The Impact of Community Involvement on Environmentally Friendly Behavior in Small Businesses

Abstract

Environmental friendliness by businesses has important impacts on society. Small businesses are a big part of that potential, comprising 99% of all firms, employing nearly half of the country’s employees, and generating 60% of all new jobs (Babson, 2016). However, relatively little research has been done on what motivates small businesses to engage in environmentally friendly behavior. This paper addresses this research gap and finds that small businesses which value community involvement are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly behavior, while small businesses which are politically active are neither more nor less likely to engage in environmentally friendly behavior