Perspectives on compliance: non-compliance with environmental licenses in the Netherlands

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.