IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v33y2024i2p820-838.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A path towards enterprise environmental performance improvement: How does CEO green experience matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Xin Li
  • Fei Guo
  • Jiaqi Wang

Abstract

Nudging the amelioration of enterprise environmental performance is the micro‐foundation for effectively enhancing resource utilization and realizing sustainable development. Based on the upper echelons theory, the characteristics and previous experiences of managers determine their strategic choices and then affect the behavior of enterprises at the whole social layer. Nevertheless, the literature concerning the effect of CEO green experience on enterprise environmental performance is void. To bridge this gap, this paper uses the data of China's A‐share listed enterprises from 2010 to 2021 to empirically investigate the direct impact, influence mechanisms, and heterogeneities of CEO green experience on enterprise environmental performance. The study finds that CEO green experience can significantly promote the improvement of enterprise environmental performance. Based on the main effect, to exploring potential mechanisms behind the conclusion, we figure that environmental ethics commitment, environmental protection investment, and green technology innovation are the core mechanism approaches during the process of CEO green experience affects environmental performance. Heterogeneity analysis of CEO characteristics demonstrates that the green experience of female CEOs, older CEOs, and high educated CEOs both have a pronounced effect on ameliorating enterprise environmental performance. Furthermore, the positive effect of CEO green experience on environmental performance is more prominent in non‐state‐owned enterprises, heavily polluting industries, and regions with high environmental protection pressure. Besides providing an effective supplement for the research on managers and environmental performance, this paper also generates micro‐empirical support for government departments to formulate and optimize environmental policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Xin Li & Fei Guo & Jiaqi Wang, 2024. "A path towards enterprise environmental performance improvement: How does CEO green experience matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 820-838, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:2:p:820-838
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.3524
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3524
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.3524?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. Min Maung & Craig Wilson & Xiaobo Tang, 2016. "Political Connections and Industrial Pollution: Evidence Based on State Ownership and Environmental Levies in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 649-659, November.
    2. Xiaoping He & Shuo Jiang, 2019. "Does gender diversity matter for green innovation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1341-1356, November.
    3. Jeremy Galbreath, 2019. "Drivers of Green Innovations: The Impact of Export Intensity, Women Leaders, and Absorptive Capacity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 47-61, August.
    4. Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Chen, Jin & Del Giudice, Manlio & El-Kassar, Abdul-Nasser, 2019. "Environmental ethics, environmental performance, and competitive advantage: Role of environmental training," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 203-211.
    5. Yasir Shahab & Collins G. Ntim & Yugang Chen & Farid Ullah & Hai‐Xia Li & Zhiwei Ye, 2020. "Chief executive officer attributes, sustainable performance, environmental performance, and environmental reporting: New insights from upper echelons perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, January.
    6. 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.
    7. Xiaofeng Quan & Yun Ke & Yuting Qian & Yao Zhang, 2023. "CEO Foreign Experience and Green Innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 535-557, January.
    8. Jiang, Fuxiu & Zhu, Bing & Huang, Jicheng, 2013. "CEO's financial experience and earnings management," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 134-145.
    9. Hoang, Tuyen Thanh & Nguyen, Cuong Viet & Van Tran, Hoa Thi, 2019. "Are female CEOs more risk averse than male counterparts? Evidence from Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 57-74.
    10. Jing‐Lin Duanmu & Maoliang Bu & Russell Pittman, 2018. "Does market competition dampen environmental performance? Evidence from China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 3006-3030, November.
    11. Chaminda Wijethilake & Rahat Munir & Ranjith Appuhami, 2018. "Environmental Innovation Strategy and Organizational Performance: Enabling and Controlling Uses of Management Control Systems," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1139-1160, September.
    12. Michele Fabrizi & Christine Mallin & Giovanna Michelon, 2014. "The Role of CEO’s Personal Incentives in Driving Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 311-326, October.
    13. Buonocore, Elvira & Häyhä, Tiina & Paletto, Alessandro & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2014. "Assessing environmental costs and impacts of forestry activities: A multi-method approach to environmental accounting," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 271(C), pages 10-20.
    14. Son Le & Mark Kroll, 2017. "CEO international experience: Effects on strategic change and firm performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(5), pages 573-595, July.
    15. Judith L. Walls & Pascual Berrone, 2017. "The Power of One to Make a Difference: How Informal and Formal CEO Power Affect Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 293-308, October.
    16. Javed, Muzhar & Wang, Fangjun & Usman, Muhammad & Ali Gull, Ammar & Uz Zaman, Qamar, 2023. "Female CEOs and green innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    17. Charles H. Cho & Jay Heon Jung & Byungjin Kwak & Jaywon Lee & Choong-Yuel Yoo, 2017. "Professors on the Board: Do They Contribute to Society Outside the Classroom?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 393-409, March.
    18. Lori Verstegen Ryan, 2017. "Sex Differences Through a Neuroscience Lens: Implications for Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 771-782, September.
    19. 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.
    20. Swarnodeep Homroy & Aurelie Slechten, 2019. "Do Board Expertise and Networked Boards Affect Environmental Performance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 269-292, August.
    21. Liu, Menghe & Li, Yuxiao, 2022. "Environmental regulation and green innovation: Evidence from China's carbon emissions trading policy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    22. Wurlod, Jules-Daniel & Noailly, Joëlle, 2018. "The impact of green innovation on energy intensity: An empirical analysis for 14 industrial sectors in OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 47-61.
    23. Feng Zhang & Lei Zhu, 2019. "Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Stakeholder pressures, organizational learning, and green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1012-1026, September.
    24. Fang, Zhenming & Kong, Xiaoran & Sensoy, Ahmet & Cui, Xin & Cheng, Feiyang, 2021. "Government’s awareness of Environmental protection and corporate green innovation: A natural experiment from the new environmental protection law in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 294-312.
    25. Kelvin K. F. Law & Lillian F. Mills, 2017. "Military experience and corporate tax avoidance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 141-184, March.
    26. Won-Yong Oh & Young Kyun Chang & Zheng Cheng, 2016. "When CEO Career Horizon Problems Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Roles of Industry-Level Discretion and Blockholder Ownership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 279-291, January.
    27. Shan Xu & Panyi Ma, 2022. "CEOs’ Poverty Experience and Corporate Social Responsibility: Are CEOs Who Have Experienced Poverty More Generous?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 747-776, October.
    28. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten & Larsen, Birthe & Rosenbaum, Philip, 2019. "CEO education and corporate environmental footprint," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 254-273.
    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. Jing Xiao & Yan Zhou & Ping Zeng, 2024. "How does green strategy orientation promote substantive green innovation? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Wang, Xin & Gan, Yufei & Zhou, Shiqi & Wang, Xinqiao, 2024. "Digital technology adoption, absorptive capacity, CEO green experience and the quality of green innovation: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    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. Yu Wang & Yetaotao Qiu & Yi Luo, 2022. "CEO foreign experience and corporate sustainable development: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2036-2051, July.
    2. He, Na & Yang, Junjie & Ren, Jiahui, 2024. "Pollution and green innovation: Evidence from CEOs’ early-life experience," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 65-79.
    3. Zhe Zhang & Xin Wang & Ming Jia, 2021. "Echoes of CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation: How and When CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation Influences Dual CSR Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(4), pages 609-629, April.
    4. Javed, Muzhar & Wang, Fangjun & Usman, Muhammad & Ali Gull, Ammar & Uz Zaman, Qamar, 2023. "Female CEOs and green innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Li, Yu & Zhu, Yi & Tan, Weijie & Qi, Tiange & Huang, Yongjian, 2024. "Female executive and energy consumption intensity: The role of green innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Shenggang Ren & Yue Wang & Yucai Hu & Ji Yan, 2021. "CEO hometown identity and firm green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 756-774, February.
    7. Nhat Minh Tran, 2022. "CEO and Chairperson Characteristics and Corporate Environmental Performance: A Study of Cooperatives in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    8. Khwaja Naveed & Fahad Khalid & Cosmina L. Voinea & Nadine Roijakkers & Cosmin Fratostiteanu, 2023. "Board gender diversity and corporate environmental commitment: A subnational perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4970-4990, November.
    9. Shuang Meng & Pengxiang Wang & Jiajie Yu, 2022. "Going Abroad and Going Green: The Effects of Top Management Teams’ Overseas Experience on Green Innovation in the Digital Era," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.
    10. Sun, Yuan & Wen, YouYun & Jiang, Senyang & Zhang, Haoxiang, 2024. "The ripple effect of environmental shareholder activism and corporate green innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    11. Shuairan Sang & Aiguo Yan & Mahmood Ahmad, 2024. "CEO Experience and Enterprise Environment, Social and Governance Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, May.
    12. Yasir Shahab & Collins G. Ntim & Yugang Chen & Farid Ullah & Hai‐Xia Li & Zhiwei Ye, 2020. "Chief executive officer attributes, sustainable performance, environmental performance, and environmental reporting: New insights from upper echelons perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, January.
    13. Li, Shengnan & Zheng, Xinya & Liao, Jing & Niu, Jianbo, 2024. "Low-carbon city pilot policy and corporate environmental performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 1248-1266.
    14. Huang, Ruilei & Wei, Jiuchang, 2023. "Does CEOs’ green experience affect environmental corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 205-231.
    15. Yiyang Gu & Peng Wu & Lei Gao, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Does the political promotion incentive of state-owned enterprise executives facilitate green innovation?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-31, April.
    16. 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.
    17. Yang Liu & Fukang Zhang & Han Zhang, 2024. "CEO foreign experience and corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3331-3355, May.
    18. Tawiah, Vincent & Gyapong, Ernest & Usman, Muhammad, 2024. "Returnee directors and green innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    19. Yasir Shahab & Ammar Ali Gull & Asad Ali Rind & Aitzaz Ahsan Alias Sarang & Tanveer Ahsan, 2022. "Do corporate governance mechanisms curb the anti-environmental behavior of firms worldwide? An illustration through waste management," Post-Print hal-03602986, HAL.
    20. Ren, Shenggang & He, Duojun & Yan, Ji & Zeng, Huixiang & Tan, Justin, 2022. "Environmental labeling certification and corporate environmental innovation: The moderating role of corporate ownership and local government intervention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 556-571.

    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:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:2:p:820-838. 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: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    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.