IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v27y2020i5p2161-2175.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The search for alignment of board gender diversity, the adoption of environmental management systems, and the association with firm performance in Asian firms

Author

Listed:
  • Saif Rehman
  • René Orij
  • Hashim Khan

Abstract

This study examines how board gender diversity can address the challenges to adopt environment management systems (EMS) to improve firm performance. Firstly, drawing on gender socialization and diversity theories, higher board gender diversity motivates firms to adopt EMS. Empirical evidence shows that firms with gender diverse boards are greener. Secondly, the study investigates the maxim that green pays to be green. The empirical findings highlight a positive and statistically significant but economically modest link between EMS and firm financial performance. However, the inclusion of board gender diversity as moderator significantly improves the relationship between EMS and firm performance. In addition, CEO gender is linked to better performance only in firms with low female board diversity. The findings strongly recommend higher board gender diversity as a mechanism to address the challenges of EMS and firm performance simultaneously. The findings are robust to controlling for propensity score matching technique and are different in different approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Saif Rehman & René Orij & Hashim Khan, 2020. "The search for alignment of board gender diversity, the adoption of environmental management systems, and the association with firm performance in Asian firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2161-2175, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:5:p:2161-2175
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1955
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1955
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1955?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shqipe Gërguri-Rashiti & Veland Ramadani & Hyrije Abazi-Alili & Léo-Paul Dana & Vanessa Ratten, 2017. "ICT, Innovation and Firm Performance: The Transition Economies Context," Post-Print hal-02008550, HAL.
    2. Ming Jia & Zhe Zhang, 2013. "Critical Mass of Women on BODs, Multiple Identities, and Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response: Evidence from Privately Owned Chinese Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 303-317, December.
    3. Huang, Guihai & Song, Frank M., 2006. "The determinants of capital structure: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-36.
    4. Gunnar Friede & Timo Busch & Alexander Bassen, 2015. "ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(4), pages 210-233, October.
    5. Steffen Andersen & Seda Ertac & Uri Gneezy & John A. List & Sandra Maximiano, 2013. "Gender, Competitiveness, and Socialization at a Young Age: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1438-1443, October.
    6. Levi, Maurice & Li, Kai & Zhang, Feng, 2014. "Director gender and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 185-200.
    7. Daehyun Kim & Laura T. Starks, 2016. "Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards: Do Women Contribute Unique Skills?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 267-271, May.
    8. Amery Wu & Bruno Zumbo, 2008. "Understanding and Using Mediators and Moderators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 87(3), pages 367-392, July.
    9. Kristel Buysse & Alain Verbeke, 2003. "Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 453-470, May.
    10. Dwyer, Sean & Richard, Orlando C. & Chadwick, Ken, 2003. "Gender diversity in management and firm performance: the influence of growth orientation and organizational culture," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(12), pages 1009-1019, December.
    11. Mohamed H. Elmagrhi & Collins G. Ntim & Ahmed A. Elamer & Qingjing Zhang, 2019. "A study of environmental policies and regulations, governance structures, and environmental performance: The role of female directors," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 206-220, January.
    12. Muhammad Ali & Yin Ng & Carol Kulik, 2014. "Board Age and Gender Diversity: A Test of Competing Linear and Curvilinear Predictions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 497-512, December.
    13. Renée B. Adams & Patricia Funk, 2012. "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Does Gender Matter?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 219-235, February.
    14. Taiwen Feng & Dan Wang, 2016. "The Influence of Environmental Management Systems on Financial Performance: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 265-278, May.
    15. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Scapin, Mariano, 2017. "The monitoring role of female directors over accounting quality," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 651-668.
    16. Siri Terjesen & Val Singh, 2008. "Female Presence on Corporate Boards: A Multi-Country Study of Environmental Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(1), pages 55-63, November.
    17. M. Nihat Solakoglu, 2013. "The role of gender diversity on firm performance: a regression quantile approach," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(17), pages 1562-1566, November.
    18. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    19. Jasmin Joecks & Kerstin Pull & Karin Vetter, 2013. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Performance: What Exactly Constitutes a “Critical Mass?”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 61-72, November.
    20. Claude Francoeur & Réal Labelle & Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, 2008. "Gender Diversity in Corporate Governance and Top Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(1), pages 83-95, August.
    21. Mariateresa Torchia & Andrea Calabrò & Morten Huse, 2011. "Women Directors on Corporate Boards: From Tokenism to Critical Mass," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 299-317, August.
    22. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    23. Schweizer, Roger, 2012. "The internationalization process of SMEs: A muddling-through process," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 745-751.
    24. Erynne E. Landry & Richard A. Bernardi & Susan M. Bosco, 2016. "Recognition for Sustained Corporate Social Responsibility: Female Directors Make a Difference," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 27-36, January.
    25. Matthew Potoski & Aseem Prakash, 2005. "Covenants with weak swords: ISO 14001 and facilities' environmental performance," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 745-769.
    26. Judith L. Walls & Pascual Berrone & Phillip H. Phan, 2012. "Corporate governance and environmental performance: is there really a link?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 885-913, August.
    27. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    28. Sarah Williams & Anja Schaefer, 2013. "Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises and Sustainability: Managers' Values and Engagement with Environmental and Climate Change Issues," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 173-186, March.
    29. Carl J. Kock & Juan Santaló & Luis Diestre, 2012. "Corporate Governance and the Environment: What Type of Governance Creates Greener Companies?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 492-514, May.
    30. Kevin Campbell & Antonio Minguez Vera, 2010. "Female board appointments and firm valuation: short and long-term effects," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 14(1), pages 37-59, February.
    31. José M. Agudo‐Valiente & Concepción Garcés‐Ayerbe & Manuel Salvador‐Figueras, 2015. "Corporate Social Performance and Stakeholder Dialogue Management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 13-31, January.
    32. Zuobao Wei & Oscar Varela & Juliet D'Souza & M. Kabir Hassan, 2003. "The Financial and Operating Performance of China's Newly Privatized Firms," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 32(2), Summer.
    33. Andrew King & Michael Lenox, 2002. "Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 289-299, February.
    34. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    35. Pablo Muñoz & Boyd Cohen, 2018. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research: Taking Stock and looking ahead," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 300-322, March.
    36. Jurkus, Anthony F. & Park, Jung Chul & Woodard, Lorraine S., 2011. "Women in top management and agency costs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 180-186, February.
    37. Khan, Walayet A. & Vieito, João Paulo, 2013. "Ceo gender and firm performance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 55-66.
    38. William Q. Judge & Thomas J. Douglas, 1998. "Performance Implications of Incorporating Natural Environmental Issues into the Strategic Planning Process: An Empirical Assessment," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 241-262, March.
    39. Liu, Chelsea, 2018. "Are women greener? Corporate gender diversity and environmental violations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 118-142.
    40. Shimin Chen & Xu Ni & Jamie Y. Tong, 2016. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Risk Management: A Case of R&D Investment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 599-621, July.
    41. Qi Guoyou & Zeng Saixing & Tam Chiming & Yin Haitao & Zou Hailiang, 2013. "Stakeholders' Influences on Corporate Green Innovation Strategy: A Case Study of Manufacturing Firms in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    42. Andreas Ziegler & Michael Schröder & Klaus Rennings, 2008. "The Effect of Environmental and Social Performance on the Stock Performance of European Corporations," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 40(4), pages 609-609, August.
    43. 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.
    44. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    45. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang, 2013. "The Determinants of Green Product Development Performance: Green Dynamic Capabilities, Green Transformational Leadership, and Green Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 107-119, August.
    46. Elizabeth L Rose & Kiyohiko Ito, 2008. "Competitive interactions: the international investment patterns of Japanese automobile manufacturers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 864-879, July.
    47. Nuria Reguera-Alvarado & Pilar Fuentes & Joaquina Laffarga, 2017. "Does Board Gender Diversity Influence Financial Performance? Evidence from Spain," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 337-350, March.
    48. Estélyi, Kristína Sághy & Nisar, Tahir M., 2016. "Diverse boards: Why do firms get foreign nationals on their boards?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 174-192.
    49. Niclas L. Erhardt & James D. Werbel & Charles B. Shrader, 2003. "Board of Director Diversity and Firm Financial Performance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 102-111, April.
    50. Scott Victor Valentine, 2010. "The Green Onion: a corporate environmental strategy framework," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(5), pages 284-298, September.
    51. Huang, Jiekun & Kisgen, Darren J., 2013. "Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 822-839.
    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. Khwaja Naveed & Fahad Khalid & Cosmina Lelia Voinea, 2023. "Board gender diversity and corporate green innovation: An industry‐level institutional perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 755-772, March.
    2. Mariasole Bannò & Emilia Filippi & Sandro Trento, 2023. "Women in top echelon positions and their effects on sustainability: a review, synthesis and future research agenda," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 181-251, March.
    3. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Valentina Minutiello & Patrizia Tettamanzi, 2022. "Gender disclosure: The impact of peer behaviour and the firm's equality policies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 385-405, March.
    4. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2023. "Leadership in heels: Women on boards and sustainability in times of COVID‐19," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1987-2010, July.
    5. René P. Orij & Saif Rehman & Hashim Khan & Faisal Khan, 2021. "Is CSR the new competitive environment for CEOs? The association between CEO turnover, corporate social responsibility and board gender diversity: Asian evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 731-747, March.
    6. Peggy M. L. Ng & Tai Ming Wut & Kam Kong Lit & Cherry T. Y. Cheung, 2022. "Drivers of corporate social responsibility and firm performance for sustainable development—An institutional theory approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 871-886, July.
    7. Ying Zhang & Yuting Guo & Aiman Nurdazym, 2023. "How do female CEOs affect corporate environmental policies?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 459-472, January.
    8. Khine Kyaw & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn & Chaiyuth Padungsaksawasdi, 2022. "Does board gender diversity improve the welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 200-210, January.

    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. Liu, Chelsea, 2018. "Are women greener? Corporate gender diversity and environmental violations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 118-142.
    2. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Kara, Alper & Nanteza, Aziidah & Ozkan, Aydin & Yildiz, Yilmaz, 2022. "Board gender diversity and responsible banking during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Hannu Schadewitz & Jonas Spohr, 2022. "Gender diverse boards and goodwill changes: association between accounting conservatism, gender and governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(3), pages 757-779, September.
    5. Liu, Chelsea, 2021. "CEO gender and employee relations: Evidence from labor lawsuits," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Atif, Muhammad & Hossain, Mohammed & Alam, Md Samsul & Goergen, Marc, 2021. "Does board gender diversity affect renewable energy consumption?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Gull, Ammar Ali & Atif, Muhammad & Hussain, Nazim, 2023. "Board gender composition and waste management: Cross-country evidence," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    8. Laura Cabeza-García & Esther B. Brío & Carlos Rueda, 2021. "The moderating effect of innovation on the gender and performance relationship in the outset of the gender revolution," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 755-778, April.
    9. Rakesh Pandey & Pallab Kumar Biswas & Muhammad Jahangir Ali & Mansi Mansi, 2020. "Female directors on the board and cost of debt: evidence from Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 4031-4060, December.
    10. Muhammad Nadeem & Ernest Gyapong & Ammad Ahmed, 2020. "Board gender diversity and environmental, social, and economic value creation: Does family ownership matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1268-1284, March.
    11. Saeed, Abubakr & Riaz, Hammad & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Rajwani, Tazeeb, 2022. "The impact of TMT gender diversity on corporate environmental strategy in emerging economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 536-551.
    12. Ayman Issa & Mohammad A. A. Zaid & Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha, 2022. "Exploring the relationship between female director's profile and sustainability performance: Evidence from the Middle East," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1980-2002, September.
    13. Lucas, Ryley & Gunasekarage, Abeyratna & Shams, Syed & Edirisuriya, Piyadasa, 2021. "Female directors and acquisitions: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Gambacorta, Leonardo & Pancotto, Livia & Reghezza, Alessio & Spaggiari, Martina, 2022. "Gender diversity in bank boardrooms and green lending: Evidence from euro area credit register data," CEPR Discussion Papers 17650, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Ding, Rong & Duan, Tinghua & Hou, Wenxuan & Liu, Xianda & Xu, Ziwei, 2022. "Do women drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from gender diversity reforms around the world," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Pallab Kumar Biswas & Larelle Chapple & Helen Roberts & Kevin Stainback, 2023. "Board Gender Diversity and Women in Senior Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 177-198, January.
    17. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2021. "Trends in the dynamic evolution of board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 537-554, March.
    18. Jun Xie & Wataru Nozawa & Shunsuke Managi, 2020. "The role of women on boards in corporate environmental strategy and financial performance: A global outlook," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2044-2059, September.
    19. Harakeh, Mostafa & Leventis, Stergios & El Masri, Tarek & Tsileponis, Nikolaos, 2023. "The moderating role of board gender diversity on the relationship between firm opacity and stock returns," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    20. Paul B. McGuinness & João Paulo Vieito & Mingzhu Wang, 2020. "Proactive government intervention, board gender balance, and stakeholder engagement in China and Europe," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 719-762, September.

    More about this item

    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:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:5:p:2161-2175. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.