Perspectives on compliance: non‐compliance with environmental licences in the Netherlands

Abstract Compliance with environmental law is not self‐evident. In many instances enforcement of environmental regulations is a necessary means for achieving compliance. Assuming that an enforcement strategy, in order to be effective, has to fit the type of non‐compliance, we integrate six different theoretical perspectives on compliance in order to develop enforcement strategies that can deal with the variety of factors causing compliance. We illustrate our findings with a case of non‐compliance with Dutch environmental regulation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment