IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v228y2024ics0167268124003913.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability in the wake of crisis: Transforming climate change-induced disasters into drivers of renewable energy innovation in business

Author

Listed:
  • Rastegar, Hiva
  • Sajjad, Aymen
  • Eweje, Gabriel
  • Kobayashi, Kazunori

Abstract

This study examines how climate change-induced disasters affect renewable energy innovation in United States-based firms. To this end, we utilized the behavioral theory of the firm and the threat rigidity model to investigate strategic decision-making in the context of environmental crises. We employed a difference-in-differences approach combined with meta-analysis. Further, we analyzed data from 2013 to 2018 and found a significant increase in renewable energy innovation following climatological disasters, marked by an effect size of 0.74. However, firms exceeding their aspiration levels exhibit a smaller impact, reducing the effect on renewable energy innovation by 0.273 units. Additionally, firms with a frequent history of climatological disasters showed a decrease in renewable energy innovation, with an effect size of -0.349. Our research contributes to green innovation literature, particularly to renewable energy innovation discourse under climate challenges. It extends the behavioral theory of the firm to contexts of climatic uncertainty and applies the threat rigidity model to determine organizational adaptation. The study introduces a novel moderator: the firm's history of natural disasters, linking firm age with disaster frequency and severity. These insights are vital for enhancing strategic decision-making in the business and policy-making contexts, amidst the growing climate change challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Rastegar, Hiva & Sajjad, Aymen & Eweje, Gabriel & Kobayashi, Kazunori, 2024. "Sustainability in the wake of crisis: Transforming climate change-induced disasters into drivers of renewable energy innovation in business," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0167268124003913
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106777
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268124003913
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106777?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. Symeou, Pavlos C. & Zyglidopoulos, Stelios & Gardberg, Naomi A., 2019. "Corporate environmental performance: Revisiting the role of organizational slack," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 169-182.
    2. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2013. "Regression Analysis of Count Data," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107667273, Enero.
    3. Nesta, Lionel & Vona, Francesco & Nicolli, Francesco, 2014. "Environmental policies, competition and innovation in renewable energy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 396-411.
    4. 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).
    5. Wiklund, Johan & Baker, Ted & Shepherd, Dean, 2010. "The age-effect of financial indicators as buffers against the liability of newness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 423-437, July.
    6. Jennifer Oetzel & Chang Hoon Oh, 2021. "A storm is brewing: Antecedents of disaster preparation in risk prone locations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(8), pages 1545-1570, August.
    7. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & David Popp, 2010. "Renewable Energy Policies and Technological Innovation: Evidence Based on Patent Counts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 45(1), pages 133-155, January.
    8. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten, 2016. "Corporate governance and green innovation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-72.
    9. Franco Fiordelisi & Giuseppe Galloppo & Viktoriia Paimanova, 2023. "Climate change shocks and socially responsible investments," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 40-56, January.
    10. Dang, Tri Vi & Xu, Zhaoxia, 2018. "Market Sentiment and Innovation Activities," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 1135-1161, June.
    11. Stephen J. Smulowitz & Horacio E. Rousseau & Philip Bromiley, 2020. "The behavioral theory of the (community‐oriented) firm: The differing response of community‐oriented firms to performance relative to aspirations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 1023-1053, June.
    12. Agüero, Jorge M., 2021. "COVID-19 and the rise of intimate partner violence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. Sinha, Avik & Tiwari, Sunil & Saha, Tanaya, 2024. "Modeling the behavior of renewable energy market: Understanding the moderation of climate risk factors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Steffen, Bjarne, 2020. "Estimating the cost of capital for renewable energy projects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Jennifer M. Oetzel & Chang Hoon Oh, 2014. "Learning to Carry the Cat by the Tail: Firm Experience, Disasters, and Multinational Subsidiary Entry and Expansion," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 732-756, June.
    16. Faff, Robert & Kwok, Wing Chun & Podolski, Edward J. & Wong, George, 2016. "Do corporate policies follow a life-cycle?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 95-107.
    17. Alex Imas, 2016. "The Realization Effect: Risk-Taking after Realized versus Paper Losses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(8), pages 2086-2109, August.
    18. Christopher John Boudreaux & Anand Jha & Monica Escaleras, 2022. "Weathering the Storm: How Foreign Aid and Institutions Affect Entrepreneurship Activity Following Natural Disasters," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(6), pages 1843-1868, November.
    19. Kunapatarawong, Rasi & Martínez-Ros, Ester, 2016. "Towards green growth: How does green innovation affect employment?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1218-1232.
    20. Irene Monasterolo, 2020. "Climate Change and the Financial System," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 299-320, October.
    21. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    22. Hyunju Shin & Alexander E. Ellinger & Helenka Hopkins Nolan & Tyler D. DeCoster & Forrest Lane, 2018. "An Assessment of the Association Between Renewable Energy Utilization and Firm Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1121-1138, September.
    23. Smirnova, Olga & Strumsky, Deborah & Qualls, Ashley C., 2021. "Do federal regulations beget innovation? Legislative policy and the role of executive orders," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    24. Fabrizi, Andrea & Guarini, Giulio & Meliciani, Valentina, 2018. "Green patents, regulatory policies and research network policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 1018-1031.
    25. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 1999. "Distribution-free estimation of some nonlinear panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 77-97, May.
    26. Roper, Stephen & Tapinos, Efstathios, 2016. "Taking risks in the face of uncertainty: An exploratory analysis of green innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 357-363.
    27. Meyer, Bruce D, 1995. "Natural and Quasi-experiments in Economics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 151-161, April.
    28. Ariel R. Belasen & Solomon W. Polachek, 2009. "How Disasters Affect Local Labor Markets: The Effects of Hurricanes in Florida," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    29. Lant, Theresa & Shapira, Zur, 2008. "Managerial reasoning about aspirations and expectations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 60-73, April.
    30. Josh Lerner & Amit Seru, 2022. "The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(6), pages 2667-2704.
    31. Serhan Cevik & Fedor Miryugin, 2023. "Rogue Waves: Climate Change and Firm Performance," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(1), pages 29-59, March.
    32. Brunnermeier, Smita B. & Cohen, Mark A., 2003. "Determinants of environmental innovation in US manufacturing industries," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 278-293, March.
    33. Dogan, Eyup & Sebri, Maamar & Turkekul, Berna, 2016. "Exploring the relationship between agricultural electricity consumption and output: New evidence from Turkish regional data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 370-377.
    34. Dante I. Leyva-de la Hiz & Vera Ferron-Vilchez & J. Alberto Aragon-Correa, 2019. "Do Firms’ Slack Resources Influence the Relationship Between Focused Environmental Innovations and Financial Performance? More is Not Always Better," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1215-1227, November.
    35. Marshall, Ben R. & Nguyen, Hung T. & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Visaltanachoti, Nuttawat & Young, Martin, 2021. "Do climate risks matter for green investment?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    36. Nesta, Lionel & Vona, Francesco & Nicolli, Francesco, 2014. "Environmental policies, competition and innovation in renewable energy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 396-411.
    37. Wei‐Ru Chen & Kent D. Miller, 2007. "Situational and institutional determinants of firms' R&D search intensity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 369-381, April.
    38. Noailly, Joëlle & Smeets, Roger, 2015. "Directing technical change from fossil-fuel to renewable energy innovation: An application using firm-level patent data," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 15-37.
    39. Sarfraz Hussain & Van Chien Nguyen & Quang Minh Nguyen & Huu Tinh Nguyen & Thu Thuy Nguyen, 2021. "Macroeconomic factors, working capital management, and firm performance—A static and dynamic panel analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, December.
    40. Dunz, Nepomuk & Naqvi, Asjad & Monasterolo, Irene, 2021. "Climate sentiments, transition risk, and financial stability in a stock-flow consistent model," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    41. Yan Ma & Gen‐Fu Feng & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2024. "From traditional innovation to green innovation: How an occurrence of natural disasters influences sustainable development?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2779-2796, June.
    42. Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2009. "With greater power comes greater responsibility? takeover protection and corporate attention to stakeholders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 261-285, March.
    43. Murad A Mithani, 2017. "Liability of foreignness, natural disasters, and corporate philanthropy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(8), pages 941-963, October.
    44. C Annique Un, 2016. "The liability of localness in innovation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(1), pages 44-67, January.
    45. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    46. Perruchas, François & Consoli, Davide & Barbieri, Nicolò, 2020. "Specialisation, diversification and the ladder of green technology development," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    47. Xingshuai Wang & Ehsan Elahi & Lianggui Zhang, 2022. "Mandatory Environmental Regulation and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-13, October.
    48. Bölük, Gülden & Mert, Mehmet, 2014. "Fossil & renewable energy consumption, GHGs (greenhouse gases) and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of EU (European Union) countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 439-446.
    49. Jong-Wan Bae & Sang-Joon Kim, 2022. "How Do Active Firms Implementing Corporate Environmental Responsibility Take Technological Approaches to Environmental Issues? A Resource-Allocation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    50. Yang, Na & Zhang, Yuan & Yu, Lu & Wang, Jue & Liu, Xiaming, 2022. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions, regional cultural diversity and acquirers’ corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 565-578.
    51. Wagner, Marcus, 2011. "Corporate performance implications of extended stakeholder management: New insights on mediation and moderation effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 942-950, March.
    52. Ahsan Habib & Mostafa Monzur Hasan, 2017. "Firm life cycle, corporate risk-taking and investor sentiment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 465-497, June.
    53. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation: A patent analysis of energy-efficient technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 799-819.
    54. T.K. Das & Bing‐Sheng Teng, 1999. "Cognitive Biases and Strategic Decision Processes: An Integrative Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 757-778, November.
    55. 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.
    56. Xu, Bin & Lin, Boqiang, 2018. "Assessing the development of China's new energy industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 116-131.
    57. Lindman, Åsa & Söderholm, Patrik, 2016. "Wind energy and green economy in Europe: Measuring policy-induced innovation using patent data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1351-1359.
    58. Zhou, P. & Wen, Wen, 2020. "Carbon-constrained firm decisions: From business strategies to operations modeling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 281(1), pages 1-15.
    59. Truong, Chi & Trück, Stefan & Mathew, Supriya, 2018. "Managing risks from climate impacted hazards – The value of investment flexibility under uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 269(1), pages 132-145.
    60. Kim, Jeayoon & Park, Kwangwoo, 2016. "Financial development and deployment of renewable energy technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 238-250.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Zhao, Ge & Zhou, P. & Wen, Wen, 2021. "Feed-in tariffs, knowledge stocks and renewable energy technology innovation: The role of local government intervention," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    2. Dong, Hanmin & Zhang, Lin & Zheng, Huanhuan, 2024. "Green bonds: Fueling green innovation or just a fad?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    3. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    4. Filiou, Despoina & Kesidou, Effie & Wu, Lichao, 2023. "Are smart cities green? The role of environmental and digital policies for Eco-innovation in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Lazkano, Itziar & Nøstbakken, Linda & Pelli, Martino, 2017. "From fossil fuels to renewables: The role of electricity storage," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 113-129.
    6. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Antonio Musolesi, 2020. "Modeling Green Knowledge Production and Environmental Policies with Semiparametric Panel Data Regression models," SEEDS Working Papers 1420, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Sep 2020.
    7. Wang, Ying & Li, Mingsheng, 2022. "Credit policy and its heterogeneous effects on green innovations," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    8. Kristoffer Palage & Robert Lundmark & Patrik Söderholm, 2019. "The innovation effects of renewable energy policies and their interaction: the case of solar photovoltaics," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 21(2), pages 217-254, April.
    9. He, Zhengxia & Cao, Changshuai & Kuai, Leyi & Zhou, Yanqing & Wang, Jianming, 2022. "Impact of policies on wind power innovation at different income levels: Regional differences in China based on dynamic panel estimation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    10. Barbieri, Nicolò & Marzucchi, Alberto & Rizzo, Ugo, 2023. "Green technologies, interdependencies, and policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    11. Morteza Akbari & Hamid Padash & Zahra Shahabaldini Parizi & Haniye Rezaei & Elmira Shahriari & Ala Khosravani, 2022. "A bibliometric review of green innovation research: identifying knowledge domain and network," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 3993-4023, December.
    12. Elliott, Robert J.R. & Kuai, Wenjing & Maddison, David & Ozgen, Ceren, 2024. "Eco-innovation and (green) employment: A task-based approach to measuring the composition of work in firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Samant, Shantala & Thakur-Wernz, Pooja & Hatfield, Donald E., 2020. "Does the focus of renewable energy policy impact the nature of innovation? Evidence from emerging economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    14. Hongxiu Li & Horatiu Rus, 2018. "Water Innovation and Water Governance: Adaptive Responses to Regulatory Change and Extreme Weather Events," Working Papers 1801, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2018.
    15. Tomasz Kijek & Arkadiusz Kijek & Piotr Bolibok & Anna Matras-Bolibok, 2021. "The Patterns of Energy Innovation Convergence across European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    16. Nyiwul, Linus & Koirala, Niraj P., 2024. "Renewable energy policy performance and technological innovation in Africa: A Bayesian estimation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    17. Palage, Kristoffer & Lundmark, Robert & Söderholm, Patrik, 2019. "The impact of pilot and demonstration plants on innovation: The case of advanced biofuel patenting in the European Union," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 42-55.
    18. Ferhat Özbay, 2025. "Green innovation for a sustainable environment: Modeling the new green knowledge production function for OECD countries," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 884-910, February.
    19. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Antonio Musolesi, 2020. "A Semiparametric Analysis of Green Inventions and Environmental Policies," SEEDS Working Papers 0920, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jun 2020.
    20. Chakraborty, Saptorshee Kanto & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2020. "Energy intensity and green energy innovation: Checking heterogeneous country effects in the OECD," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 328-343.

    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:jeborg:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0167268124003913. 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/jebo .

    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.