Factors affecting employee acceptance of ISO14001 in a small lacquer factory in Samutsakhon Province, Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate factors affecting the employee acceptance of the ISO14001 (Version 2004)
Environment Management System in a small lacquer factory in Samutsakhon province, Thailand. The participants of
the study were 47 employees working in the factory. Data was obtained from the participants using questionnaires
and in-depth-interview. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform statistical analysis
including calculation of the Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test, F-test and Least Significantly Difference (LSD) test.
The results of the study showed there was a significant difference in the knowledge of ISO14001 amongst the
employees. Different factors such as gender, age, educational background, working period and job position appear
to correspond to differences in knowledge of the ISO standard. The knowledge level was significantly different for
personal factors, such as age, gender and education level, at p<0.05. There were no significant differences in the
acceptance level for gender, age, working period and job position. The acceptance level, however, was significantly
different for education level at p<0.05. On the other hand, the acceptance level was not affected by employee
understanding of ISO14001. But getting ISO14001 environment management system, a process where employees
obtain information about ISO14001 and employee engagement were significantly correlated with the acceptance of
ISO14001 environment management system.