MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: DETERMINANTS OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY STANDARDIZATION.

The environmental conduct of multinational companies (MNCs) is very controversial. On the one hand, it has been argued that MNCs exploit cross-country differences in environmental regula tions by locating dirty operations in countries with lax environmental regulations and by adapting their subsidiaries' environmental policies, technol ogies, and standards to local country conditions (Gladwin, 1987; K?rten, 1995; Vernon, 1998). On the other hand, it has been suggested that MNCs increasingly self-regulate their environmental con duct (Christmann & Taylor, 2001; Rappaport & Fla herty, 1992; United Nations, 1993). Self-regulation refers to a firm's adoption of environmental poli cies or performance standards that…