IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i14p8863-d866846.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Sustainability Commitment and Access to Finance by Small and Medium Enterprises: The Role of Financial Performance and Corporate Governance

Author

Listed:
  • Obey Dzomonda

    (Department of Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga, Polokwane 0727, South Africa)

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa contribute critically to the economy, yet they face many challenges, such as lack of access to external finance. Thus, applying the stakeholder theory, this study tested the relationship between environmental sustainability commitment and access to finance and whether this relationship was mediated by financial performance. The study further examined the moderating role of corporate governance on the relationship between environmental sustainability commitment and access to finance. Owner/managers of 600 SMEs from three provinces in South Africa were randomly selected using a probability sampling method. Primary data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The moderated mediation model was tested using PLS-SEM. The findings showed that environmental sustainability commitment significantly predicts access to finance both directly and indirectly through financial performance. Moreover, the results showed that corporate governance positively moderates the link between environmental sustainability commitment and access to finance. This study has several implications. Practically, small unlisted firms can adopt and apply the model developed in this study to enhance their environmental, social, and governance practices to unlock external funding. The novelty of this study is that it proposed and tested a moderated mediation model to understand SMEs’ determinants of access to finance. In addition, this study provides a nuanced understanding of responsible business through green behaviour in the context of SMEs, which has been lacking in the existing literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Obey Dzomonda, 2022. "Environmental Sustainability Commitment and Access to Finance by Small and Medium Enterprises: The Role of Financial Performance and Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8863-:d:866846
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8863/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8863/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yiping Zhang & Olaf Weber, 2022. "Investors’ Moral and Financial Concerns—Ethical and Financial Divestment in the Fossil Fuel Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Nohade Nasrallah & R. El Khoury, 2022. "Is corporate governance a good predictor of SMEs financial performance? Evidence from developing countries (the case of Lebanon)," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 13-43, January.
    3. Semrau, Thorsten & Ambos, Tina & Sascha Kraus,, 2016. "Entrepreneurial orientation and SME performance across societal cultures: An international study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1928-1932.
    4. Ilze Zumente & Jūlija Bistrova, 2021. "Do Baltic investors care about environmental, social and governance (ESG)?," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(4), pages 349-362, June.
    5. Park, Byung Il & Ghauri, Pervez N., 2015. "Determinants influencing CSR practices in small and medium sized MNE subsidiaries: A stakeholder perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 192-204.
    6. Zhong, Ninghua, 2015. "Corporate governance of Chinese privatized firms: Evidence from a survey of non-listed enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 1101-1121.
    7. Zainabu Tumwebaze & Veronica Mukyala & Bob Ssekiziyivu & Caroline Bonareri Tirisa & Ashim Tumwebonire, 2018. "Corporate governance, internal audit function and accountability in statutory corporations," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1527054-152, January.
    8. Ioannis Oikonomou & Chris Brooks & Stephen Pavelin, 2014. "The Effects of Corporate Social Performance on the Cost of Corporate Debt and Credit Ratings," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 49-75, February.
    9. María Mar Miralles-Quirós & José Luis Miralles-Quirós & Luis Miguel Valente Gonçalves, 2018. "The Value Relevance of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance: The Brazilian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, February.
    10. Cecilia Tortajada, 2016. "Nongovernmental Organizations and Influence on Global Public Policy," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 266-274, May.
    11. Ignacio J. Duran & Pablo Rodrigo, 2018. "Why Do Firms in Emerging Markets Report? A Stakeholder Theory Approach to Study the Determinants of Non-Financial Disclosure in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, August.
    12. Wilkin, Carla L. & Couchman, Paul K. & Sohal, Amrik & Zutshi, Ambika, 2016. "Exploring differences between smaller and large organizations' corporate governance of information technology," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 6-25.
    13. Naoki Watanabel & Shohei Yamauchi & Hideaki Sakawa, 2022. "The Board Structure and Performance in IPO Firms: Evidence from Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, July.
    14. Alin Marius Andrieș & Nicu Marcu & Florin Oprea & Mihaela Tofan, 2018. "Financial Infrastructure and Access to Finance for European SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, September.
    15. La Rosa, Fabio & Liberatore, Giovanni & Mazzi, Francesco & Terzani, Simone, 2018. "The impact of corporate social performance on the cost of debt and access to debt financing for listed European non-financial firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 519-529.
    16. Wiklund, Johan & Shepherd, Dean, 2005. "Entrepreneurial orientation and small business performance: a configurational approach," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 71-91, January.
    17. Lin Zhang & Xiaochen Zhang & Jingjing An & Wei Zhang & Jingshen Yao, 2022. "Examining the Role of Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from the SME CSR in the Context of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    18. Xiang Ma & Lingli Qing & Young-Seok Ock & Jiao Wu & Yaying Zhou, 2022. "The Effect of Customer Involvement on Green Innovation and the Intermediary Role of Boundary Spanning Capability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    19. Merriam Haffar & Cory Searcy, 2017. "Classification of Trade-offs Encountered in the Practice of Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 495-522, February.
    20. Sprenger, Carsten & Lazareva, Olga, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment-cash flow sensitivity: Evidence from Russian unlisted firms," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 71-100.
    21. Reginald Masocha & Olawale Fatoki, 2018. "The Impact of Coercive Pressures on Sustainability Practices of Small Businesses in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-14, August.
    22. Danso, Albert & Adomako, Samuel & Lartey, Theophilus & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Owusu-Yirenkyi, Diana, 2020. "Stakeholder integration, environmental sustainability orientation and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 652-662.
    23. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    24. Francesco Cesarone & Manuel Luis Martino & Alessandra Carleo, 2022. "Does ESG Impact Really Enhance Portfolio Profitability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-28, February.
    25. Isaac Monday Ikpor & Enrico Bracci & Clementina Iruka Kanu & Riccardo Ievoli & Benedette Okezie & Sunday Mlanga & Charles Ogbaekirigwe, 2022. "Drivers of Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, March.
    26. Mahdi Nasrollahi & Mohammad Reza Fathi & Naghmeh Sheikh Hassani, 2020. "Eco-innovation and cleaner production as sustainable competitive advantage antecedents: the mediating role of green performance," International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 22(3), pages 388-407.
    27. David Aristei & Manuela Gallo, 2021. "The Role of External Support on the Implementation of Resource Efficiency Actions: Evidence from European Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    28. 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.
    29. Obey Dzomonda & Olawale Fatoki, 2020. "Environmental Sustainability Commitment and Financial Performance of Firms Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-21, October.
    30. Cecilia Tortajada, 2016. "Nongovernmental Organizations and Influence on Global Public Policy," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies 201623, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    31. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer‐Klingeberg & Andreas W. Rathgeber, 2019. "It is merely a matter of time: A meta‐analysis of the causality between environmental performance and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 257-273, February.
    32. Cătălina Silvia Crișan-Mitra & Liana Stanca & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2020. "Corporate Social Performance: An Assessment Model on an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    33. Haninun Haninun & Lindrianasari Lindrianasari & Angrita Denziana, 2018. "The effect of environmental performance and disclosure on financial performance," International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(1/2), pages 138-148.
    34. Kai Quan Zhang & Hsing Hung Chen, 2017. "Environmental Performance and Financing Decisions Impact on Sustainable Financial Development of Chinese Environmental Protection Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-14, December.
    35. Kim, Moshe & Surroca, Jordi & Tribó, Josep A., 2014. "Impact of ethical behavior on syndicated loan rates," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 122-144.
    36. Alaa Aldowaish & Jiro Kokuryo & Othman Almazyad & Hoe Chin Goi, 2022. "Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration into the Business Model: Literature Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    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. Wylliam Bessa Santana & Luiz Maurício Furtado Maués, 2022. "Environmental Protection Is Not Relevant in the Perceived Quality of Life of Low-Income Housing Residents: A PLS-SEM Approach in the Brazilian Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.

    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. Jannik Gerwanski, 2020. "Does it pay off? Integrated reporting and cost of debt: European evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2299-2319, September.
    2. Othar Kordsachia, 2021. "A risk management perspective on CSR and the marginal cost of debt: empirical evidence from Europe," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1611-1643, August.
    3. Bai Xue & Zhuang Zhang & Pingli Li, 2020. "Corporate environmental performance, environmental management and firm risk," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1074-1096, March.
    4. Jaspreet Kaur & Madhu Vij & Ajay Kumar Chauhan, 2023. "Signals influencing corporate credit ratings—a systematic literature review," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 50(1), pages 91-114, March.
    5. Theophilus Lartey & Diana Owusu Yirenkyi & Samuel Adomako & Albert Danso & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Ashraful Alam, 2020. "Going green, going clean: Lean‐green sustainability strategy and firm growth," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 118-139, January.
    6. Khaled Alsaifi & Marwa Elnahass & Aly Salama, 2020. "Carbon disclosure and financial performance: UK environmental policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 711-726, February.
    7. Lutfi Abdul Razak & Mansor H. Ibrahim & Adam Ng, 2020. "Which Sustainability Dimensions Affect Credit Risk? Evidence from Corporate and Country-Level Measures," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Fereshteh Mahmoudian & Johnny Jermias, 2022. "The influence of governance structure on the relationship between pay ratio and environmental and social performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 2992-3013, November.
    9. Al-Najjar, Basil & Salama, Aly, 2022. "Mind the gap: Are female directors and executives more sensitive to the environment in high-tech us firms?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    10. Md. Ahashan Habib & Md. Rezaul Karim & Marzia Dulal & Mohammad Shayekh Munir, 2022. "Impact of Institutional Pressure on Cleaner Production and Sustainable Firm Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-25, December.
    11. Meles, Antonio & Salerno, Dario & Sampagnaro, Gabriele & Verdoliva, Vincenzo & Zhang, Jianing, 2023. "The influence of green innovation on default risk: Evidence from Europe," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 692-710.
    12. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Tantawy Moussa & Amir Allam & Said Elbanna & Ahmed Bani‐Mustafa, 2020. "Can board environmental orientation improve U.S. firms' carbon performance? The mediating role of carbon strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 72-86, January.
    14. Andreas Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Bert Scholtens & Michael Schröder, 2016. "The Effects of Corporate and Country Sustainability Characteristics on The Cost of Debt: An International Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1-2), pages 158-190, January.
    15. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    16. Bradley, Steven W. & Wiklund, Johan & Shepherd, Dean A., 2011. "Swinging a double-edged sword: The effect of slack on entrepreneurial management and growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 537-554, September.
    17. Shuxia Zhang & Liping Xu & Ning Liu, 2022. "Crowding‐in and crowding‐out effects of corporate philanthropy on R&D investment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1835-1849, September.
    18. Vishal Gupta & Sandra C. Mortal & Tina Yang, 2018. "Entrepreneurial orientation and firm value: Does managerial discretion play a role?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, January.
    19. Haifei Wang & Hongjun Wu & Peter Humphreys, 2022. "Chinese Merchant Group Culture, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Cost of Debt: Evidence from Private Listed Firms in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Mariem Khadhraoui & Michel Plaisent & Lassaad Lakhal & Bernard Prosper, 2019. "The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Spin-Offs’ Performance: A Cross-Cultural Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, July.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8863-:d:866846. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.