The holistic model of compliance costs of environmental regulation and companies’ productivity : doctoral dissertation

Lah, Lenart Milan (author), Kotnik, Žiga (mentor)

This dissertation investigates the compliance costs of environmental regulation and their implications for companies in Slovenia and Croatia. The study builds on previous research by applying a comprehensive methodological framework to assess and interpret both the compliance costs of environmental regulations faced by firms and managerial perceptions of these costs. It further evaluates the potential effects of these costs on firm productivity, in line with the Porter Hypothesis, which examines the possible positive impacts of stricter environmental regulation on business performance. Compliance costs were estimated using the Standard Cost Model (SCM), which offers a robust basis for measuring the financial and administrative burden of environmental regulation. In addition, managers’ perceptions of these costs were assessed, and the factors influencing these perceptions were analyzed. This approach contributes to the literature on institutional theory, the resource-based view, and managerial cognition theory by highlighting the role of managerial attitudes toward environmental issues. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to examine the determinants of compliance costs of environmental regulation and their impact on productivity in Slovenia and Croatia. Empirical results revealed that firm size increases compliance costs of environmental regulation in both countries, although larger firms in Slovenia perceive them as less burdensome. Regulatory complexity consistently drives both compliance costs and their perception, while environmental obligations and non-financial measures are significant only in Slovenia. In contrast, institutional quality raises perceived costs only in Croatia. While compliance costs of environmental regulation strongly shape its cost perceptions across both countries, the influence of regulatory complexity is more pronounced in Slovenia, whereas in Croatia, perceptions reflect a more balanced effect among compliance costs, regulatory complexity, and institutional quality. Furthermore, the inclusion of productivity enabled testing of the strong Porter Hypothesis, providing limited evidence that, despite being perceived as burdensome, compliance costs of environmental regulation as proxy of environmental stringency may enhance firm productivity in both countries. However, the explanatory power of the model remains robust, albeit with some minor limitations that should be acknowledged. vi This dissertation develops the holistic theoretical model that integrates key internal and external factors shaping compliance costs of environmental regulation and their perception, while also establishing a framework for assessing how these costs influence productivity. It contributes both theoretically and empirically by advancing methods for estimating compliance costs, incorporating managerial cognition into the analysis of environmental regulation, and examining the relationship between regulation and productivity. Although the study is limited by sample size, particularly in Croatia, it nevertheless provides a solid foundation for future research, especially in areas related to innovation effects, subjective managerial traits, and broader international comparisons.

• Language: English
• Keywords: environmental regulation, compliance costs, firm productivity, Standard Cost Model (SCM), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Porter Hypothesis
• Work type: Dissertation
• Typology: 2.08 - Doctoral Dissertation
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [L. L. Lah]
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: XIV, 196, [12] str.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-186611
• UDC: 338.512:502(497.4:497.5)(043.2)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 290155779
• Publication date in RUL: 03.09.2026

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Holistični model stroškov preverjanja skladnosti okoljske regulative in produktivnost podjetij

Abstract

Doktorska disertacija proučuje stroške skladnosti z okoljsko regulativo ter njihove učinke na poslovanje podjetij v Sloveniji in na Hrvaškem. Raziskava nadgrajuje preučevanje področja z uporabo celovitejšega metodološkega okvirja za ocenjevanje in razlago stroškov skladnosti z okoljsko regulativo, s katerimi se podjetja soočajo, kot tudi percepcije podjetij glede obsega teh stroškov. Hkrati vključuje tudi oceno morebitnih učinkov stroškov skladnosti na produktivnost podjetij, kar je skladno s Porterjevo hipotezo, ki izpostavlja možne pozitivne učinke strožje okoljske regulative na poslovanje podjetij. Stroški skladnosti so bili ocenjeni z uporabo metode Standard Cost Model (SCM), ki predstavlja ustrezno osnovo za merjenje administrativnih in finančnih bremen, ki jih okoljska regulativa nalaga podjetjem. Poleg tega, so bile ocenjene zaznave menedžerjev o teh stroških kot tudi dejavniki, ki vplivajo na te zaznave. Na ta način, disertacija prispeva k literaturi s področja institucionalne teorije, teorije na temelju virov in teorije menedžerske kognicije, saj poudarja vlogo menedžerskih stališč in interpretacij stroškov, ki izhajajo iz okoljske regulative. Za preučevanje dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na stroške skladnosti z okoljsko regulativo, ter njihovega vpliva na produktivnost podjetij v Sloveniji in na Hrvaškem je bila uporabljena metoda modeliranja strukturnih enačb (SEM). Rezultati empirične analize so pokazali, da se z naraščanjem velikosti podjetij povečujejo tudi stroški skladnosti v obeh državah, pri čemer večja podjetja v Sloveniji te stroške zaznavajo kot manj obremenjujoča. Dejavnik kompleksnosti regulativ dosledno vpliva na stroške skladnosti in njihovo percepcijo v obeh preučevanih državah, medtem ko imata dejavnika okoljske obveznosti in nefinančni ukrepi vpliv le v Sloveniji. Po drugi strani, dejavnik kakovosti institucij povečuje percepcijo stroškov le na Hrvaškem. Nadalje, sama velikost stroškov skladnosti močno vpliva na percepcijo teh stroškov v obeh državah, vendar pa se je v Sloveniji vpliv kompleksnosti regulativ izkazal celo za izrazitejši dejavnik kot pa sami stroški. Na Hrvaškem je vpliv treh dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na percepcijo, med katere spadajo stroški skladnosti, kompleksnost regulativ in kakovost institucij, bolj enakomeren. Vključitev produktivnosti podjetij v raziskavo je omogočilo testiranje močne Porterjeve hipoteze. Rezultati v obeh državah le v omejenem obsegu potrjujejo hipotezo, da lahko stroški skladnosti z okoljsko regulativo, ki so uporabljeni kot indikator strogosti okoljske regulative, prispevajo k večji produktivnosti podjetij, viii čeprav jih podjetja zaznavajo kot breme. Kljub temu, pojasnjevalna moč modela ostaja robustna, čeprav z nekaterimi manjšimi omejitvami. Teoretični in empirični prispevki disertacije se kažejo v nadgrajenih metodah merjenja stroškov skladnosti z okoljsko regulativo, vključevanju teorije menedžerske kognicije v analizo učinkov teh stroškov ter proučevanju vpliva okoljske regulative na produktivnost. Čeprav je raziskava v določenih vidikih omejena, zlasti zaradi velikosti vzorca na Hrvaškem, predstavlja izhodišče za prihodnje raziskave, predvsem na področju odzivov podjetij na spremembe okoljske regulative, bodisi glede njene strukture bodisi glede njenega obsega. Raziskave na tem področju so v državah srednje in vzhodne Evrope še vedno razmeroma omejene, kar predstavlja priložnosti za nadaljnji znanstveni razvoj.

• Keywords: okoljska regulativa, stroški skladnosti, produktivnost podjetja, standardni stroškovni model (SCM), modeliranje strukturnih enačb (SEM), Porterjeva hipoteza