TY - JOUR

T1 - The intention of companies to invest in biodiversity and ecosystem services credits through an online-marketplace

AU - Krause, Marlen S.

AU - Matzdorf, Bettina

N1 - Funding Information: The research was conducted as part of the AgoraNatura research and implementation project. The project is supported by the joint funding initiative “Research for the Implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy” by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), as well as the BMU’s “Federal Programme on Biological Diversity” [grant number 01LC1315A ]. The authors are very grateful to the interview participants for their valuable time and input. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback.

PY - 2019/12

Y1 - 2019/12

N2 - We investigated the intention of companies to voluntarily pay for the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES), specifically by purchasing BES credits through an online-marketplace. The aim of our paper was to analyse influencing factors on companies’ intentions to buy BES credits through an online-marketplace as well as to gain insights into their investment preferences. We did an explorative, qualitative study by conducting interviews with 26 companies in Germany, followed by a structured content analysis based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Our results showed that some companies perceived an online-marketplace for BES credits to increase transparency, credibility, communication, as well as the ease to be engaged for nature conservation. Hindering factors to buy BES credits were especially the fear of greenwashing accusations and the lack of business case drivers. Most interviewees did not report stakeholder pressures for nature conservation; instead the intrinsic motivation of managers was of high importance. Managers were interested in diverse BES credits with important regional preferences. Based on our results, we discussed the potential corporate target group. In conclusion, our paper showed that an online-marketplace for BES credits might stimulate business investments in nature conservation.

AB - We investigated the intention of companies to voluntarily pay for the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES), specifically by purchasing BES credits through an online-marketplace. The aim of our paper was to analyse influencing factors on companies’ intentions to buy BES credits through an online-marketplace as well as to gain insights into their investment preferences. We did an explorative, qualitative study by conducting interviews with 26 companies in Germany, followed by a structured content analysis based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Our results showed that some companies perceived an online-marketplace for BES credits to increase transparency, credibility, communication, as well as the ease to be engaged for nature conservation. Hindering factors to buy BES credits were especially the fear of greenwashing accusations and the lack of business case drivers. Most interviewees did not report stakeholder pressures for nature conservation; instead the intrinsic motivation of managers was of high importance. Managers were interested in diverse BES credits with important regional preferences. Based on our results, we discussed the potential corporate target group. In conclusion, our paper showed that an online-marketplace for BES credits might stimulate business investments in nature conservation.

KW - Business

KW - Governance

KW - Nature conservation instruments

KW - Payments for ecosystem services

KW - Theory of Planned Behaviour

KW - Voluntary investment

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074263647&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101026

DO - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101026

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85074263647

VL - 40

JO - Ecosystem Services

JF - Ecosystem Services

SN - 2212-0416

M1 - 101026

ER -