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Environmental, Sustainable Behaviors and Innovation of Firms During the Financial Crisis

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  • Yunhee Kim

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the relation between sustainable and environmental behaviors and performance and innovation. Altogether, 1032 observations are divided into specific groups according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global 500 report and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for 2008 and 2009. Based on legitimation theory and stakeholder theory, we regard the voluntary activities of firms as having long‐run effective characteristics that can be applied to industry in general. The environmental behavior of firms is represented by CDP activity, while the DJSI represents their sustainable activities. Based on the assumption that corporate environmentalism is a bilateral agreement between policymakers and firms, we answer four specific research questions. (i) What is the relation between voluntary activities and performance of firms? (ii) Do firms' voluntary activities in environmental and sustainable implementations induce innovation? (iii) How does the nature of innovation depend on voluntary type of the firms? (iv) What is the link between firm characteristics and innovation according to voluntary types? From the presented empirical analysis, we find positive relations between corporate environmentalism and innovative activities. We then classify environmental and sustainable issues and propose an empirical model of the links between environmental and sustainable behaviors and innovation activities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Yunhee Kim, 2015. "Environmental, Sustainable Behaviors and Innovation of Firms During the Financial Crisis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 58-72, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:24:y:2015:i:1:p:58-72
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1811
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    4. Widodo Widodo & Mochamad Bruri Triyono & Putu Sudira & Farid Mutohhari, 2023. "Building Sustainable Creative Economy in Society through the Mediation Role of Innovation Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Ullah, Farid & Jiang, Ping & Elamer, Ahmed A. & Owusu, Andrews, 2022. "Environmental performance and corporate innovation in China: The moderating impact of firm ownership," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    6. Thi‐Hong‐Van Hoang & Wojciech Przychodzen & Justyna Przychodzen & Elysé A. Segbotangni, 2020. "Does it pay to be green? A disaggregated analysis of U.S. firms with green patents," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1331-1361, March.
    7. Hermundsdottir, Fanny & Haneberg, Dag Håkon & Aspelund, Arild, 2022. "Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on environmental innovations in manufacturing firms," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    8. Waris Ali & Jeffrey Wilson & Muhammad Husnain, 2022. "Determinants/Motivations of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in Developing Economies: A Survey of the Extant Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Tariq, Adeel & Badir, Yuosre F. & Tariq, Waqas & Bhutta, Umair Saeed, 2017. "Drivers and consequences of green product and process innovation: A systematic review, conceptual framework, and future outlook," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 8-23.
    10. Camélia Radu & Claude Francoeur, 2017. "Does Innovation Drive Environmental Disclosure? A New Insight into Sustainable Development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 893-911, November.

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