Title: A greener company makes for happier employees more so than does a more valuable one: a regression analysis of employee satisfaction, perceived environmental performance and firm financial value

Authors: Cassandra Walsh, Adam J. Sulkowski

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA. ' Department of Management and Marketing, Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA

Abstract: This paper tests two hypotheses. The first hypothesis is that employee satisfaction is positively impacted when a company is perceived as performing well environmentally. The second hypothesis is that employee satisfaction is positively impacted by firm financial performance. To test these hypotheses, the relationships between perceived environmental performance, financial performance and employee satisfaction were tested using regression analysis. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between employee satisfaction and level of perceived environmental performance. This study does not find a significant relationship between employee satisfaction and firm financial value. The practical implication for managers is that investments in environmental performance and related communications are important for reasons beyond those that are more commonly discussed, such as external stakeholder relations. This study suggests that environmental performance and related communications should be an integral part of human resources management strategies to recruit, motivate and retain the best talent.

Keywords: employee satisfaction; environmental performance; financial performance; Tobin|s q; James Tobin; CSR reporting; corporate social responsibility; sustainability; sustainable development; green companies; happiness; regression analysis; company value; perceived performance; positive impacts; significant relationships; positive relationships; managers; communication; external stakeholders; stakeholder relations; human resource management; HRM; recruitment; motivation; employee retention; talent; environment; interdisciplinary approaches.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2010.038082

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2010 Vol.11 No.4, pp.274 - 282

Published online: 18 Jan 2011 *

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