Driving Mechanism of Greening Corporate Environmental Behaviour Under the “Dual-Carbon” Goal: A Study Based on Grounded Theory Study

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

Please take into consideration the following issues:

1. The TITLE seems appropriate.
2.  In the ABSTRACT, the contributions and results of the paper should be emphasized.
3.  The word "China" should be added to the KEYWORDS.
4.  The INTRODUCTION should be significantly improved. It should briefly place the study in a broad context and highlight why it is important. It should present the aim of the work and its significance, including specific hypotheses being tested. The current state of the research field should be reviewed carefully and key publications cited. The authors stated that "This study adopts the rooted theory implementation research methodology, directly penetrating into 17 case enterprises..." without mentioning that the enterprises are Chinese. 
5. The LITERATURE REVIEW should define and analyze the key concepts of the paper and emphasize their relationship. 
6. There are no research questions and working hypotheses. 
7. In the MATERIAL AND METHODS, the authors stated that "According to the research results of Fassinger et al, the sample size of 20-30 is appropriate" but they chose only 17 enterprises. In Table 1 the asset is expressed in US$ or yuan?
8. It seems that some parts of the RESULTS (e.g., open coding, axial coding) should be moved to the RESULTS AND METHODS section. This section should provide a concise and precise description of the experimental results, their interpretation as well as the experimental conclusions that can be drawn. 
9.  Authors should discuss the results and how they can be interpreted in perspective of previous studies and of the working hypotheses. The findings and their implications should be discussed in the broadest context possible and limitations of the work highlighted. 
10.  The list of REFERENCES should be expanded.
11. Pay attention to the punctuation of the text.

Good luck!

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Dear Editor(s),

The paper aims to explore the antecedent motivation mechanism and the consequent pathway of the green change of corporate environmental behaviours under the goal of “dual-carbon”. 

The paper seems rather descriptive and its quality is rather low. It should be structured according to the Instructions for Authors.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper employs the grounded theory research method to deeply explore the driving mechanism of green transformation in corporate environmental behavior under the "dual carbon" goals. Through multi-case interviews and systematic coding analysis, a theoretical model is constructed, which holds significant theoretical and practical implications. The study not only enriches the theoretical framework of corporate green transformation but also provides valuable references for policymakers and business managers, helping to promote sustainable development of enterprises under the "dual carbon" goals. However, there are still some issues that need improvement. The following revision suggestions are provided for the author's reference:

Comment 1: In the "Introduction" section, although you clearly state the policy background of the "dual carbon" goals (such as the 2030/2060 carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets), there is a lack of in-depth discussion on the economic theoretical support for these goals. It is recommended to supplement the paper with relevant economic theories such as externality theory (e.g., environmental negative externalities), Coase theorem (property rights and carbon emission trading), or green growth theory, to enhance the academic rigor of the research.

Comment 2: In the "Introduction" section, you mention China's "dual carbon" goals and emphasize the key role of enterprises in achieving these goals, which indeed reflects a highly relevant research background. However, existing studies on corporate green transformation are already quite abundant. You need to articulate the innovations of this study more clearly in the introduction. For example, how does your research uncover new mechanisms or pathways of corporate green behavior changes under the specific constraints of the "dual carbon" goals compared to previous studies? It is suggested to add a paragraph in the introduction specifically comparing existing studies and clearly pointing out the unique perspective and theoretical contributions of this research.

Comment 3: In the "Introduction" section, while you mention the "dual carbon" goals, it is only a brief reference to the timeline and general requirements. For professional readers, more detailed policy background information may be needed to understand the starting point of the research. For instance, you could supplement the introduction with specific policy tools introduced by the Chinese government to achieve the "dual carbon" goals (such as the carbon emissions trading system, green finance policies, etc.), and how these policies directly affect corporate decision-making. This would help readers better understand the policy relevance of the research and provide a stronger background foundation for subsequent analysis of corporate behavior.

Comment 4: At the end of the "Literature Review" section, you mention the shortcomings of existing research, but the description is rather general and lacks clear specificity. It is recommended to point out the main gaps and deficiencies more specifically in existing research on corporate green behavior under the "dual carbon" goals. For example, is there a lack of research on the dynamic change process of corporate green behavior? Are there specific industries or types of enterprises that need further exploration? Or is there a need for more empirical research on the impact mechanisms of policy tools on corporate green transformation? Clearly identifying the gaps in existing research can not only provide a clear entry point for your research but also help readers better understand how your research fills these gaps.

Comment 5: In the "Method and Data" section, the fact that 58.82% of the enterprise samples are in eastern regions and 58.82% of the enterprises have assets exceeding 400 million yuan may lead to the following biases: the challenges of green transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises being underestimated, and the influence of regional policy differences being weakened. It is recommended to increase the theoretical basis for sample selection to reduce the risk of sample selection bias.

Comment 6: In the "Results Analysis" section, although you construct a theoretical model in the results analysis, the in-depth interpretation and discussion of the data are somewhat insufficient. For example, while you mention the driving mechanism of corporate green behavior under the "dual carbon" goals, there is a lack of specific analysis of differences in green behavior across different industries, regions, or scales. It is suggested to include more in-depth interpretation and discussion of the data in the results analysis section, such as through case studies or comparative research to showcase the specific practices and challenges faced by different enterprises in the greening process. Additionally, it is recommended to further explore the implications of these differences for policymaking and corporate practice in the discussion section.

Comment 7: In the "Conclusions and Discussion" section, the conclusions merely repeat the research findings (e.g., "multi-level factors drive the willingness for green transformation") without explicitly stating how they expand or revise existing theories. It is suggested to deepen the discussion by incorporating the following theoretical frameworks: For example, institutional theory: How do the "dual carbon" goals alter the legitimacy pressures faced by enterprises? Resource-based view: How does the willingness for green transformation translate into sustainable competitive advantages?

Comment 8: The literature review is partial and incomplete, and some recent and relevant contributions should be cited and discussed.

Is there a decoupling relationship between CO2 emission reduction and poverty alleviation in China? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2020, 151, 119856.

Mitigation policies interactions delay the achievement of carbon neutrality in China. Nature Climate Change, 2025, 15, 147–152

Comment 9: The language expression in the article needs academic refinement, as some phrases are colloquial, such as "hot issue" and "penetrating into 17 case enterprises." Attention should also be paid to the standardization of citation formats; for example, "(Yu F W & Lin S, 2022)" should be correctly cited as "(Yu & Lin, 2022)."

Comments on the Quality of English Language

none

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper explored the impacts of avocado exports on Peruvian economic growth. However, there are several problems in this paper, and I have to make the Major Revision decision.

1. The author should briefly describe the research findings in the abstract.
2. The introduction of this paper is poorly written. The theoretical and practical background of this study should be detailed, and research questions should be raised. In addition, the authors should emphasize what are the research contributions of this paper. None of the above content is reflected in the introduction.
3. Many of the authors' statements are too definitive and may not have been adequately researched. For example, the authors mentions in the literature review that, “The mechanism by which the “dual-carbon” goal will lead to green changes in corporate environmental behaviour is unclear, and the strategies proposed are scattered, with no well-developed and mature guidelines and theoretical models for change selection.”However, there are already many literature on the impact of dual carbon targets on corporate green behavior in both Chinese and foreign journals.
4. In the section of 3 Method and data, the authors should elaborate on the reasons for choosing the grounded theory research method to apply this study and the process of sample firms screening. Especially the latter, because whether the sample screening process conforms to the principle of randomness to some extent indicates whether it has sufficient representativeness.
5. The authors need to supplement the descriptive statistical results of each indicator.
6. The authors writes very specific about the coding process, but there is a lack of necessary analysis.
7. In the section of 5 Conclusions and Discussion, the authors provide many management implications based on the conclusions. However, on the one hand, the authors should provide some theoretical implications for future research beyond management implications. On the other hand, the authors should also enhance the pertinence between management implications and research conclusions. In other words, the management implications should not beyond the research conclusions.

 

Author Response

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Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

The quality of the paper has increased. However, there are still some improvements to be made. There are no research questions and hypothesis.   

 

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Accept.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

None.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors had made careful revisions to this article. In my opinion, the quality of this article has been significantly enhanced. So, I would like to make the acceptance decision.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf