RATIONAL CHOICE, CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR, AND THE ECO-GENDER GAP

Abstract

Gender is a strong correlate of crime-including white-collar and corporate crime, with men having a higher propensity compared to women (Steffensmeier & Allen, 1996; Fagan, 2002; Kruttschnitt, 2013; Benson & Harbinson, 2020). This project specifically focuses on how men and women think about or make decisions regarding corporate environmental crime. Of particular interest is whether and how gender may be linked to corporate environmental offending and its counterpart "overcompliance" given that some research has uncovered an "eco-gender" gap in attitudes toward the environment. Using a factorial survey of environmental noncompliance and overcompliance vignettes that asks about their willingness to act as the depicted manager, I assess their evaluation of factors manipulated in the scenario and whether other characteristics (not experimentally manipulated) affect their behavioral intentions. I use a subjective utility model and employ regression analyses to further understand whether and how gender plays a role in decision-making. The evidence from the analyses forces me to fail to reject the null hypothesis that there is an eco-gender gap in corporate environmental decisions.