industry goals. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... 399) argued 'attempts to reintroduce protection and care for the environment into our thinking and into our ways of doing things leads slowly but inevitably to radical reconsideration of current attitudes, structures, beliefs and modi operandi'. Many industrial companies are now attempting to conserve and use natural resources in ways that do not degrade the environment (Rondinelli and Vastag, 1998; Wallace, 1995). This concern for ecological matters has important implications in decision-making with regard to innovations. ...
The purpose of this case study was to provide a report on the motivations which have led Spanish managers in the Galician region to take a green pathway. Such decisional processes may reflect a change in corporate consciousness, or it might be just another corporate response to increased political visibility and possible government intervention (Rodgers, 1991, 1992, Rodgers and Gago, 2001) The study focuses on eleven Spanish companies who instead of purchasing energy decided to produce their own energy using a co–generation system. A case study approach was selected in order to interpret the information provided concerning the adoption of a co–generation corporate strategy (Parker, and Roffey, 1997). Accounting information systems are considered to be important in this process as they select, classify and arrange information to inform their communities. Their design and implementation highlight environmenta contingencies as they affect business entities’ ability to opeerate. The results of the cas study survey confirm that management benefit through cost savings and additional incomes. The article concludes by observing that the ecological implications of co–generation were not the primary motivation for adopting the ‘green’ innovation.
... The company's aluminum is recognized worldwide by industrial users for its extremely consistent high quality. The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), which has its own stringent environmental management standards, acquired the plant from Alumax in 1998 (Rondinelli and Vastag, 1998, 1999). ...
An increasing number of corporations around the world are certifying their environmental management systems by ISO 14000 series standards. Advocates of ISO 14001 claim substantial operational, managerial, and competitive benefits for corporations that adopt the international guidelines. Critics contend that ISO 14001 does not ensure either legal compliance or continued performance improvements. They claim that at plants or facilities already complying with environmental regulations, ISO 14001 certification may merely be an image-building or public relations effort.Theoretically, ISO 14001 could serve as a comprehensive framework for significantly improving performance in a firm with minimal environmental management capacity (in a sense, a `panacea') or as a set of common sense guidelines for enhancing performance in a firm with regulatory compliant practices. Some firms may, indeed, simply use ISO 14001 as a `label' for image-building. The following Case Study of an operationally efficient and regulatory-compliant aluminum plant that certified its environmental management system under ISO 14001 guidelines in 1996 identifies the impacts three years later. Drawing on the literature of program evaluation, and using archival material, interviews with managers, and a concept mapping exercise, four sets of impacts were found of certifying the plant's environmental management system by ISO 14001 standards. They included improvements in (1) employee awareness, (2) operational efficiency, (3) managerial awareness, and (4) operational effectiveness.Many of the world's largest multinational corporations have certified their environmental management systems (EMS) under ISO 14000 standards during the past few years, and many other companies are in the process of doing so. ISO 14000, the International Organization for Standardization's guidelines for environmental management systems, has become the international benchmark by which corporations can voluntarily develop and assess their environmental practices. The ISO 14000 standards, approved in 1996, describe the components and characteristics of an effective system for managing a corporation's environmental impacts (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). They offer a format for developing an environmental policy, identifying environmental aspects, defining objectives and targets, implementing a program to attain a company's goals, monitoring and measuring effectiveness, correcting deficiencies and problems, and reviewing management systems to promote continuous improvement.Some firms are using ISO 14000 guidelines to develop new environmental management systems, or adapting their environmental practices to the international standard, without formally certifying them. Other corporations, government agencies, and environmental interest groups are skeptical about the real impacts of ISO 14000 certification, and either ignore the guidelines or question their effectiveness in improving environmental performance (Krut, R. and Gleckman, H. 1998). But an increasing number of corporations are, through external registrars, formally certifying their EMSs based on ISO 14000 standards or the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).Despite the growing interest in voluntary environmental management standards for industry, little empirical information exists and few in-depth case studies have been done on the effects of adopting an ISO 14000-certified EMS. Why and how do companies adopt voluntary EMSs? What impacts does ISO 14000 certification have on a plant or facility? How does certification affect the operations and management of a manufacturing plant? Is certification merely a formality, or does it change the way management and employees conceive of and deal with the environmental impacts of their operations? Are there significant benefits to companies that have certified their quality management systems under ISO 9002 of also certifying their environmental management systems under ISO 14001?In this article we assess the impacts of ISO 14000 certification through an in-depth case study of a plant that began preparing in 1995, more than a year before the international standards were officially approved. The analysis focuses on the Alumax aluminum ingot production facility, called Mt Holly, in South Carolina. Alcoa purchased the plant in 1998. This study traces the history of the ISO 14001-certification process at Alumax — which already had strong environmental practices in place and had earlier certified its quality management system under ISO 9002 — and analyzes its impacts. The case study demonstrates how the certification of a manufacturing facility affects both its operations and management processes. Data were derived from archival sources, from plant site visits, from interviews with key personnel involved in the development of Mt Holly's EMS, and from a concept-mapping exercise involving 15 of the plant's managers and pollution prevention team members. The researchers also interviewed environmental, health, and safety (EHS) managers at other Alcoa facilities and drew heavily on the program evaluation literature in applying the concept mapping exercise.
ISO 14001 is seen as a better and systematic tool in controlling the environmental issues as compared to the environmental control system that was introduced earlier. These standards should be practical, useful and used by all organizations. Amongst the benefits of implementing ISO 14001 received by the organization are enhancing image, competitive advantages locally and globally, energy saving and resources saving, litigation avoidance and so on. These benefits than tempts and lead an organization to implement ISO 14001. However, the implementation cost of the ISO 14001 deters the company from implementing the standard. Even several organizations had to implement ISO 14001 only half way or delay the implementation of ISO 14001 because of the cost. On the other aspect, the implementation of ISO 14001 can be profitable and at the same time posed some disadvantages. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of increased costs incurred by the organization due to the implementation of ISO 14001. The study used 26 organizations throughout Malaysia as respondents. © 2016, World Food Ltd. and WFL Publishers. All Rights Reserved.
The aim of this work wax to analyze the operational remits achieved for ISO 14001 certificated Brazilian companies. In order to achieve this objective, the factors related to the operation process and the performance of operations according to the certification were identified. The research method integrated qualitative and quantitative analyses. The quantitative step was based on the analysis of the database created by the DEVISO project (Developing Countries and ISO 14000). The qualitative analysis was based on two interviews with Environmental Managers in two companies that took part in the DEVISO project. An exploratory factor analysis (Principal Components Analysis - PCA) and paired sample t-tests were used to identify and compare the operational results. This analysis showed a performance hierarchy throughout the factors identified. The factors identified for the operation process were: Environmental Management, Suppliers, Recycle and Cooperation. Finally, regarding the operation performance, the factors identified were: Image, Standard Implementation, Toxic Waste and Efficient Usage.
Este trabalho teve como objetivo analisar os resultados operacionais obtidos pelas empresas brasileiras certificadas na Norma ISO 1400. Para alcançar este objetivo, procurou-se identificar os fatores relacionados aos processos de operação e ao desempenho das operações após a certificação ambiental. O método de pesquisa se orientou pela busca de integração entre a análise quantitativa e a análise qualitativa. A análise quantitativa foi baseada no tratamento estatístico de dados atuais resultantes da participação de empresas brasileiras no projeto DEVISO (Developing Countries and ISO 14000). A análise qualitativa, por sua vez, utilizou como mecanismo para coleta de dados a técnica de entrevista pessoal a Gerentes do Sistema de Gestão Ambiental de duas empresas participantes do projeto. A análise quantitativa fundamentou-se na análise fatorial (Análise de Componentes Principais PCA) e na comparação entre médias dos fatores resultantes por meio do teste t de médias emparelhadas. Esta análise possibilitou elaborar uma hierarquia para o desempenho destes fatores quando comparados a um limite máximo. Posteriormente, os fatores identificados foram aprofundados em dois casos. Os fatores identificados para os processos de operação foram: Gerenciamento Ambiental, Fornecedores, Reciclagem e Cooperação. Para o desempenho das operações resultaram os fatores Imagem, Cumprimento de Padrões, Resíduos Tóxicos e Uso Eficiente.
Our review of corporate responsibility (CR) research in International Management journals during the past decade identified 321 articles of interest. We categorized and bibliographically referenced these articles to provide a foundation for future research in this arena. Our categorization scheme consisted of categorizing articles into one of the four major CR themes: corporate social responsibility, environmental responsibility, ethics, and governance. We also categorized according to orientation (theoretical and empirical), and empirical studies were further categorized according to methodology and internationalization (countries included in the study). We provide a detailed analysis of the prevalence of CR research in International Management journals, the prominence of the major CR themes, the degree of emphasis placed on empirical versus theoretical research, and the breath of international coverage in these articles.
Focuses on environmental management in the pharmaceutical industry. Information on growth and environmental management issues; Company policies and objectives; Management programs and implementation plans.
This article reports the results of a survey conducted in Hungary to compare the environmental perceptions of Hungarian corporate managers with those of other executives from around the world who had earlier responded to a similar survey conducted by McKinsey and Company. The results showed virtually no differences in how Hungarian managers perceived the importance of environmental challenges, but they did reveal stronger differences in perceptions between Hungarian and international respondents and among Hungarian respondents from companies in different ownership groups on how companies were putting their environmental concerns into practice. Although there seems to be a wider gap between cxecutives of Hungarian companies and those from Western Europe and North America in adopting environmental practices, the survey revealed that Hungarian managers arc acutely aware that their companies will have to invest more heavily to achieve higher levels of environmental protection in the future.
This paper is an attempt at summing up the results of research into the ecological consciousness in the USSR. The gathering of data, reflecting the attitude of the entire Soviet population towards ecological problems, became possible only in the late 1980s, when the All-Union Center for Study of Public Opinion was set up. The authors developed three ecological blocks for the Center and used them in the 1989 – 1990 opinion polls (April, 1989 representative sample of the urban population of the USSR, 1019 respondents; November 1989, representative sample of the USSR adult population, 1516 respondents; August 1990, representative sample of the entire USSR population, 2949 respondents). Data used in this paper are drawn from these national surveys.
The on-going “marketization” in the former socialist countries, triggered with enthusiasm and followed by growing disappointment and pessimism, clearly dominates all social processes in the region. Its implementation is often badly managed, which leads to chaotic adjustment in the affected social subsystems (industries, services, etc.). Particularly in the field of environmental policy design, efforts to radically upgrade the priority of environmental protection and integrate it with the mainstream of the reform process have been limited — despite the serious pollution problems facing the new governments and despite the popular environmental movements.
Purpose:
This study examined the mechanical characteristics and release of tetracycline from bioadhesive, semi-solid systems which were designed for the treatment of periodontal diseases.
Methods:
Tetracycline release into phosphate buffered saline (pH 6.8, 0.03 M) was examined using a Caleva 7ST dissolution apparatus at 37 degrees C. The mechanical properties of each formulation (hardness, compressibility, adhesiveness, elasticity and cohesiveness) were determined using texture profile analysis. Syringeability was measured using the texture analyser in compression mode as the work of syringeability i.e. the force required to express the product from a periodontal syringe over a defined distance.
Results:
Tetracycline release from all formulations was zero-order for 24-54 h and ranged from 1.59 +/- 0.20 to 15.80 +/- 0.50 mg h-1. Increased concentrations of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) decreased the rate of release of tetracycline, due to the concomitant increase in product viscosity and the subsequent decreased rate of penetration of dissolution fluid into the formulation. Conversely, an increased polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentration increased tetracycline release rates, due to an increased formulation porosity following dissolution of this polymer. Increased concentrations of HEC and PVP increased the hardness, compressibility and work of syringeability of the semi-solid formulations, due to increased product viscosity. An increase in formulation adhesiveness, a parameter related to bioadhesion, was observed as the concentrations of HEC and PVP were increased, illustrating the adhesive nature of these polymers. Increased concentrations of HEC and PVP enhanced the semi-solid nature of the product, resulting in decreased product elasticity and cohesiveness. Several statistically significant interactions between polymeric formulation components were observed within the factorial design, with respect to rate of release and all mechanical properties. These interactions arose because of variations in the physical states (dissolved or dispersed) of polymeric formulation components.
Conclusions:
The optimal choice of bioadhesive formulation for use in periodontal disease will involve a compromise between achieving the necessary release rate of tetracycline and the mechanical characteristics of the formulation, as these factors will affect clinical efficacy and the ease of product application into the periodontal pocket.
National environmental protection funds in Central and Eastern Europe
- P Francis
Francis, P. (1995) National environmental protection funds in
Central and Eastern Europe. In Environmental Funds in
Economies in Transition, pp. 43-56. OECD, Paris.
Privatization and private enterprise development in Hungary: an assessment of market reform policies
- Rondinelli
Rondinelli, D.A. and Fellenz, M.R. (1993) Privatization and
private enterprise development in Hungary: an assessment of market reform policies. Business and the Contemporary World 5, 75-88.
Environmental cleanup companies do tidy business in Eastern Europe
- N King
King, N. Jr. (1996) Environmental cleanup companies do tidy
business in Eastern Europe. The Wall Street Journal 5
Overview of the environmental technology in the CEE region
- A Serrill
Serrill, A. (1996) Overview of the environmental technology
in the CEE region. Central and Eastern Europe Commercial
Update February, 7 pp.
Capitalist or communist, the air is still bad
- M Simons
Simons, M. (1994) Capitalist or communist, the air is still bad.
New York Times International 3 November, A1, A6.
A gold medal salute to the Aluminum Company of America
- Jones
Jones, D.R. (1996) A gold medal salute to the Aluminum Company of America. Environmental Management Today
May/Jun, 5.
A survey of the environment. Business Central Europe
- P Simpson
Simpson, P. (1996) A survey of the environment. Business Central Europe June, 36–48.
Company asbestos abatement project. Alcoa-Köfém Newsletter 24, 12. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1995) Economic Performance Reviews: Poland
- P Kovács
Kovács, P. (1996) Company asbestos abatement project. Alcoa-Köfém Newsletter 24, 12.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(1995) Economic Performance Reviews: Poland. OECD,
Paris.
Optimism wanes for a prompt cleanup
- G Bisschop
Bisschop, G. (1996) Optimism wanes for a prompt cleanup.
Transition 17 May, 42-45.
Alcoa Environmental Management Systems Resource Document
Aluminum Company of America (1995) Alcoa Environmental
Management Systems Resource Document. Alcoa, Pittsburgh, PA.
Company Procedures and Practices of Environmental Protection
- Alcoa-Köfém Kft
Alcoa-Kö fém Kft. (1996a) Company Procedures and Practices of
Environmental Protection. Skékesfehérvár, Hungary,
Alcoa-Kö fém.
Environmental funds in the new independent states of the former Soviet Union
- A Ingatiev
- O Zrajevskaya
- L Maximova
Ingatiev, A., Zrajevskaya, O. and Maximova, L. (1995)
Environmental funds in the new independent states of
the former Soviet Union. In Environmental Funds in Economies in Transition, pp. 51-56. OECD, Paris.
Alcoa Update 1996 Annual Report
Aluminum Company of America (1997) Alcoa Update 1996
Annual Report. Alcoa, Pittsburgh, PA.
A gold medal salute to the Aluminum Company of America. Environmental Management Today
- D R Jones
Jones, D.R. (1996) A gold medal salute to the Aluminum Company of America. Environmental Management Today
May/Jun, 5.
A survey of the environment
- Simpson
Simpson, P. (1996) A survey of the environment. Business Central Europe June, 36-48.
Company asbestos abatement project
- Kovács