Pro-ecological initiatives in the development strategies of manufacturing companies

Academics and practitioners have already acknowledged the importance of pro-ecological initiatives in order to meet societal expectations and, in the process, gain a competitive advantage over market rivals. However, the existence and importance of pro-ecological initiatives in a company's development strategy remains under-explored, as addressed in these studies. Thus, the research goal was to assess the importance of pro-ecological initiatives in a company's development strategy in manufacturing companies in Poland. The empirical research was conducted using the CATI method on a group of manufacturing enterprises operating in Poland. The research comprised a stratified random sample of N=385 manufacturing enterprises, which were randomly and proportionally selected from a population of 14,570 units actively engaged in production activities. Our results highlighted that manufacturing companies, which include pro-ecological initiatives in their development strategies confirmed higher effectiveness of the implementation of these initiatives than entities omitting pro-ecological issues in their strategies. Entities including pro-ecological initiatives in their strategies are more aware of their negative impact on the environment than those downplaying these initiatives.