Revisiting environmental groups and members’ behaviour: budget, size and (im)pure altruism

Since the first environmental movement, a variety of conditions have influenced the Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations’ strategies and decisions. This diachronic evolution is dictated by the motivations and the objectives of the environmental groups. Following a review of the literature, an analytical framework for studying targets or motivations of the environmental groups and members is analysed. Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations not only cooperate, but also compete each other. This competition together with the members’ motivations can determine not only the success of the groups, but also the groups’ efforts for survival and future actions. Additionally, an important relation exists between the groups and the level of donations by governments and individuals. Finally, three interrelated factors that affect the strategy and the decisions of the group are identified: the group’s size, their budget, and the weight of impure altruism in their individual and collective objectives. A positive relation exists between the group’s size and the financial contributions, and the interaction of the personal expectations with the collective objectives encourages and benefits the group’s actions.