IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v52y2023i2s0048733322002189.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate commitment to climate change: The effect of eco-innovation and climate governance

Author

Listed:
  • Albitar, Khaldoon
  • Al-Shaer, Habiba
  • Liu, Yang Stephanie

Abstract

Climate change represents a significant problem to the planet which raises concerns from stakeholder groups about corporate commitment to climate change issues. In this paper, we explore the effect of eco-innovation and climate governance on corporate commitment to climate change. We develop a unique measure for climate change commitment by considering four components, viz. whether a company supports the Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action, whether a company is aware that climate change can represent commercial risks or opportunities, whether a company reports Scope 3 CO2 emissions and whether a company sets a target for emission reduction. We measure eco-innovation by using a score collected from the Eikon database that reflects a company's capacity to reduce environmental costs, eco-innovation intensity measured as environmental expenditures over revenues. We also create an index computed as a composite score by totalling five eco-innovation proxies collected from the Eikon database that reflect companies' efforts to reduce environmental impact. Concerning climate governance, we focus on three proxies, namely the existence of an environmental committee, climate incentives and the existence of sustainability reports. Based on a sample of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange for the period of 2014–2020, we find that corporate eco-innovation is positively associated with climate change commitment. We argue that firms that adopt innovative approaches to efficiently control pollution and resource use and reduce their environmental impact are more committed to climate change. We also find that climate governance is positively associated with climate change commitment. We claim that companies that integrate climate change issues in governance can help address climate change risks and opportunities. Our empirical evidence provides recommendations for managers and policymakers to promote the adoption of eco-innovative technologies and integrate climate change issues in governance, which can contribute to corporate commitment to climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Albitar, Khaldoon & Al-Shaer, Habiba & Liu, Yang Stephanie, 2023. "Corporate commitment to climate change: The effect of eco-innovation and climate governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:2:s0048733322002189
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2022.104697
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733322002189
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104697?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shaker A. Zahra & Olga Petricevic & Yadong Luo, 2022. "Toward an action-based view of dynamic capabilities for international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(4), pages 583-600, June.
    2. Zaman, Rashid & Atawnah, Nader & Haseeb, Muhammad & Nadeem, Muhammad & Irfan, Saadia, 2021. "Does corporate eco-innovation affect stock price crash risk?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    3. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    4. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian & Rennings, Klaus, 2012. "Determinants of eco-innovations by type of environmental impact — The role of regulatory push/pull, technology push and market pull," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 112-122.
    5. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2012. "What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(9), pages 834-864, December.
    6. Cainelli, Giulio & D’Amato, Alessio & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2020. "Resource efficient eco-innovations for a circular economy: Evidence from EU firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    7. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    8. Borghesi, Simone & Cainelli, Giulio & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2015. "Linking emission trading to environmental innovation: Evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 669-683.
    9. Jing-Wen Huang & Yong-Hui Li, 2017. "Green Innovation and Performance: The View of Organizational Capability and Social Reciprocity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 309-324, October.
    10. Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2017. "Forms of knowledge and eco-innovation modes: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 208-221.
    11. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    12. Krieger, Bastian & Zipperer, Vera, 2022. "Does green public procurement trigger environmental innovations?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    13. Lee, Jaegul & Veloso, Francisco M. & Hounshell, David A., 2011. "Linking induced technological change, and environmental regulation: Evidence from patenting in the U.S. auto industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1240-1252.
    14. Qiu, Yan & Shaukat, Amama & Tharyan, Rajesh, 2016. "Environmental and social disclosures: Link with corporate financial performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 102-116.
    15. Costantini, Valeria & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2012. "On the green and innovative side of trade competitiveness? The impact of environmental policies and innovation on EU exports," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 132-153.
    16. Conti, C. & Mancusi, M.L. & Sanna-Randaccio, F. & Sestini, R. & Verdolini, E., 2018. "Transition towards a green economy in Europe: Innovation and knowledge integration in the renewable energy sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1996-2009.
    17. Shamima Haque & Craig Deegan, 2010. "Corporate Climate Change-Related Governance Practices and Related Disclosures: Evidence from Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 20(4), pages 317-333, December.
    18. Kemp, René & Pontoglio, Serena, 2011. "The innovation effects of environmental policy instruments — A typical case of the blind men and the elephant?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 28-36.
    19. Rjiba, Hatem & Jahmane, Abderrahman & Abid, Ilyes, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and firm value: Guiding through economic policy uncertainty," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    20. Caroline Flammer & Bryan Hong & Dylan Minor, 2019. "Corporate governance and the rise of integrating corporate social responsibility criteria in executive compensation: Effectiveness and implications for firm outcomes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(7), pages 1097-1122, July.
    21. Raphael Amit & Paul J. H. Schoemaker, 1993. "Abstract," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 33-46, January.
    22. David Talbot & Olivier Boiral, 2018. "GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 367-383, January.
    23. Madhu Khanna & George Deltas & Donna Harrington, 2009. "Adoption of Pollution Prevention Techniques: The Role of Management Systems and Regulatory Pressures," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 44(1), pages 85-106, September.
    24. Florence Depoers & Thomas Jeanjean & Tiphaine Jérôme, 2016. "Voluntary Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Contrasting the Carbon Disclosure Project and Corporate Reports," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 445-461, March.
    25. Bui, Binh & Houqe, Muhammad Nurul & Zaman, Mahbub, 2020. "Climate governance effects on carbon disclosure and performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    26. Muhammad Nadeem & Stephen Bahadar & Ammar Ali Gull & Umer Iqbal, 2020. "Are women eco‐friendly? Board gender diversity and environmental innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3146-3161, December.
    27. Fabrizi, Andrea & Guarini, Giulio & Meliciani, Valentina, 2018. "Green patents, regulatory policies and research network policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 1018-1031.
    28. Shamima Haque & Craig Deegan & Robert Inglis, 2016. "Demand for, and impediments to, the disclosure of information about climate change-related corporate governance practices," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(6), pages 620-664, September.
    29. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    30. Martin L. Weitzman, 2007. "A Review of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 703-724, September.
    31. Requate, Till, 2005. "Dynamic incentives by environmental policy instruments--a survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2-3), pages 175-195, August.
    32. Afrifa, Godfred Adjapong & Tingbani, Ishmael & Yamoah, Fred & Appiah, Gloria, 2020. "Innovation input, governance and climate change: Evidence from emerging countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    33. Ans Kolk & David Levy & Jonatan Pinkse, 2008. "Corporate Responses in an Emerging Climate Regime: The Institutionalization and Commensuration of Carbon Disclosure," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 719-745.
    34. Martin L. Weitzman, 1974. "Prices vs. Quantities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 41(4), pages 477-491.
    35. Walid Ben-Amar & Millicent Chang & Philip McIlkenny, 2017. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Sustainability Initiatives: Evidence from the Carbon Disclosure Project," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 369-383, May.
    36. Haque, Faizul, 2017. "The effects of board characteristics and sustainable compensation policy on carbon performance of UK firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 347-364.
    37. Hainmueller, Jens & Xu, Yiqing, 2013. "ebalance: A Stata Package for Entropy Balancing," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 54(i07).
    38. Yu-Shan Chen & Shyh-Bao Lai & Chao-Tung Wen, 2006. "The Influence of Green Innovation Performance on Corporate Advantage in Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 331-339, September.
    39. Laura Schons & Maria Steinmeier, 2016. "Walk the Talk? How Symbolic and Substantive CSR Actions Affect Firm Performance Depending on Stakeholder Proximity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 358-372, November.
    40. Walid Ben‐Amar & Philip McIlkenny, 2015. "Board Effectiveness and the Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Information," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 704-719, December.
    41. Antonioli, Davide & Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2013. "Is environmental innovation embedded within high-performance organisational changes? The role of human resource management and complementarity in green business strategies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 975-988.
    42. Faizul Haque & Collins G Ntim, 2018. "Environmental Policy, Sustainable Development, Governance Mechanisms and Environmental Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 415-435, March.
    43. Florence Depoers & Thomas Jeanjean & Tiphaine Jerome, 2016. "Voluntary Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Contrasting the Carbon Disclosure Project and Corporate Reports," Post-Print hal-01735774, HAL.
    44. Rennings, Klaus, 1998. "Towards a Theory and Policy of Eco-Innovation - Neoclassical and (Co-)Evolutionary Perspectives," ZEW Discussion Papers 98-24, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    45. Samuel Wicki & Erik G. Hansen, 2019. "Green technology innovation: Anatomy of exploration processes from a learning perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 970-988, September.
    46. Campbell, Katherine & Johnston, Derek & Sefcik, Stephan E. & Soderstrom, Naomi S., 2007. "Executive compensation and non-financial risk: An empirical examination," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 436-462.
    47. Ching-Hsun Chang, 2011. "The Influence of Corporate Environmental Ethics on Competitive Advantage: The Mediation Role of Green Innovation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(3), pages 361-370, December.
    48. Samuel Tang & David Demeritt, 2018. "Climate Change and Mandatory Carbon Reporting: Impacts on Business Process and Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 437-455, May.
    49. Silvia Romero & Silvia Ruiz & Belen Fernandez‐Feijoo, 2019. "Sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement in Spain: Different instruments, different quality," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 221-232, January.
    50. Ester Martínez‐Ros & Rasi Kunapatarawong, 2019. "Green innovation and knowledge: The role of size," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1045-1059, September.
    51. Janice Hollindale & Pamela Kent & James Routledge & Larelle Chapple, 2019. "Women on boards and greenhouse gas emission disclosures," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(1), pages 277-308, March.
    52. Abdelzaher, Dina M. & Martynov, Aleksey & Abdel Zaher, Angie M., 2020. "Vulnerability to climate change: Are innovative countries in a better position?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    53. Henry He Huang & Joseph Kerstein & Chong Wang, 2018. "The impact of climate risk on firm performance and financing choices: An international comparison," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(5), pages 633-656, July.
    54. Baoshan Ge & Yibing Yang & Dake Jiang & Yang Gao & Xiaomin Du & Tingting Zhou, 2018. "An Empirical Study on Green Innovation Strategy and Sustainable Competitive Advantages: Path and Boundary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    55. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    56. Horbach, Jens, 2008. "Determinants of environmental innovation--New evidence from German panel data sources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 163-173, February.
    57. Kesidou, Effie & Demirel, Pelin, 2012. "On the drivers of eco-innovations: Empirical evidence from the UK," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 862-870.
    58. Du, Kerui & Li, Pengzhen & Yan, Zheming, 2019. "Do green technology innovations contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction? Empirical evidence from patent data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 297-303.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sakariyahu, Rilwan & Lawal, Rodiat & Etudaiye-Muhtar, Oyebola Fatima & Ajide, Folorunsho Monsuru, 2023. "Reflections on COP27: How do technological innovations and economic freedom affect environmental quality in Africa?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    2. Nosheen Fatma & Abid Haleem, 2023. "Exploring the Nexus of Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Review and Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Oscar Castillo & Roberto Álvarez, 2023. "Electrification of Last-Mile Delivery: A Fleet Management Approach with a Sustainability Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-30, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davide Antonioli & Grazia Cecere & Massimiliano Mazzanti, 2018. "Information communication technologies and environmental innovations in firms: joint adoptions and productivity effects," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(11), pages 1905-1933, September.
    2. Jana Hojnik, 2017. "In Pursuit of Eco-innovation," UPP Monograph Series, University of Primorska Press, number 978-961-7023-53-4.
    3. Pinget, Amandine, 2016. "Spécificités des déterminants des innovations environnementales : une approche appliquée aux PME [Specificities of determinants for environmental innovation : an approach applied to SMEs]," MPRA Paper 80108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. 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.
    5. Borghesi, Simone & Cainelli, Giulio & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2015. "Linking emission trading to environmental innovation: Evidence from the Italian manufacturing industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 669-683.
    6. Antonella Biscione & Raul Caruso & Annunziata de Felice, 2021. "Environmental innovation in European transition countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 521-535, January.
    7. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    8. Ren, Shenggang & Hu, Yucai & Zheng, Jingjing & Wang, Yangjie, 2020. "Emissions trading and firm innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Patricia Laurens & Christian Le Bas & Stéphane Lhuillery & Antoine Schoen, 2017. "The determinants of cleaner energy innovations of the world’s largest firms: the impact of firm learning and knowledge capital," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 311-333, May.
    10. Nicolò Barbieri & Claudia Ghisetti & Marianna Gilli & Giovanni Marin & Francesco Nicolli, 2016. "A Survey Of The Literature On Environmental Innovation Based On Main Path Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 596-623, July.
    11. Ying Guo, 2023. "External Knowledge Acquisition and Green Innovation in Chinese Firms: Unveiling the Impact of Green Dynamic Capabilities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    12. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Giovanni Marin & Susanna Mancinelli & Francesco Nicolli, 2015. "Carbon dioxide reducing environmental innovations, sector upstream/downstream integration and policy: evidence from the EU," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(4), pages 709-735, November.
    13. Valeria Costantini & Francesco Crespi & Alessandro Palma, 2015. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation in energy-efficient technologies," SEEDS Working Papers 1115, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jun 2015.
    14. Donis, Silvia & Gómez, Jaime & Salazar, Idana, 2023. "Economic complexity, property rights and the judicial system as drivers of eco-innovations: An analysis of OECD countries," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    15. Giovanni Ferri & Marco Pini, 2019. "Environmental vs. Social Responsibility in the Firm. Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Ghisetti,Claudia & Marzucchi,Alberto & Montresor,Sandro, 2013. "Does external knowledge affect environmental innovations? An empirical investigation of eleven European countries," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201301, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 23 May 2013.
    17. Ghisetti, Claudia & Pontoni, Federico, 2015. "Investigating policy and R&D effects on environmental innovation: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 57-66.
    18. Antonioli, Davide & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2017. "Towards a green economy through innovations: The role of trade union involvement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 286-299.
    19. Linda Kusumaning Wedari & Amir Moradi‐Motlagh & Christine Jubb, 2023. "The moderating effect of innovation on the relationship between environmental and financial performance: Evidence from high emitters in Australia," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 654-672, January.
    20. Eduardo Duque‐Grisales & Javier Aguilera‐Caracuel & Jaime Guerrero‐Villegas & Encarnación García‐Sánchez, 2020. "Does green innovation affect the financial performance of Multilatinas? The moderating role of ISO 14001 and R&D investment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3286-3302, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change commitment; Eco-innovation; Climate governance; Resource-based view;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:2:s0048733322002189. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.