Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Higgs, Julia

Abstract

The United States established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental pollution standards through various programs and policies. One such policy, the Audit Policy, allows companies to voluntarily self-report violations to the Agency in exchange for elimination of certain penalties. Despite the policy, firms still incur large environmental penalties, thus indicating the need for better understanding of the policy. A necessary but not sufficient condition for penalty relief under the Audit Policy requires discovery of violations by an environmental audit or a compliance management system. This research explores the option of discovery by a compliance management system and examines the motivation of managers to invest in an environmental management system (EMS). The theory of reasoned action (TRA) argues that attitude and subjective norms precede intentions. I use this theory to investigate what factors cause a manager to invest in an environmental management system (EMS). Additionally, I examine whether environmental attitude, tolerance for ambiguity and willful blindness are antecedents to attitude towards an EMS. In this study, I develop and test a scale of the willful blindness construct and measure its impact on managerial decision-making. The willful blindness construct development produced a one-item measure. My results support all hypotheses except for the predicted link between tolerance for ambiguity and attitude.

Extent

115 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00005924

Format

pdf

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