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Multinational Corporations and Emissions Trading:: Strategic Responses to New Institutional Constraints

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  • Pinkse, Jonatan
  • Kolk, Ans

Abstract

Although the Kyoto Protocol intended to implement emissions trading globally, this has so far been impossible. As a result, particularly Multinational Corporations (MNCs) currently face a wide variety of emissions trading schemes that differ in scope and enforcement, thus creating divergent levels of institutional constraints across locations. This article sheds light on the implications of these new constraints for MNCs, and also explores their responses to emissions trading schemes in terms of (perceived) opportunities to (re)shape the institution. Findings on strategic responses of Global 500 companies expose the constraints of particularly the EU emissions trading scheme, as well as the opportunities being explored or already exploited in various ways in this scheme and other emerging ones. Based on these findings the article proposes a framework that discerns four scenarios in which MNCs can find themselves: institutional conformist, institutional evader, institutional entrepreneur and institutional arbitrageur.

Suggested Citation

  • Pinkse, Jonatan & Kolk, Ans, 2007. "Multinational Corporations and Emissions Trading:: Strategic Responses to New Institutional Constraints," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 441-452, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:25:y:2007:i:6:p:441-452
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    Cited by:

    1. Boutinot, Amélie & Mangematin, Vincent, 2013. "Surfing on institutions: When temporary actors in organizational fields respond to institutional pressures," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 626-641.
    2. Michael Nippa & Sanjay Patnaik & Markus Taussig, 2021. "MNE responses to carbon pricing regulations: Theory and evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 904-929, July.
    3. Natalie Slawinski & Jonatan Pinkse & Timo Busch & Subhabrata Bobby Banerjeed, 2014. "The role of short-termism and uncertainty in organizational inaction on climate change: multilevel framework," Working Papers hal-00961226, HAL.
    4. Borghesi, Simone & Flori, Andrea, 2018. "EU ETS facets in the net: Structure and evolution of the EU ETS network," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 602-635.
    5. Javier Aguilera-Caracuel & Juan Aragón-Correa & Nuria Hurtado-Torres & Alan Rugman, 2012. "The Effects of Institutional Distance and Headquarters’ Financial Performance on the Generation of Environmental Standards in Multinational Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(4), pages 461-474, February.
    6. Schleich, Joachim & Lehmann, Sascha & Cludius, Johanna & Abrell, Jan & Betz, Regina Annette & Pinkse, Jonatan, 2020. "Active or passive? Companies' use of the EU ETS," Working Papers "Sustainability and Innovation" S07/2020, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    7. Stål, Herman I. & Bonnedahl, Karl J. & Eriksson, Jessica, 2014. "The challenge of introducing low-carbon industrial practices: Institutional entrepreneurship in the agri-food sector," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 203-215.
    8. David Littlewood & Rachel Decelis & Carola Hillenbrand & Diane Holt, 2018. "Examining the drivers and outcomes of corporate commitment to climate change action in European high emitting industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1437-1449, December.
    9. Flori, Andrea & Borghesi, Simone & Marin, Giovanni, 2024. "The environmental-financial performance nexus of EU ETS firms: A quantile regression approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    10. Venmans, Frank, 2012. "A literature-based multi-criteria evaluation of the EU ETS," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 5493-5510.
    11. Darmani, Anna, 2015. "Renewable energy investors in Sweden: A cross-subsector analysis of dynamic capabilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 46-57.
    12. Rodriguez Lopez, Juan Miguel & Sakhel, Alice & Busch, Timo, 2017. "Corporate investments and environmental regulation: The role of regulatory uncertainty, regulation-induced uncertainty, and investment history," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 91-101.
    13. Sanjay Patnaik, 2020. "Emissions permit allocation and strategic firm behavior: Evidence from the oil sector in the European Union emissions trading scheme," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 976-995, March.
    14. Ans Kolk & Jonatan Pinkse, 2012. "Multinational enterprises and climate change strategies," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-00835257, HAL.
    15. Jared Cory & Michael Lerner & Iain Osgood, 2021. "Supply Chain Linkages and the Extended Carbon Coalition," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(1), pages 69-87, January.
    16. Liu, Yang Stephanie & Zhou, Xiaoyan & Yang, Jessica Hong & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Kakabadse, Nada, 2023. "Carbon emissions, carbon disclosure and organizational performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Jon Skjærseth, 2013. "Governance by EU emissions trading: resistance or innovation in the oil industry?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 31-48, March.
    18. de Aguiar, Thereza Raquel Sales & Bebbington, Jan, 2014. "Disclosure on climate change: Analysing the UK ETS effects," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 227-240.
    19. Hyemin Park & Minkyung Lee, 2021. "Factors determining firms’ trading decision in the Korea ETS market," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(3), pages 557-580, July.
    20. Burkard Eberlein & Dirk Matten, 2009. "Business Responses to Climate Change Regulation in Canada and Germany: Lessons for MNCs from Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 241-255, March.
    21. Sarasini, Steven, 2013. "Institutional work and climate change: Corporate political action in the Swedish electricity industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 480-489.
    22. Stefan Schaltegger & Jacob Hörisch, 2017. "In Search of the Dominant Rationale in Sustainability Management: Legitimacy- or Profit-Seeking?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 259-276, October.
    23. Daoyan Guo & Hong Chen & Ruyin Long & Hui Lu & Qianyi Long, 2017. "A Co-Word Analysis of Organizational Constraints for Maintaining Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-19, October.
    24. Sanjay Patnaik, 2019. "A cross-country study of collective political strategy: Greenhouse gas regulations in the European Union," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(7), pages 1130-1155, September.
    25. Cory, Jared & Lerner, Michael & Osgood, Iain, 2021. "Supply chain linkages and the extended carbon coalition," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122459, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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