Drivers of environmental effectiveness: gap between organisational and expert perspectives

The purpose of this study is to examine how economic, legal, social and organisational factors are perceived to influence environmental effectiveness in organisations, and to compare these perceptions between business practitioners and academic experts.Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a quantitative CAWI-based approach.The sample comprised 847 organisations from 14 European countries and 35 academic experts in environmental management.Perceived influences of factors were assessed using a five-point Likert scale and analysed through descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA, with comparisons made at the level of the four factor categories. Findings: Organisations consistently rated economic, social, legal and organisational drivers more positively than academic experts.The largest divergence occurred in the organisational category: organisations emphasised internal objectives, reputational motives and corrective actions, while experts highlighted resource constraints, weak integration of environmental considerations and limited managerial commitment.Legal drivers received the lowest scores in both groups, yet interpreted differently-organisations associated them with procedural burdens, whereas experts viewed them as insufficiently influential.Organisations with ISO 14001 or EMAS certification reported higher ratings across all categories than those without formal environmental management systems. Research limitations/implications:The non-identical questionnaire structures and the relatively small size of the expert sample limit the strength of direct comparison.The analysis is based on perceptual, cross-sectional data, which reflect subjective assessments rather than objective performance measures.Practical implications: The findings suggest that formal environmental management systems, particularly EMAS, may support more proactive interpretations of external expectations.They also indicate the need for stronger exchange of knowledge and perspective between practitioners and experts to address differing evaluations of organisational capabilities and external pressures. Social implications:The low importance assigned to legal drivers by both groups indicates limited regulatory and societal pressure to stimulate environmental improvement, pointing to the need for more coherent policy frameworks and stronger public accountability mechanisms.B. Paliwoda, A. Matuszak-Flejszman, K. Kraśniewska Originality/value:The study provides a systematic comparison of organisational and expert perceptions of the drivers of environmental effectiveness and demonstrates how certification status shapes these interpretations.It contributes to understanding the divergence between operational and analytical viewpoints in sustainability management.