IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v157y2023ics0148296322009808.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Female CEOs and green innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Javed, Muzhar
  • Wang, Fangjun
  • Usman, Muhammad
  • Ali Gull, Ammar
  • Uz Zaman, Qamar

Abstract

This study examines the effects of female CEOs on green innovation. Drawing on contingency theory, we also investigate the moderating effect of state ownership, regional development, firm size, and industry type on the relationship between female CEOs and green innovation. Using data on Chinese non-financial companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2008 to 2016 (amounting to 9997 firm-year observations), we find reliable evidence that female CEOs are greener than their male counterparts. We find that female CEOs working in state-owned firms and firms located in more developed regions are more likely to promote green innovation than those working in non-state-owned firms and firms located in less developed regions. We also find that the positive effect of female CEOs on green innovation is more pronounced among firms that are large and belong to environmentally sensitive industries.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:157:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322009808
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113515
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322009808
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113515?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. Usman, Muhammad & Javed, Muzhar & Yin, Junming, 2020. "Board internationalization and green innovation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Wu, Wuqing & Peng, Fei & Shan, Yuan George & Jie, Xiaoxiao, 2020. "Signaling through corporate philanthropy," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    3. Chris Foster & Ken Green, 2000. "Greening the innovation process," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 287-303, September.
    4. David A. Matsa & Amalia R. Miller, 2013. "A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 136-169, July.
    5. Vincent L. Barker , III & George C. Mueller, 2002. "CEO Characteristics and Firm R&D Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 782-801, June.
    6. 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.
    7. Usman, Muhammad & Zhang, Junrui & Farooq, Muhammad Umar & Makki, Muhammad Abdul Majid & Dong, Nanyan, 2018. "Female directors and CEO power," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 44-47.
    8. Noori, Javad & Bagheri Nasrabadi, Mahdi & Yazdi, Najmoddin & Babakhan, Ali Reza, 2017. "Innovative performance of Iranian knowledge-based firms: Large firms or SMEs?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 179-185.
    9. Ammar Ali Gull & Muhammad Atif & Ayman Issa & Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Abubakkar Siddique, 2021. "Female CEO succession and audit fees: evidence from China," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 485-509, June.
    10. 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.
    11. Vitaliy Roud & Thomas Wolfgang Thurner, 2018. "The Influence of State‐Ownership on Eco‐Innovations in Russian Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1213-1227, October.
    12. Christy Glass & Alison Cook & Alicia R. Ingersoll, 2016. "Do Women Leaders Promote Sustainability? Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Governance Composition on Environmental Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 495-511, November.
    13. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1996. "Firm Size and the Nature of Innovation within Industries: The Case of Process and Product R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 232-243, May.
    14. Arijit Ghosh, 2006. "Determination of Executive Compensation in an Emerging Economy. Evidence from India," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 66-90, May.
    15. Jacques Mairesse & Pierre Mohnen, 2002. "Accounting for Innovation and Measuring Innovativeness: An Illustrative Framework and an Application," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 226-230, May.
    16. John Child, 1975. "Managerial And Organizational Factors Associated With Company Performance‐Part Ii. A Contingency Analysis," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1‐2), pages 12-27, March.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. Rainer Walz & Matthias Pfaff & Frank Marscheider-Weidemann & Simon Glöser-Chahoud, 2017. "Innovations for reaching the green sustainable development goals –where will they come from?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 449-480, July.
    20. Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Umar Farooq & Junrui Zhang & Nanyan Dong & Muhammad Abdul Majid Makki, 2019. "Women on boards and CEO pay-performance link," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 40(7), pages 1171-1200, July.
    21. Mehdi Nekhili & Ammar Ali Gull & Tawhid Chtioui & Ikram Radhouane, 2020. "Gender‐diverse boards and audit fees: What difference does gender quota legislation make?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1-2), pages 52-99, January.
    22. Afsaneh Nahavandi & Ali R. Malekzadeh, 1993. "Leader Style In Strategy And Organizational Performance: An Integrative Framework," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 405-425, May.
    23. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Peilei Fan, 2014. "Innovation In China," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 725-745, September.
    24. 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.
    25. Maretno Harjoto & Indrarini Laksmana & Robert Lee, 2015. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 641-660, December.
    26. Liu, Chelsea, 2018. "Are women greener? Corporate gender diversity and environmental violations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 118-142.
    27. Dakshina G. De Silva & Rachel A. J. Pownall, 2014. "Going green: does it depend on education, gender or income?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(5), pages 573-586, February.
    28. Baumann, Julian & Kritikos, Alexander S., 2016. "The link between R&D, innovation and productivity: Are micro firms different?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1263-1274.
    29. repec:eme:maj000:maj-09-2020-2824 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Bronwyn Hall & Francesca Lotti & Jacques Mairesse, 2009. "Innovation and productivity in SMEs: empirical evidence for Italy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 13-33, June.
    31. George Kassinis & Alexia Panayiotou & Andreas Dimou & Georgia Katsifaraki, 2016. "Gender and Environmental Sustainability: A Longitudinal Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(6), pages 399-412, November.
    32. Karen Jones & Jonathan Clifton, 2018. "Rendering sexism invisible in workplace narratives. A narrative analysis of female entrepreneurs’ stories of not being talked to by men," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 557-574, September.
    33. 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).
    34. Christophe Boone & Walter Hendriks, 2009. "Top Management Team Diversity and Firm Performance: Moderators of Functional-Background and Locus-of-Control Diversity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 165-180, February.
    35. Dayuan Li & Min Huang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Lutao Ning, 2018. "Environmental Legitimacy, Green Innovation, and Corporate Carbon Disclosure: Evidence from CDP China 100," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1089-1104, July.
    36. Yang Gao & Sang-Bing Tsai & Xingqun Xue & Tingzhen Ren & Xiaomin Du & Quan Chen & Jiangtao Wang, 2018. "An Empirical Study on Green Innovation Efficiency in the Green Institutional Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
    37. 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.
    38. Dirk Czarnitzki & Hanna Hottenrott, 2011. "R&D investment and financing constraints of small and medium-sized firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 65-83, January.
    39. James J. Cordeiro & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2020. "Board gender diversity and corporate environmental performance: The moderating role of family and dual‐class majority ownership structures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1127-1144, March.
    40. 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.
    41. Jing Lu & Irene M. Herremans, 2019. "Board gender diversity and environmental performance: An industries perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1449-1464, November.
    42. Miao, Cheng-lin & Duan, Meng-meng & Zuo, Yang & Wu, Xin-yu, 2021. "Spatial heterogeneity and evolution trend of regional green innovation efficiency--an empirical study based on panel data of industrial enterprises in China's provinces," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    43. 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.
    44. Junmin Wang & Caroline Virginia Reilly & Kaniz Fatema, 2022. "Gender Bias, Institutional Predicaments And Innovativeness Of Female Ceos In China," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 27(01), pages 1-29, March.
    45. Cohen, Wesley M., 2010. "Fifty Years of Empirical Studies of Innovative Activity and Performance," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 129-213, Elsevier.
    46. Sila, Vathunyoo & Gonzalez, Angelica & Hagendorff, Jens, 2016. "Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 26-53.
    47. 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.
    48. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.
    49. Fernando, Guy D. & Jain, Shalini Sarin & Tripathy, Arindam, 2020. "This cloud has a silver lining: Gender diversity, managerial ability, and firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 484-496.
    50. Shihping Kevin Huang, 2013. "The Impact of CEO Characteristics on Corporate Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 234-244, July.
    51. James Cordeiro & Lerong He & Martin Conyon & Tara Shaw, 2013. "Informativeness of performance measures and Chinese executive compensation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1031-1058, December.
    52. Amy J Hillman & William P Wan, 2005. "The determinants of MNE subsidiaries' political strategies: evidence of institutional duality," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 322-340, May.
    53. Henning Kroll & Kou Kou, 2019. "Innovation output and state ownership: empirical evidence from China’s listed firms," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 176-198, February.
    54. Mikko Manner, 2010. "The Impact of CEO Characteristics on Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 53-72, June.
    55. 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.
    56. Jeffrey Harrison & Joseph Coombs, 2012. "The Moderating Effects from Corporate Governance Characteristics on the Relationship Between Available Slack and Community-Based Firm Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(4), pages 409-422, June.
    57. 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.
    58. David A. Waldman & Donald S. Siegel & Mansour Javidan, 2006. "Components of CEO Transformational Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1703-1725, December.
    59. Diamantopoulos, Adamantios & Schlegelmilch, Bodo B. & Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Bohlen, Greg M., 2003. "Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(6), pages 465-480, June.
    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. Zhou, Bo & Ding, Hao, 2023. "How public attention drives corporate environmental protection: Effects and channels," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Yixuan Chen & Shanyue Jin, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Green Technology Innovation: The Moderating Role of Stakeholders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Guixiang Cao & Xintong Fang & Ying Chen & Jinghuai She, 2023. "Regional Big Data Application Capability and Firm Green Technology Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Xu, Yong & Yuan, Ling & Khalfaoui, Rabeh & Radulescu, Magdalena & Mallek, Sabrine & Zhao, Xin, 2023. "Making technological innovation greener: Does firm digital transformation work?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(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. 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.
    2. Claudio Nuber & Patrick Velte, 2021. "Board gender diversity and carbon emissions: European evidence on curvilinear relationships and critical mass," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1958-1992, May.
    3. 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.
    4. Pier Luigi Marchini & Veronica Tibiletti & Tatiana Mazza & Gianluca Gabrielli, 2022. "Gender quotas and the environment: Environmental performance and enforcement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(1), pages 256-272, January.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Response to Cyber Risk: Evidence from Cybersecurity Related Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 351-374, May.
    8. Mohamed M. Sraieb & Lasha Labadze, 2022. "A Dynamic Perspective on the Gender Diversity–Firms’ Environmental Performances Nexus: Evidence from the Energy Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, June.
    9. 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).
    10. Elisa Menicucci & Guido Paolucci, 2022. "Board Diversity and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Italian Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Nurlan Orazalin & Monowar Mahmood, 2021. "Toward sustainable development: Board characteristics, country governance quality, and environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3569-3588, December.
    12. Ayman Issa & Nasrine Bensalem, 2023. "Are gender‐diverse boards eco‐innovative? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility strategy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 742-754, March.
    13. 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).
    14. Giuliana Birindelli & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Marco Savioli, 2019. "The impact of women leaders on environmental performance: Evidence on gender diversity in banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1485-1499, November.
    15. Sara De Masi & Agnieszka Słomka‐Gołębiowska & Claudio Becagli & Andrea Paci, 2021. "Toward sustainable corporate behavior: The effect of the critical mass of female directors on environmental, social, and governance disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1865-1878, May.
    16. 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.
    17. Khine Kyaw & Sirimon Treepongkaruna & Pornsit Jiraporn, 2022. "Board gender diversity and environmental emissions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 2871-2881, November.
    18. 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.
    19. Kirsten Burkhardt & Pascal Nguyen & Evelyne Poincelot, 2020. "Agents of change: Women in top management and corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1591-1604, July.
    20. 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.

    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:jbrese:v:157:y:2023:i:c:s0148296322009808. 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/jbusres .

    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.