Enviromental regulatory pressure-A qualitative study on the Malaysian palm oil industry

The main objective of this study is to investigate how and to what extent regulatory departments impose pressure on the industry to more environmentally responsible. Data of this paper were based from face to face interviews with three senior officers from the DOE and a senior enforcement officer from the Sabah Environmental Protection Department (SEPD). From the qualitative analysis it seemed clear that using its coercive power the regulatory stakeholders have exerted significant influenced on the industry to be more environmentally conscious. Nonetheless, this study also showed there were a number of challenges faced by regulatory departments which had diluted their power to exert power on the industry. Some recommendations to increase corporate environmentalism in the industry were also included at the end of this paper