Search Results (1,130)

This study investigates the asymmetric impact of Data Elements (DE) on Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP) in China, using a sample of 310 A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2021. The results show that DE significantly enhances CEP, with stronger effects observed in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) compared to non-SOEs. Additionally, heavily polluting firms are more responsive to DE than lightly polluting firms, indicating that DE has a stronger effect in industries with greater environmental challenges. The study also highlights regional differences, with firms located in areas with stricter environmental regulations experiencing a more substantial improvement in CEP. Mechanism analysis reveals that DE improves environmental performance through optimizing labor force structure, enhancing management efficiency, and alleviating financing constraints. These findings suggest that the impact of DE on CEP is not uniform, and firms should leverage DE more effectively, particularly in high-pollution industries, regulated regions, and state-owned enterprises, to support green development. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers and business leaders aiming to foster a green transformation in China’s economy. Full article

Under the dual pressures of resource constraints and emission regulations facing global manufacturing, digital–green synergy transformation has become crucial to achieving sustainable economic development. However, the existing literature still lacks micro-level evidence on how artificial intelligence (AI) adoption drives digital–green synergy (DGS). This paper takes manufacturing listed companies from 2011 to 2022 as the research sample. Based on the BERT large language model, an index of enterprise AI adoption is constructed, and a two-way fixed effects model is used to empirically test the impact of AI adoption on digital–green synergy in manufacturing firms. The results show that AI adoption significantly enhances DGS in manufacturing firms, with stronger impacts in high-tech, non-heavy-polluting, and non-state-owned enterprises. The mechanism analysis indicates that AI adoption mainly promotes DGS in the manufacturing industry through three paths: expanding knowledge breadth, optimizing resource allocation, and breaking through organizational routines. Further analysis indicates that the positive effect of AI adoption is reinforced by executives’ environmental backgrounds, while climate policy uncertainty exerts a dampening influence. Economic consequence tests confirm that improved DGS simultaneously enhances corporate social responsibility performance, fosters new-quality productivity, and strengthens supply chain resilience. Full article

As a form of economic incentive, tax incentives can theoretically have a profound impact on corporate ESG performance by reducing the costs associated with fulfilling corporate social responsibilities and stimulating firms’ intrinsic motivation for sustainable development. This study examines the impact of tax incentives on corporate ESG performance and its potential underlying mechanisms using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2023. The empirical results indicate that tax incentives significantly enhance corporate ESG performance—firms receiving higher levels of tax incentives exhibit better ESG performance. This conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Further analysis reveals that the positive effect of tax incentives is more pronounced in the environmental and governance dimensions of ESG. Additionally, we find substantial heterogeneity in the impact of tax incentives on ESG performance. Specifically, the beneficial effects of tax incentives are more significant for state-owned enterprises, firms with weaker financial performance, and older (more mature) firms. More importantly, our findings demonstrate an inverted U-shaped relationship between the level of tax incentives and their impact on ESG performance, with the optimal tax incentive level estimated at approximately 85%. Furthermore, we unveil the mechanisms through which tax incentives influence corporate ESG performance. The results suggest that tax incentives improve ESG performance through multiple channels, including promoting green innovation, strengthening internal controls, facilitating the adoption of financial technology, and enhancing the quality of environmental information disclosure. This study contributes to and expands upon recent research within the resource-based view, offering valuable insights for corporate tax practices in developing countries and tax authorities’ regulatory strategies. Full article

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance (FP), measured by return on equity (ROE), and evaluates the moderating role of intellectual capital components, human capital efficiency (HCE), structural capital efficiency (SCE), and capital employed efficiency (CEE), in Philippine-listed firms. A longitudinal panel design was employed using 138 firm-year observations from Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) companies from 2019 to 2024. CSR was measured through an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure index based on sustainability and governance reports. Intellectual capital (IC) was operationalized using the value-added intellectual capital (VAIC) framework. Hierarchical moderated panel regression was conducted, with robustness checks using fixed- and random-effects models, Hausman tests, and cluster-robust standard errors. CSR shows a negative but non-robust association with ROE, indicating short-term cost implications in an emerging market context. Among IC components, although CEE exhibited the largest interaction effect in the pooled regression models, its moderating effect was not supported by the panel robustness analyses. HCE shows a positive but less stable effect, while SCE is not significant. Moderation results are limited; HCE weakens the negative CSR–ROE relationship in baseline models but loses significance under robust estimation. CEE shows inconsistent moderation, and SCE has no moderating effect. Disaggregated analysis indicates that environmental and social disclosure dimensions drive the negative association between ESG disclosure and ROE., whereas governance is neutral to slightly positive. Firms should align CSR with resource capabilities, emphasizing capital efficiency and human capital to mitigate costs. Policymakers should support firms beyond disclosure mandates. This study provides longitudinal evidence from an emerging market, showing that CSR value is conditional on resource efficiency rather than inherently beneficial. Full article

This study examines whether the emissions-management performance of European listed firms is associated with geographical proximity and firm-level financial and governance characteristics. Using cross-sectional data for companies included in the STOXX Europe 600 index in 2023, the analysis combines spatial econometric models with a DBSCAN clustering approach to estimate direct and spillover effects and identify localized eco-spatial clusters. The results show significant spatial dependence and confirm that firms are more likely to achieve environmental outcomes similar to those of their neighbors operating in the same sector. Firm size, profitability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees, emissions reduction, and sustainability-linked executive compensation policies are positively associated with the emissions score, while CSR committees and sustainability-oriented policies also display significant spatial spillover effects. Overall, the findings are consistent with organizational learning and institutional convergence mechanisms and highlight the importance of considering localized spatial interactions when examining firms’ emissions-management performance. Full article

In response to intensifying environmental pressures and the rapid pace of digital transformation, firms are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to support sustainable development. Using panel data from Chinese A-share-listed manufacturing firms from 2016 to 2023, this study examines the relationship between AI adoption and two forms of green innovation: green product innovation and green process innovation. The results reveal that AI adoption is positively associated with both forms of green innovation, with a stronger association observed for green product innovation. The relationship between AI adoption and green innovation also varies across organizational and market contexts. CEO turnover weakens the association between AI adoption and green product innovation but strengthens its association with green process innovation. Market competition further strengthens the positive association between AI adoption and both types of green innovation. Further heterogeneity tests indicate that these associations tend to be more pronounced among high-tech firms and smaller firms. This study provides new evidence on the relationship between AI adoption and different forms of green innovation. It further clarifies the organizational and market conditions under which AI is more closely linked to corporate green transformation. Full article

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly understood as a strategic factor associated with corporate reputation, stakeholder relationships, and consumer attitudes toward socially responsible brands. The aim of this study is to analyze CSR from two complementary perspectives: from the corporate perspective, to examine the extent to which medium-sized and large industrial enterprises operating in Slovakia declare the integration of CSR into their strategy or business practice, and from the consumer perspective, to determine how declared preferences for socially responsible brands differ across generational cohorts of customers. The research is based on two separate questionnaire surveys conducted between December 2024 and May 2025: one focused on consumers and the other on representatives of industrial enterprises. The consumer sample consisted of 331 respondents from the Baby Boomer, X, Y, and Z generations, while the corporate sample included 103 medium-sized and large industrial enterprises. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test of independence, and Cramer’s V. The results show that 82.47% of the surveyed enterprises declared some level of engagement in CSR, either as a strategic element or as an emerging component of business practice. The most frequently reported CSR priorities were environmental protection, employee support, and ethical business conduct. The consumer part of the research demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between generational affiliation and declared preference for socially responsible brands (χ² = 49.62; df = 12; p = 0.0000016), with Cramer’s V = 0.226 indicating a weak-to-moderate association. Since the study is based on declared attitudes and respondents’ self-assessment, its findings cannot be interpreted as evidence of actual consumer purchasing behavior or as an objective verification of the quality of enterprises’ CSR activities. The contribution of the study lies in the parallel examination of the corporate and consumer perspectives on CSR in the context of a smaller Central European economy and in highlighting the importance of generational segmentation for the development of CSR strategy and communication. Full article

This study examines the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and corporate tax avoidance and investigates whether carbon performance serves as a transmission mechanism linking the two. Using an international panel of 15,840 firm-year observations from 1584 listed firms across 52 countries during the 2015–2023 period, the analysis employs random-effects generalized least squares (GLS), mediation analysis, instrumental variable (2SLS), and System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimations. The results show that stronger ESG performance is associated with lower book–tax differences (BTD), indicating reduced corporate tax avoidance. Carbon performance is positively associated with ESG performance and partially mediates the ESG–tax avoidance relationship, explaining approximately 14% of the total effect. Additional analyses reveal that the Environmental pillar is the primary driver of this mediation mechanism, while the relationship is stronger among firms with higher governance quality. The findings remain robust to alternative measures of tax avoidance and sustainability performance, lagged specifications, instrumental variable estimation, and dynamic panel models. Overall, the study provides international evidence that environmental performance represents an important, though partial, pathway through which ESG engagement promotes more responsible corporate tax behavior, offering practical implications for policymakers, investors, and corporate managers seeking to strengthen sustainability, transparency, and fiscal accountability. Full article

This study examined the extent to which corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions shaped hotel reputation (REP) through customer trust (TRU), and whether customer engagement (ENG) moderated this relationship in the Mekong Delta context. Although prior studies had acknowledged the importance of CSR in shaping customer perceptions, they had paid limited attention to the distinct effects of multidimensional CSR and the conditions under which TRU was transformed into REP. A structured questionnaire survey was administered to 874 hotel guests in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The measurement scales were adapted from previous studies and refined through a pilot test. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), together with bootstrapping, was used to test the direct, mediating, and moderating effects. CSR dimensions exhibited heterogeneous effects. Customer-oriented responsibility had the strongest impact on both TRU and REP, followed by environmental and economic responsibilities. Legal responsibility directly enhanced REP but did not significantly affect TRU, whereas community responsibility strengthened TRU without directly influencing REP. TRU significantly improved REP and mediated most CSR–REP relationships. ENG positively moderated the TRU–REP link, amplifying reputational outcomes. The study contributed to CSR and hospitality research by modeling CSR as a multidimensional construct and by identifying ENG as a boundary condition that strengthened the TRU–REP mechanism. Managers should prioritize customer-focused CSR and enhance engagement to maximize reputational gains. Full article

This paper examines the association between external verification of sustainability reports and ESG performance of Saudi-listed firms from the years 2014–2021. With regard to the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul) dataset consisting of 188 firm-year observations, it is concluded that external sustainability report verification and ESG performance are positively associated. This study constructs the premise that the enhancement of credibility and transparency of sustainability reports in turn fosters stakeholder confidence. This paper documents a positive association between voluntary assurance and ESG performance from an emerging market perspective, which broadens the scope of the ESG literature. This observation particularly justifies the need to endorse more assurance services in support of sustainable development and to strengthen the reporting frameworks and policies. The study results support the objectives of Vision 2030, specifically the pillars of promoting environmental sustainability, corporate transparency, and governance. The evidence aligning national goals to encourage transparency in corporate systems and sustainability in assurance services is the positive relationship between ESG and sustainability reporting assurance. Moreover, the results highlight Saudi Arabia’s dedication to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), as they underscore the role of assurance and disclosure practices in fostering sustainable business practices in Saudi Arabia. Full article

The transition to a circular economy (CE) in the automotive sector is increasingly critical amid rising resource pressures and climate imperatives. In India, this shift is influenced by regulatory initiatives, corporate sustainability goals, and life-cycle-wide environmental challenges. However, current studies remain fragmented, often neglecting the linkages between policy drivers, material issues, and firm-level responses. This study aims to evaluate how CE strategies are operationalized across the Indian automotive value chain using a Drivers–Materiality–Response (DMR) analytical framework. A multiple-case qualitative analysis was conducted involving six major automotive firms and associated ecosystem actors, with data sourced from corporate reports, national policies, and third-party assessments from 2018 to 2024. Semi-structured interviews with 11 industry experts were incorporated to strengthen triangulation, validate firm-level circular economy claims, and support the reliability of the DMR-based interpretation. Findings reveal strong alignment with national CE policies among leading firms, particularly Tata Motors and Mahindra, with comprehensive integration of electrification, battery reuse, zero-waste goals, and digital mobility solutions. However, challenges remain in end-of-life vehicle (ELV) formalization and circularity in downstream systems. The DMR model effectively bridges gaps in existing frameworks by offering a life-cycle-based lens that links Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and policy–firm dynamics. The study contributes a scalable diagnostic tool for assessing CE maturity in emerging economies. While limited by reliance on secondary data, the triangulated approach enhances reliability and provides actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders. Full article

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) fundamentally transform non-financial reporting in the European Union, yet empirical evidence on first-year compliance—particularly in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in construction—remains scarce. This study provides a first, exploratory assessment of ESRS E1–E5 environmental disclosure compliance among Polish construction companies in the inaugural year of mandatory CSRD reporting. A structured content analysis of three purposively selected groups’ FY 2024 sustainability reports (Budimex, ERBUD, WPIP) applied a three-point scale (0–2) to a 39-item disclosure checklist, yielding 117 assessments. The compliance rate across the three groups studied was 73%, ranging from 86% (ERBUD) to 54% (WPIP). ESRS E5 (Resource Use and Circular Economy) proved most challenging (57%); recurrent deficiencies included missing CAPEX/OPEX allocations and unjustified omissions of anticipated financial effects. Distinguishing substantive disclosure from procedural responses (documented non-materiality, transitional relief, and exemptions) lowers this to 41% and reverses the ranking of the two mandatory reporters. This pattern is consistent with organisational decoupling, in that headline compliance figures systematically overstate the environmental information actually reported. Prior reporting experience was positively associated with compliance, although the small purposive sample precludes causal inference. The findings establish a baseline for monitoring ESRS implementation in the CEE construction sector. Full article

Frequent introductions and revisions of climate policy instruments constitute a salient exogenous shock to firms’ strategic decisions. From a socio-technical systems perspective, climate policy uncertainty (CPU) represents an external institutional disturbance that reshapes the interaction between firms’ technological upgrading and organizational governance. Using panel data on 1783 Chinese listed firms from 2011–2024, we examined how CPU affects firms’ industrial intelligence. We employed fixed-effects models, mediation, and moderation analyses, supplemented by robustness tests. We found that, first, CPU significantly promotes firms’ industrial intelligence transformation. Second, board governance plays a key moderating role: higher board educational attainment, stronger innovation orientation, and an environmental or risk committee significantly strengthen CPU’s positive effect on industrial intelligence. Third, CPU promotes industrial intelligence mainly through two channels: an opportunity effect via increased R&D investment, and a pressure effect via reduced total factor productivity, pushing firms to adopt intelligent transformation to address productivity pressure. Moreover, this effect is stronger for firms in high-pollution industries, larger firms, and long-established firms. These findings suggest that corporate industrial intelligence is not merely a technological response, but a socio-technical adaptation process shaped by climate policy uncertainty, board governance, and resource reconfiguration. This study provides evidence on firms’ digital, intelligent, and green transformation under climate policy uncertainty and offers implications for board governance and sustainable adaptation. Full article

This article discusses the influence of carbon emissions, both direct and indirect, on firm value. It also takes into account the moderating variable of green investment and whether governance mechanisms—like external assurance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and CSR/sustainability committees—affect these relationships. The hypotheses of the study were developed using the lens of the natural-resource-based view, legitimacy theory, and agency theory. This paper leverages panel data spanning 2017 to 2024 on firms in the UK FTSE 350 to examine the moderating role of green investment on the linkage between GHG emissions and firm value. We then conduct sub-sample analyses for firms with and without externally verified GHG disclosures and CSR/sustainability committees, respectively. Firm value is captured using enterprise value, shareholder value, and the price-to-book ratio as alternative proxies for robustness. The results reveal that GHG emissions have a significant negative impact on firm value, while green investment mitigates this adverse effect. This impact is driven by both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. However, green investments are more likely to be interpreted as genuine, durable, and value-creating when (a) the firm’s emissions data are externally verified and (b) an active CSR/sustainability committee guides and monitors implementation. This study adds to the environmental accounting and corporate governance literature by providing empirical evidence that external assurance and internal sustainability oversight strengthen the relationship between environmental responsibility and firm value creation. Full article

As resource and environmental constraints continue to tighten, corporate green transformation has become a key micro-level foundation for achieving high-quality development. Using data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2001 to 2024, this study examines the effect of executive environmental awareness on corporate green transformation and explores the underlying mechanisms. The results show that executive environmental awareness significantly promotes corporate green transformation, and this finding remains robust across a series of robustness checks. Mechanism tests indicate that green innovation serves as an important channel through which executive environmental awareness affects corporate green transformation. This channel operates primarily through symbolic green innovation, whereas the mediating role of substantive green innovation is not significant. Further analysis shows that pressure-oriented environmental awareness has a stronger positive effect on corporate green transformation than development-oriented environmental awareness, suggesting that corporate green transformation in the current institutional context remains largely responsive to external pressures. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the positive effect of executive environmental awareness is more pronounced among non-state-owned firms and firms located in eastern China. This study uncovers the internal cognitive mechanism underlying corporate green transformation from the perspective of executive awareness and provides empirical evidence on how environmental awareness can be translated into green transformation practices. Full article