Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility最新文献

Based on an integrative discourse methodology, this study examines the organizational role expectancies of CSR professionals as articulated in CSR job advertisements, focusing specifically on what organizations expect CSR professionals to change. Four types of change were identified and organized into a matrix based on the inside or outside stimuli for these changes and their expected effects, which can materialize inside or outside the organization. Specifically, the four types of change include organizational development (aligning practices with organizational values), compliance (aligning practices with external norms), social approval (changing public perceptions), and agenda setting (changing the environment). These four types of change highlight the transformative as well as the self-serving nature of the changes organizations expect CSR professionals to accomplish. On the practical side, the types of change provide insights into CSR as an occupation, as they highlight desired skills and competences of CSR professionals.

This study examines the roles of environmental strategy and accounting in corporate carbon performance, as measured by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. A novel interaction model is developed based on legitimacy theory and natural-resource dependence theory to capture the interaction between environmental strategy and accounting. An international sample of 3322 firms from 73 countries is used in the analysis, based on a panel data design for 17 years (2005–2022). The empirical findings reveal an overall reactive role of these environmental initiatives in relation to carbon performance. The marginal effect analysis shows that environmental accounting favourably moderates the effect of environmental strategic functions on carbon performance, indicating that the former facilitates the translation of the latter into practice. Similarly, environmental strategic initiatives improve the impact of environmental accounting information on carbon performance. The main contribution of this study stems from methodologically demonstrating how the synergy between environmental strategic initiatives and environmental information mechanisms can translate into improved carbon performance. This finding has multiple societal, practical and research implications. The interaction effect evidence can be viewed as consistent with recent trends of integrated approaches to thinking and reporting, where interrelated phenomena are integrated into operational and reporting contexts to improve efficiency. This can be of interest to policymakers, investors, corporate managers and providers of assurance services related to carbon performance.

Open innovation (OI) has gained widespread attention in recent years as a catalyst for sustainable management. Through OI, companies can harness their environmental capabilities to develop sustainable innovations that provide mutual benefits for companies and society. We explore the impact of Corporate Governance (CG) on Green Product Innovation (GPI) as OI and the impacts of GPI on corporate financial performance (CFP). Adopting Heckman's two-stage procedure to a panel of 622 science-based firms over the study period of 2008–2021, in the first step, we test the link between boards of directors' characteristics and GPI engagement. In the second step, we test the relationship between GPI and CFP. The findings confirm that effective CG mechanisms positively impact GPI performance. Moreover, GPI is a positive predictor of reduced firm riskiness. Therefore, we provide new insights into the debate on the links among CG, GPI, and CFP that can help companies meet the new challenges of the ecological transition.

Building on the Norwegian case, this study examines the long-term implications of board gender quotas on the advancement of gender diversity in managerial leadership. Previous research has indicated that, aside from the board, the quota had limited impact on achieving this objective. However, these studies have narrowly focused on the spill-over effects of the quota, primarily concentrating on the positions of CEO and Chair. The findings of this study reveal contrasting effects of the board gender quota on the gender composition of the board and the executive committee of the board. Consequently, Norwegian companies have increased the representation of women on their boards, as mandated by the law, while simultaneously experiencing a reduction in the presence of female executive directors. Moreover, the strength of both opposing effects has diminished over time. In addition to the board of directors, the quota has not influenced the promotion of gender diversity at other managerial levels. Furthermore, our study suggests that the quota has led to a decrease in the average tenure and level of independence of the boards, although it has not affected the qualifications of board members.

This study employs the Porter hypothesis framework to test the moderating role of production cost in the relationship between resource-efficiency actions and financial performance for German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For this purpose, we employ the 2012, 2018, and 2021 Flash Eurobarometer surveys to analyze how consistently SMEs adopt resource-efficiency actions, and the impact of these actions on their performance and costs. We also conduct a generalized method of moments regression analysis (GMM). Among the seven resource-efficiency actions proposed, saving water had a significant positive (negative) influence on financial performance in 2012, 2021, and (2018). Saving energy and using renewable energy had a positive and significant (insignificant) effect on financial performance in 2018, 2021, and (2012). Finally, selling scrap material to other companies had a positive and significant impact in all years. Furthermore, increased production costs negatively moderate the relationship between eco-efficiency action scores and financial performance. The results indicate that the “strong” version of the Porter hypothesis is not supported: It only holds when the implementation of eco-efficiency actions reduces production costs and increases financial performance.

Governing greenwashing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure is an important issue, but relevant literature is scant. Based on the data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2021, we investigate the governance role of corporate digital transformation (DT) in ESG greenwashing and its influencing mechanism. We find that DT significantly inhibits ESG greenwashing. Moreover, DT mitigates ESG greenwashing by enhancing corporate green technology innovation (i.e., innovation channel), reducing information asymmetry (i.e., information channel), and increasing trade credit (i.e., resource channel). From the perspective of investor attention, we find that both retail investors' online opinions and institutional investors' site visits strengthen the inhibitory effect of DT on ESG greenwashing. Furthermore, such an inhibitory effect is more pronounced in large firms, industries with high competition, and regions with strong intellectual property protection. This research provides new insights and policy suggestions for governing corporate ESG greenwashing behavior.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is synonymous with sustainable investment for socially responsible investors. Unfortunately, the diversity of ESG investing remains unattended amidst the growth in ESG literature, as the academic literature focuses dominantly on measuring performance. An understanding of a wide range of subjects entailing ESG is required before future research on ESG investing is performed. To overcome the challenge, this systematic literature review uses bibliometric mapping to reveal four significant research themes within the ESG investing literature: investor behavior and motivations for ESG investing; cost and risk mitigation in ESG investing; portfolio screening and ESG investing; and ESG performance. The review critically examines each theme and broadens the research agenda for future studies. In addition to the significant themes, this paper also discusses theoretical and recent research trends in the ESG investing literature. The review identifies clashes and crossovers between these themes to appropriately interpret one theme using another and emphasizes the heterogeneity in ESG investing. Lastly, discussion over concerns and criticisms of ESG investing highlights greenwashing as a major cause of concern for investors.

We investigate the impact of women shareholders on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how they interact with women directors to exert a greater influence on CSR activities. Little is known about how women's ownership can enhance their roles in CSR practices. Based on data from Omani-listed firms during 2016–2020 and using CSR budgeting and spending as proxies for CSR activities, firms with women shareholders allocate more CSR budgeting and spend more money on CSR activities. However, we also find that women directors can only affect CSR budgeting and spending if their representation on the board is increased. Furthermore, we find that firms with women shareholders and directors have higher CSR budgeting and spending. Further analysis reveals that women shareholders are more likely to spend money on CSR activities within the budgeted amount and are less likely to be associated with gaps between CSR budgeting and spending. This analysis also shows that the type of ownership (family versus non-family) influences women shareholders' effects on CSR budgeting and spending. Our empirical findings provide critical insights into how woman shareholders influence CSR actions.

In this study, we performed a comparative analysis to examine the extent to which local governments (LGs) in two Mediterranean countries – Spain and Italy – use their websites to disclose information related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in response to the launch of the United Nations' (UN) 2030 Agenda. We performed a manual content analysis of the official websites of all Italian and Spanish LGs with more than 100,000 inhabitants, constructing different disclosure indexes. We then used a non-parametric statistical test to assess differences in disclosure behaviours between countries. Our findings show that the extent to which the investigated LGs disclose SDG-related information online remains limited. Based on Oliver's (1991) strategic responses framework, we postulate that Italian and Spanish LGs have responded to the launch of the SDGs by adopting compromise and avoidance strategies.