Eric Sie Forenten, Philip Opoku Mensah, Jing Yi Yong, Henry Kofi Mensah
Environmental sustainability has gained more scholarly attention because of the dangers of business and human activities to the natural environment. To mitigate the environmental problems, scholars have advocated for the deliberate development of the green intellectual capital of firms. Drawing on the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) theory, the study examined the impact of green intellectual capital (GIC) on environmental performance (ENVP) mediated by green creativity (GC), moderated by green transformational leadership (GTL) and environmental regulations (ENREGs). A survey of 264 managers and owners in Ghana's transport and logistics sector was analysed using PROCESS macro. The findings demonstrated that GC mediates the relationship between GIC and ENVP. Furthermore, the effect of GIC on ENVP via GC depends on GTL and ENREG. These findings advance theoretical understanding of GIC mechanisms and provide practical guidance for environmentally responsible leadership in emerging economies.
{"title":"Green Minds, Green Outcomes: Green Intellectual Capital Drives Environmental Performance via Creativity, Moderated by Leadership and Regulations in Ghana","authors":"Eric Sie Forenten, Philip Opoku Mensah, Jing Yi Yong, Henry Kofi Mensah","doi":"10.1002/bse.70605","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70605","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental sustainability has gained more scholarly attention because of the dangers of business and human activities to the natural environment. To mitigate the environmental problems, scholars have advocated for the deliberate development of the green intellectual capital of firms. Drawing on the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) theory, the study examined the impact of green intellectual capital (GIC) on environmental performance (ENVP) mediated by green creativity (GC), moderated by green transformational leadership (GTL) and environmental regulations (ENREGs). A survey of 264 managers and owners in Ghana's transport and logistics sector was analysed using PROCESS macro. The findings demonstrated that GC mediates the relationship between GIC and ENVP. Furthermore, the effect of GIC on ENVP via GC depends on GTL and ENREG. These findings advance theoretical understanding of GIC mechanisms and provide practical guidance for environmentally responsible leadership in emerging economies.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146146022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dejun Zhou, Joana Cobbinah, Ishmael Wiredu, Fadhila Hamza
Drawing on the Resource‐Based View (RBV) and Stakeholder Theory, this study examines how green innovation contributes to firm value, emphasizing the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and the moderating role of corporate reputation. Using panel data from 593 environmentally sensitive manufacturing firms across Asian economies between 2014 and 2023, the proposed relationships are tested with the Baron and Kenney mediation approach and IV‐2SLS estimation to address potential endogeneity. The results demonstrate that green innovation directly enhances firm value and significantly improves ESG performance. ESG performance itself exerts a positive effect on firm value, and mediation analysis reveals that ESG partially transmits the impact of green innovation on financial outcomes. Robustness checks strengthen these findings: The Variance Accounted For (VAF) ratio shows that 41.2% of the total effect of green innovation on firm value operates through ESG, while the Sobel test ( Z = 3.462, p < 0.001) and the Z ‐test of mediation ( Z = 3.291, p < 0.01) confirm the significance of the indirect pathway. These results provide consistent evidence that ESG is an important, though partial, channel linking innovation to value creation. Furthermore, corporate reputation is found to strengthen the effect of green innovation on firm value, suggesting that reputational capital amplifies the benefits of sustainability engagement. The study contributes to theory by integrating RBV and Stakeholder perspectives and offers practical insights for Asian manufacturing firms, where aligning innovation strategies with ESG improvements and reputation management is crucial for sustainable competitiveness.
利用资源基础理论（RBV）和利益相关者理论，本研究探讨了绿色创新对企业价值的贡献，强调了环境、社会和治理（ESG）绩效的中介作用和企业声誉的调节作用。利用2014年至2023年间来自亚洲经济体593家环境敏感型制造企业的面板数据，采用Baron和Kenney中介方法和IV‐2SLS估计来检验所提出的关系，以解决潜在的内生性问题。结果表明，绿色创新直接提升了企业价值，显著提高了企业ESG绩效。ESG绩效本身对企业价值有正向影响，中介分析显示ESG部分传递了绿色创新对财务结果的影响。稳健性检验强化了这些发现：方差占比（VAF）表明，绿色创新对企业价值的总影响中有41.2%是通过ESG发挥作用的，而Sobel检验（Z = 3.462, p < 0.001）和中介Z‐检验（Z = 3.291, p < 0.01）证实了间接途径的显著性。这些结果提供了一致的证据，表明ESG是连接创新与价值创造的重要渠道，尽管只是部分渠道。此外，我们还发现企业声誉会强化绿色创新对企业价值的影响，这表明声誉资本放大了可持续发展参与的收益。该研究通过整合RBV和利益相关者的观点，为亚洲制造企业提供了理论支持，并为亚洲制造企业提供了实践见解，在这些企业中，将创新战略与ESG改进和声誉管理相结合对于可持续竞争力至关重要。
{"title":"Strategic Pathways to Green Innovation Capacity and ESG Performance: Driving Sustainable Value Creation in Asian Economies","authors":"Dejun Zhou, Joana Cobbinah, Ishmael Wiredu, Fadhila Hamza","doi":"10.1002/bse.70620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70620","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on the Resource‐Based View (RBV) and Stakeholder Theory, this study examines how green innovation contributes to firm value, emphasizing the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and the moderating role of corporate reputation. Using panel data from 593 environmentally sensitive manufacturing firms across Asian economies between 2014 and 2023, the proposed relationships are tested with the Baron and Kenney mediation approach and IV‐2SLS estimation to address potential endogeneity. The results demonstrate that green innovation directly enhances firm value and significantly improves ESG performance. ESG performance itself exerts a positive effect on firm value, and mediation analysis reveals that ESG partially transmits the impact of green innovation on financial outcomes. Robustness checks strengthen these findings: The Variance Accounted For (VAF) ratio shows that 41.2% of the total effect of green innovation on firm value operates through ESG, while the Sobel test ( <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic> = 3.462, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001) and the <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic> ‐test of mediation ( <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic> = 3.291, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01) confirm the significance of the indirect pathway. These results provide consistent evidence that ESG is an important, though partial, channel linking innovation to value creation. Furthermore, corporate reputation is found to strengthen the effect of green innovation on firm value, suggesting that reputational capital amplifies the benefits of sustainability engagement. The study contributes to theory by integrating RBV and Stakeholder perspectives and offers practical insights for Asian manufacturing firms, where aligning innovation strategies with ESG improvements and reputation management is crucial for sustainable competitiveness.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"301 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Institutional investors are increasingly responding to biodiversity loss through nature‐related investment strategies. Using survey data from 557 institutional investors, this study examines the drivers of strategy selection and how biodiversity risk is integrated across investor types, sizes, and regions. Financial motivations, especially risk reduction and return opportunities, are most strongly associated with divestment and portfolio biodiversity risk analysis, while shareholder engagement remains comparatively limited. Pressure from clients and activists steers institutional investors toward visible, low‐burden measures (risk analysis, divestment, and target‐setting) rather than resource‐intensive stewardship. US‐based investors report stronger commitments to nature‐related investments, whereas larger institutions do not exhibit higher engagement. The findings suggest targeted policy support for nature‐related investment practices: clearer recognition of biodiversity loss as a financially material risk within fiduciary frameworks, integration of nature objectives into stewardship codes and proxy‐voting norms, and harmonized biodiversity disclosure standards to reduce data uncertainty and enable more effective investor responses.
{"title":"Drivers of Nature‐Related Investment Strategies Among Institutional Investors","authors":"Emma Olofsson","doi":"10.1002/bse.70598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70598","url":null,"abstract":"Institutional investors are increasingly responding to biodiversity loss through nature‐related investment strategies. Using survey data from 557 institutional investors, this study examines the drivers of strategy selection and how biodiversity risk is integrated across investor types, sizes, and regions. Financial motivations, especially risk reduction and return opportunities, are most strongly associated with divestment and portfolio biodiversity risk analysis, while shareholder engagement remains comparatively limited. Pressure from clients and activists steers institutional investors toward visible, low‐burden measures (risk analysis, divestment, and target‐setting) rather than resource‐intensive stewardship. US‐based investors report stronger commitments to nature‐related investments, whereas larger institutions do not exhibit higher engagement. The findings suggest targeted policy support for nature‐related investment practices: clearer recognition of biodiversity loss as a financially material risk within fiduciary frameworks, integration of nature objectives into stewardship codes and proxy‐voting norms, and harmonized biodiversity disclosure standards to reduce data uncertainty and enable more effective investor responses.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"91 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Leviticus Mensah, Richard Arhinful, Hayford Asare Obeng, Bright Akwasi Gyamfi
Environmental fines function as regulatory instruments that compel firms to adopt innovative approaches to environmental protection. This fosters more efficient industrial processes, strengthens sustainability practices, and stimulates competition as regulatory frameworks evolve. Whereas some corporations perceive such fines merely as punitive measures, others regard them as catalysts for innovation. However, the relationship between environmental fines and innovation, as well as the moderating roles of financial slack, firm size, and board environmental expertise, remains underexplored in the literature. This study addresses these gaps by drawing on Porter's hypothesis and focusing on nonfinancial entities listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 347 firms covering the period 2008–2024 through the Bloomberg database. To address cross‐sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, and endogeneity, the study employed advanced estimation techniques, including the two‐step generalized method of moments, fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, and the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group estimator. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between environmental fines and environmental innovation. Furthermore, financial slack, firm size, and board environmental expertise were found to significantly and positively moderate this relationship. These findings offer important insights for corporations, highlighting that compliance with environmental fines can stimulate innovation, strengthen sustainability initiatives, optimize operational efficiency, and create long‐term value.
{"title":"Punishment or Catalyst? The Role of Environmental Fines in Driving Corporate Environmental Innovation in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Moderating Role of Financial Slack, Firm Size, and Board Environmental Expertise","authors":"Leviticus Mensah, Richard Arhinful, Hayford Asare Obeng, Bright Akwasi Gyamfi","doi":"10.1002/bse.70574","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70574","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental fines function as regulatory instruments that compel firms to adopt innovative approaches to environmental protection. This fosters more efficient industrial processes, strengthens sustainability practices, and stimulates competition as regulatory frameworks evolve. Whereas some corporations perceive such fines merely as punitive measures, others regard them as catalysts for innovation. However, the relationship between environmental fines and innovation, as well as the moderating roles of financial slack, firm size, and board environmental expertise, remains underexplored in the literature. This study addresses these gaps by drawing on Porter's hypothesis and focusing on nonfinancial entities listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 347 firms covering the period 2008–2024 through the Bloomberg database. To address cross‐sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, and endogeneity, the study employed advanced estimation techniques, including the two‐step generalized method of moments, fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, and the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group estimator. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between environmental fines and environmental innovation. Furthermore, financial slack, firm size, and board environmental expertise were found to significantly and positively moderate this relationship. These findings offer important insights for corporations, highlighting that compliance with environmental fines can stimulate innovation, strengthen sustainability initiatives, optimize operational efficiency, and create long‐term value.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146129367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research examines the influence of environmental performance on organizational resilience during an exogenous shock. Drawing on the natural resource–based view, a sample of 3920 firms from 11 sectors and 19 countries is analyzed. This study employs OLS regressions and Cox proportional hazard models to test the effect of environmental performance on the severity of loss and time to recovery following an exogenous shock. The findings reveal that higher levels of environmental performance mitigate the severity of loss but prolong the time to recovery. These results provide important insights into how environmental performance shapes organizational resilience during exogenous shocks and highlight the need for further research to better understand the temporal dimension of its effects, specifically when and how environmental performance translates into resilience benefits.
{"title":"Organizational Resilience to Exogenous Shocks: The Role of Environmental Performance","authors":"Tim Schroll","doi":"10.1002/bse.70600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70600","url":null,"abstract":"This research examines the influence of environmental performance on organizational resilience during an exogenous shock. Drawing on the natural resource–based view, a sample of 3920 firms from 11 sectors and 19 countries is analyzed. This study employs OLS regressions and Cox proportional hazard models to test the effect of environmental performance on the severity of loss and time to recovery following an exogenous shock. The findings reveal that higher levels of environmental performance mitigate the severity of loss but prolong the time to recovery. These results provide important insights into how environmental performance shapes organizational resilience during exogenous shocks and highlight the need for further research to better understand the temporal dimension of its effects, specifically when and how environmental performance translates into resilience benefits.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alva Marasigan, Muhammad Nurul Houqe, Warwick Stent, Olayinka Moses
We examine the drivers of sustainability reporting quality (QSR), conceptualised along two complementary dimensions, relevance and reliability, to assess how firm‐level attributes and institutional conditions jointly shape disclosure practices in the electricity sector. Using data from S&P Global Top 250, we find that stronger sustainability performance, the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative framework, and the presence of institutional and foreign investors are positively associated with higher QSR. These underscore the importance of internal performance, established reporting frameworks, and market‐based mechanisms in enhancing the credibility and decision usefulness of sustainability reporting. In contrast, rule of law and carbon pricing policies exhibit negative associations with disclosure relevance, suggesting strategic opacity or compliance fatigue in more highly regulated environments. This study provides industry‐specific, cross‐national evidence from a critical yet underexplored sector. The findings offer timely insights for managers, regulators, investors and standard setters as mandatory sustainability reporting under IFRS S1 and S2 is implemented across jurisdictions.
{"title":"Powering Transparency: Global Drivers of Sustainability Reporting in the Electricity Sector","authors":"Alva Marasigan, Muhammad Nurul Houqe, Warwick Stent, Olayinka Moses","doi":"10.1002/bse.70606","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70606","url":null,"abstract":"We examine the drivers of sustainability reporting quality (QSR), conceptualised along two complementary dimensions, relevance and reliability, to assess how firm‐level attributes and institutional conditions jointly shape disclosure practices in the electricity sector. Using data from S&P Global Top 250, we find that stronger sustainability performance, the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative framework, and the presence of institutional and foreign investors are positively associated with higher QSR. These underscore the importance of internal performance, established reporting frameworks, and market‐based mechanisms in enhancing the credibility and decision usefulness of sustainability reporting. In contrast, rule of law and carbon pricing policies exhibit negative associations with disclosure relevance, suggesting strategic opacity or compliance fatigue in more highly regulated environments. This study provides industry‐specific, cross‐national evidence from a critical yet underexplored sector. The findings offer timely insights for managers, regulators, investors and standard setters as mandatory sustainability reporting under IFRS S1 and S2 is implemented across jurisdictions.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wei Wu, Rsha Alghafes, Nidhi Sahore, Enrico Battisti, Xin Liu
Carbon accounting is the monitoring and recording of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate and manage carbon emissions. There are numerous singular studies on carbon accounting across geographies and industries. However, there is a need for a comprehensive study discussing carbon accounting enablers, barriers, policy, and reporting landscape and strategies. This study applies a mixed‐method approach to present insights into its enablers, barriers, policy, and reporting landscape and strategies with the help of two integrated studies in this paper. Study A systematically reviews the contemporary literature to identify the thematic focus of carbon accounting literature. The systematic literature review (SLR) conducted on a sample of 53 shortlisted studies comprehends carbon accounting enablers, barriers, policies, and reporting aspects, along with presenting the carbon accounting strategies to reduce and mitigate carbon emissions. The Study B incorporates an empirical analysis of the qualitative responses gathered through essay‐based questions designed to list potential carbon accounting strategies articulated by industry experts. This study offers theoretical, practical, and policy implications for all the stakeholders: firm‐level managers; city, regional, or national level officers; accounting professionals; investors; sustainable finance providers; and carbon policymakers.
{"title":"The Nitty Gritty of Carbon Accounting: Enablers, Barriers, Reporting, and Strategies","authors":"Wei Wu, Rsha Alghafes, Nidhi Sahore, Enrico Battisti, Xin Liu","doi":"10.1002/bse.70490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70490","url":null,"abstract":"Carbon accounting is the monitoring and recording of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to mitigate and manage carbon emissions. There are numerous singular studies on carbon accounting across geographies and industries. However, there is a need for a comprehensive study discussing carbon accounting enablers, barriers, policy, and reporting landscape and strategies. This study applies a mixed‐method approach to present insights into its enablers, barriers, policy, and reporting landscape and strategies with the help of two integrated studies in this paper. Study A systematically reviews the contemporary literature to identify the thematic focus of carbon accounting literature. The systematic literature review (SLR) conducted on a sample of 53 shortlisted studies comprehends carbon accounting enablers, barriers, policies, and reporting aspects, along with presenting the carbon accounting strategies to reduce and mitigate carbon emissions. The Study B incorporates an empirical analysis of the qualitative responses gathered through essay‐based questions designed to list potential carbon accounting strategies articulated by industry experts. This study offers theoretical, practical, and policy implications for all the stakeholders: firm‐level managers; city, regional, or national level officers; accounting professionals; investors; sustainable finance providers; and carbon policymakers.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"241 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amid growing resource pressures, environmental regulation plays a critical role in enabling the transition to a circular economy (CE). This study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize how different regulatory approaches—command‐and‐control, market‐based, voluntary, and reflexive—affect CE transitions across economic and institutional contexts. The findings highlight the dual role of regulation: as a driver of innovation, efficiency, and public participation, but also as a barrier when it is rigid, fragmented, or weakly enforced. The review further examines the conditional relationship between regulation and economic growth, emphasizing that outcomes depend on sectoral dynamics, technological maturity, and governance effectiveness. By advancing an integrative “regulatory continuum” perspective, the study clarifies underlying mechanisms, identifies cross‐national and sectoral heterogeneity, and outlines implications for policy design and enforcement. Although limited by its reliance on secondary literature, the review underscores the need for empirical and comparative research to refine regulations that align environmental protection with sustainable economic transformation.
{"title":"Environmental Regulation at the Crossroads: A Review of Catalysts and Barriers in Circular Economy Transitions","authors":"Li Yuan","doi":"10.1002/bse.70588","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70588","url":null,"abstract":"Amid growing resource pressures, environmental regulation plays a critical role in enabling the transition to a circular economy (CE). This study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize how different regulatory approaches—command‐and‐control, market‐based, voluntary, and reflexive—affect CE transitions across economic and institutional contexts. The findings highlight the dual role of regulation: as a driver of innovation, efficiency, and public participation, but also as a barrier when it is rigid, fragmented, or weakly enforced. The review further examines the conditional relationship between regulation and economic growth, emphasizing that outcomes depend on sectoral dynamics, technological maturity, and governance effectiveness. By advancing an integrative “regulatory continuum” perspective, the study clarifies underlying mechanisms, identifies cross‐national and sectoral heterogeneity, and outlines implications for policy design and enforcement. Although limited by its reliance on secondary literature, the review underscores the need for empirical and comparative research to refine regulations that align environmental protection with sustainable economic transformation.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines the impact of corporate governance structures and sustainability incentives on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in e‐commerce companies and further analyzes the moderating role of board gender diversity in this relationship. Panel data from 193 US firms listed on NASDAQ and NYSE during the period 2019–2024 are employed, with fixed‐effect estimations supported by two‐step System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) to ensure robustness. The findings reveal that board gender diversity and independent directors significantly enhance ESG performance, whereas CEO–chairman duality undermines it, consistent with agency theory. Board size shows no significant effects, while the annual frequency of board meetings has a significant negative impact on ESG performance, underscoring the importance of governance quality over quantity. Moreover, the presence of CSR committees is found to contribute positively to ESG performance, particularly in the environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Conversely, sustainability‐linked compensation incentives are found to significantly contribute to ESG performance; however, these impacts are not evident in the environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Lastly, we found that the joint effect of board gender diversification and sustainability‐linked compensation incentives decreases the ESG performance; however, this effect also vanishes with robustness analysis. Overall, the results highlight critical governance mechanisms that can strengthen ESG outcomes in e‐commerce companies, providing valuable implications for enhancing corporate sustainability in this rapidly evolving sector.
{"title":"The Impact of Corporate Governance and Sustainability Incentives on ESG Performance: An Analysis of E‐Commerce Companies","authors":"Nehir Balcı, Mesut Dogan","doi":"10.1002/bse.70556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70556","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the impact of corporate governance structures and sustainability incentives on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance in e‐commerce companies and further analyzes the moderating role of board gender diversity in this relationship. Panel data from 193 US firms listed on NASDAQ and NYSE during the period 2019–2024 are employed, with fixed‐effect estimations supported by two‐step System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) to ensure robustness. The findings reveal that board gender diversity and independent directors significantly enhance ESG performance, whereas CEO–chairman duality undermines it, consistent with agency theory. Board size shows no significant effects, while the annual frequency of board meetings has a significant negative impact on ESG performance, underscoring the importance of governance quality over quantity. Moreover, the presence of CSR committees is found to contribute positively to ESG performance, particularly in the environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Conversely, sustainability‐linked compensation incentives are found to significantly contribute to ESG performance; however, these impacts are not evident in the environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Lastly, we found that the joint effect of board gender diversification and sustainability‐linked compensation incentives decreases the ESG performance; however, this effect also vanishes with robustness analysis. Overall, the results highlight critical governance mechanisms that can strengthen ESG outcomes in e‐commerce companies, providing valuable implications for enhancing corporate sustainability in this rapidly evolving sector.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Albert Acheampong, Albert Danso, Emmanuel Adu‐Ameyaw, Rilwan Sakariyahu
The growing urgency of climate change, alongside global sustainable development initiatives, has brought environmental priorities to the forefront of corporate strategy. This study explores how narrative disclosures related to research and development (R&D) predict carbon performance in European industries with high R&D intensity. Guided by the natural resource‐based view (NRBV), the research examines how qualitative R&D narratives act as strategic tools for communicating innovation‐driven environmental strategies. We introduce a novel methodological approach for analyzing unstructured textual data using advanced machine learning (ML) models, including neural networks (NNs), support vector machines (SVMs), and random forests (RFs). Our results show that firms with extensive and positively framed R&D disclosures are more effective in managing carbon emissions and in progressing toward major sustainability targets such as the Paris Agreement and the EU Green Deal. The findings also reveal that regulation and innovation shape distinct patterns in narrative disclosures across sectors, particularly in technology and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the tone and thematic focus of these narratives offer strategic insights that go beyond traditional financial indicators, effectively linking innovation with sustainability objectives. This research advances the corporate disclosure literature by deepening our understanding of how sustainability and innovation intersect, while also offering practical guidance for firms and policymakers.
{"title":"R&D Disclosure and Carbon Performance: A Machine Learning Analysis of Carbon‐Intensive Firms","authors":"Albert Acheampong, Albert Danso, Emmanuel Adu‐Ameyaw, Rilwan Sakariyahu","doi":"10.1002/bse.70594","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70594","url":null,"abstract":"The growing urgency of climate change, alongside global sustainable development initiatives, has brought environmental priorities to the forefront of corporate strategy. This study explores how narrative disclosures related to research and development (R&D) predict carbon performance in European industries with high R&D intensity. Guided by the natural resource‐based view (NRBV), the research examines how qualitative R&D narratives act as strategic tools for communicating innovation‐driven environmental strategies. We introduce a novel methodological approach for analyzing unstructured textual data using advanced machine learning (ML) models, including neural networks (NNs), support vector machines (SVMs), and random forests (RFs). Our results show that firms with extensive and positively framed R&D disclosures are more effective in managing carbon emissions and in progressing toward major sustainability targets such as the Paris Agreement and the EU Green Deal. The findings also reveal that regulation and innovation shape distinct patterns in narrative disclosures across sectors, particularly in technology and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the tone and thematic focus of these narratives offer strategic insights that go beyond traditional financial indicators, effectively linking innovation with sustainability objectives. This research advances the corporate disclosure literature by deepening our understanding of how sustainability and innovation intersect, while also offering practical guidance for firms and policymakers.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"301 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146122057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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