Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility最新文献

This speculative paper introduces zemiology, an extension of radical criminology which explores why many ‘crimes’ are not ‘illegal’ by focussing on the problem of ‘social harm’. Zemiology insists that we should begin with social or environmental problems, and not allow their foreclosure by the distraction of whether a particular practice is legal or illegal, or defined as ethical or unethical. We argue that business ethics might learn from zemiology's attempt to radicalise criminology, particularly in terms of thinking about forms of procedural or restorative justice that might encourage corporations to claim responsibility for systemic harms rather than externalising them.

Despite the detrimental consequences of corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR), the role of monitoring and incentive-based corporate governance (CG) mechanisms in mitigating stakeholder mismanagement has been largely neglected in the literature. At the same time, there has been growing interest in holding executives accountable for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance by linking their compensation to related targets. However, prior research provides scant and inconclusive evidence on the effectiveness of ESG pay in curbing CSiR. This study addresses these shortcomings and contributes to the emerging CSiR/CG literature by harnessing an institution-based view on executive compensation. Specifically, it recognizes national culture as the “missing determinant” in comparative CG studies and investigates the culturally-driven boundary conditions for the relationship between ESG pay and CSiR. The hypotheses were tested on a data set of 4066 firms from 56 countries during 2010–2020. The analysis supports a negative, though modest, effect of ESG pay on CSiR. Furthermore, the study shows that this relationship varies in statistical and economic significance across cultural contexts. Particularly, incentives prove effective for firms headquartered in nations characterized by low power distance, individualism, low uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity. Conversely, in other settings, compensation linked to ESG may either lack motivational impact or even yield counterproductive outcomes. These findings have implications for both the CSiR and CG literature, as well as for practice.

Recent years have been characterized by an ever-growing interest in consumers' behavior while purchasing green food products. Although existing research has produced a great number of papers on this topic, the knowledge generated in the field appears fragmented and, in certain cases, ambiguous. The main reasons can be traced back to the lack of reference frameworks that clarify the most used concepts, thus providing a shared language in this research domain. Despite other literature reviews that have been carried out on the domain of green food purchasing behavior, these works mainly rely on narrative summaries and qualitative analyses, which can overlook the complexity and interdependencies inherent in this research domain. The complexity of interconnected factors within this research domain poses challenges in effectively understanding and representing the underlying dynamics. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes the use of a System Thinking based approach as a valuable method to provide a complete view of dynamics occurring in the green consumption behavior domain. In particular, we propose the integration of causal loop diagrams as a powerful visual tool to augment the conventional Systematic Literature Review process to provide a view at a glance of dynamics and capture the complex interdependencies occurring in a specific research domain. We carried out a systematic literature review by analyzing a set of 67 papers. We find nine relevant themes in the investigated research domain. Besides a descriptive picture of the scientific activity, a map of the main dynamics occurring in green food purchasing behavior has been provided.

Corporate philanthropy is an important form of fulfilling social responsibility and improving social income distribution systems. Unlike Western trade unions, Chinese trade unions have government-like functions. This study discusses whether Chinese-style trade unions help promote corporate philanthropy. Based on stakeholder theory, this study examines the philanthropic effects of Chinese-style trade unions using data from the Chinese Private Enterprises Survey and employs methods such as the Treatment Effect Model, Instrumental Variables Method, and Propensity Score Matching. The results show that unions with government-like functions can significantly incentivize firms to engage in philanthropic activities and that this effect encourages start-ups and well-funded firms, which enriches and expands the research on the functions of unions. Trade unions can help enterprises gain political connections and promote a sense of corporate social responsibility, thus enhance corporate philanthropy. In addition, female leaders are more likely than male leaders to promote the positive impact of unions on corporate philanthropy. This study not only expands the literature on union functions and the antecedents of corporate philanthropy, but also enriches the discussion on the synergies among multiple stakeholders in stakeholder theory and the role of gender in the field of management.

Whether corporate strategic Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure can be effectively screened by external markets still needs more empirical support. Despite numerous studies confirming the positive impact of ESG, the issue of strategic ESG disclosure has yet to receive sufficient attention. This study examines the impact of ESG greenwashing on the cost of debt financing and stock returns using panel data of Chinese A-share listed corporates from 2012 to 2021. The study finds that external markets fail to recognize ESG greenwashing in the short term, leading to a temporary reduction in the cost of debt financing and an increase in stock returns, but these effects are not lasting. Mechanism analysis shows that ESG greenwashing enhances corporate reputation and reduces the cost of debt financing through the reputation effect, stimulates investor sentiment, and improves stock returns through the sentiment effect. The study identifies management myopia, excessive power, financial distress, and information asymmetry as the main drivers. However, strong oversight by independent directors, involvement of Big Four audit firms, investor site visits, and high industry competition can mitigate these misleading effects. This research expands the understanding of the causes and economic consequences of corporate ESG greenwashing and provides empirical evidence for managing this phenomenon.

This study explores the realm of sustainability by examining the influence of female directors' foreign experience on green innovation across various industry sectors and corporate board structures. Specifically, the research focuses on the impact of female directors' foreign experience on green innovation in Chinese listed firms from 2004 to 2021. Our findings show that female directors with foreign experience have a positive and significant effect on green innovation. Further analysis indicates that this relationship is positively and significantly moderated by state-owned enterprises, larger firms, firms operating in polluting industries, environments with low market competition, and the presence of foreign directors on the board. The robustness of our results is confirmed through the use of different econometric techniques, alternative measures of dependent and independent variables, and addressing endogeneity concerns. Overall, our study suggests that female directors with foreign experience enhance the transfer of environmental and sustainable knowledge and practices, thereby fostering green innovation within Chinese listed firms.

With the concept of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) gaining traction worldwide, firms are becoming increasingly transparent about their ESG practices to enhance their legitimacy. This study draws on signaling theory, stakeholder theory, and opportunism theory, and uses panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2022. It identifies a U-shaped relationship between ESG performance and stock price crash risk, indicating that the increase in ESG performance decreases stock price crash risk, but after reaching a threshold value, it increases the risk. Green innovation moderates this U-shaped relationship, reinforcing its effects. Meanwhile, earnings management plays a mediating role in this U-shaped relationship. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the U-shaped relationship is significant in polluting industries, firms without the duality of chairperson and CEO, firms with high analyst coverage, and those under high market competition. The moderating effect of green innovation is particularly significant in firms with poor external legal environments and firms with positive management tone. Our findings provide novel insights and recommendations for policymakers, managers, and stakeholders to develop effective ESG policies.

This paper explores the sustainability reporting practices of listed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Utilizing institutional theory as a framework, this study employs dynamic panel data and logistic regressions to investigate how these SMEs respond to isomorphic pressures. The findings reveal a significant presence of mimetic isomorphism, where these companies tend to imitate the sustainability reporting behaviours of all listed companies, not just those of their direct SME competitors. Interestingly, the study also finds that geographical factors do not significantly influence the sustainability reporting practices of these SMEs. This research makes a notable contribution to the ongoing discussion about mandatory sustainability reporting in Europe, being one of the first in-depth analyses of how European-listed SMEs are adapting to new sustainability reporting regulations.

This paper investigates the correlation between excessive ESG disclosure and economic risk, measured through the cost of capital. We analyze a sample comprising 430 S&P 500 US firms over 12 years, from 2011 to 2022. Our findings show that excessive ESG disclosure is associated with a reduction in the cost of capital. Specifically, the environmental and social dimensions of ESG disclosure exhibit explanatory power in decreasing the cost of capital, with the environmental dimension demonstrating particularly strong influence. Conversely, excessive governance disclosure shows no significant impact. Additionally, our study shows that CSR assurance serves as a negative moderator in the relationship between excessive ESG disclosure (including overall excessive ESG score, and environmental and social dimensions) and economic risk.

This research examines how firms' environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance impacts their capacity utilisation using data from listed firms in China from 2009 to 2022. We find that firms' ESG performance significantly elevates their capacity utilisation with an inverted U-shaped relationship. All three dimensions of ESG—environmental performance, social responsibility and governance—positively affect capacity utilisation, addressing gaps in enhancing firms' capacity utilisation through ESG practices. We identify an indirect transmission channel through which firms' ESG practices influence capacity utilisation, marking a pioneering discovery in our study. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we confirm that firms' ESG practices enhance capacity utilisation by improving competitiveness and customer stickiness. Additionally, we discuss potential heterogeneity in the impact of ESG performance on capacity utilisation, considering factors such as ownership structure, industry, financial constraints and equity arrangements. Our findings provide insights for governments and companies aiming to incorporate ESG principles into their decision-making processes to enhance capacity utilisation.