Establishment of Corporate Energy Management Systems and Voluntary Carbon Information Disclosure in Chinese Listed Companies: The Moderating Role of Corporate Leaders’ Low-Carbon Awareness
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The topic selection is highly innovative and fits the current research hotspots. The research design logic is clear, and the research method is conventional.
（1）This paper discusses the moderating effect of corporate leaders' low-carbon awareness on the relationship between the establishment of corporate energy management system and voluntary disclosure of carbon information of listed companies in China，
（2）The multivariate analysis method adopted in this paper is relatively traditional, and there are few studies on moderating or mediating effects on economic issues, so whether it is suitable has not been determined yet.
（3）The paper has reasonable structure, strict logic and standard format.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Authors, the topic you have investigated is interesting. It addresses hot issues related to voluntary carbon information disclosure in Chinese listed firms. From a structural point of view, the paper is well done, however I have minor concerns. The authors briefly explain which theories are most used in voluntary disclosure studies: legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and signal theory.
This is rigth, but when the authors build the hypotheses it is not clear which slow theory they have used, it is not clear if they use all pf them (and in my opinion this is incorrect because by doing so, it is not clear what the contribution to the main literature is). In fact, precisely with regard to this point, it should be better explained at the end of the introduction and in the conclusions. The purpose of the paper (to investigate voluntary disclosure) is very clear from the beginning, however in the construction of their hypotheses,the authors start by talking about mandatory disclosure. On this point I suggest reformulating all the literature review section correctly by citing the appropriate studies. Moreover, I suggest considering the following two papers:
Jaggi, B., Allini, A., Macchioni, R., & Zagaria, C. (2018). The factorsmotivating voluntary disclosure of carbon information: Evidence based onItalian listed companies. Organization & Environment, 31(2), 178-202.
Jaggi, B., Allini, A., Macchioni, R., & Zampella, A. (2018). Do investors find carbon information useful? Evidence from Italian firms.Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 50(4), 1031-1056.
In the methodology section, I suggest also calculating the VIF (variance inflation factor) when developing the regression analysis. On the use of the moderator role of variables I suggest to consult:
Helm, R., & Mark, A. (2012). Analysis and evaluation of moderator effects in regression models: State of art, alternatives and empirical example. Review of Managerial Science, 6(4), 307–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-010-0057-y
As above mentioned at the beginning, it is necessary to strengthen not only the theoretical contribution, but also the practical implications must be more robust.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The chosen topic is very interesting and topical considering the increasingly intense concerns of companies regarding the reporting of non-financial performance. The article is well written, the ideas are presented in a logical order and are well supported by numerous recent references (appropriate for the chosen topic) from various sources. The manuscript has a very good potential to be published, but the authors need to make some improvements
- In the introductory section, the authors also have to present in more detail the concerns regarding non-financial reporting that exist worldwide and especially in the European Union (Directive 95/2014).
- The authors must present the importance of carbon information in materiality matrix for companies selected.
- In the discussion section, the authors should present the results of similar studies which confirm to refute the results obtained.
- The authors must insert a section of conclusions considering the very good quality of the study. In this section, some policy proposals, research limits and future research directions should be inserted.
Good luck to the authors in completing this special scientific endeavor.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
