EMS-based Environmental Regimes as Club Goods: ExaminingVariations in Firm-level Adoption of ISO 14001and EMAS in U.K., U.S. and Germany KELLY KOLLMAN 1 & ASEEM PRAKASH 2 1 DoctoralCandidate,DepartmentofPoliticalScience,TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity, Washington,D.C.20052,E-mail:kellyk@gwu.edu; 2 AssistantProfessor,DepartmentofStrategic ManagementandPublicPolicy,SchoolofBusinessandPublicManagement;DepartmentofPolitical Science;andTheElliottSchoolofInternationalA¡airs,TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity,Monroe 203,2115G.Street,N.W.Washington,D.C.20052,E-mail:aprakash@gwu.edu Abstract. This paper examines variations in ¢rm-level adoption of environmental management systems (EMS) ^ ISO 14001 and the European Union’s Eco-Audit and Management Scheme (EMAS) ^ in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Drawing on insights from club theory, institutional theory, and stakeholder theory, it argues that despite the fact that these EMS are created by supranational organizations (one regional and one international), ¢rms’ perceptions of their costs and bene¢ts are largely determined by domestic factors. In particular, these perceptions are shaped by how EMS are promoted and information about them is dis- seminated in each country (supply aspects) and how the constellation of stakeholders (suppliers, environmental groups, regulators, general public) support their introduction (demand aspects). The paper concludes that there are numerous ways governments and interested stakeholders can encourage companies to adopt voluntary environmental codes. The key is to ¢nd the right mix of incentives for speci¢c national contexts. Introduction This paper seeks to explain variation in ¢rm adoption patterns of ISO 14001 1 and the European Union’s Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in the United Kingdom (U.K.), Germany, and the United States (U.S.). It conceptualizes these voluntary schemes as club goods to illustrate how excludable bene¢ts for participation can be created. Drawing on insights from club theory, institutional theory, and the stakeholder literature, it exam- ines how both the ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ for voluntary, supranational codes at the ¢rm-level varies cross-nationally. It concludes that despite the fact that these are supranational standards, domestic factors are still critical in in£u- encing ¢rms’ perceptions of the costs and bene¢ts of adopting these voluntary codes. ISO 14001 and EMAS are Environmental Management Systems (EMS) that encourage ¢rms to adopt voluntarily policies dedicated to continual improve- ment in environmental performance. Over the course of the past two decades, a number of supranational voluntary codes have been created which encourage businesses to adopt practices intended to improve their environmental per- 43 PolicySciences 35: 43^67, 2002. ß 2002 KluwerAcademicPublishers.PrintedintheNetherlands.