IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i10p1756-d113552.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhaojun Yang

    (School of Economics and Management, Xidian University, Xi’an 710126, China)

  • Weihao Liu

    (School of Economics and Management, Xidian University, Xi’an 710126, China)

  • Jun Sun

    (College of Business and Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

  • Yali Zhang

    (School of Management, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China)

Abstract

In China, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) play an important supervisory role to address ecological issues together with government regulation and enterprise implementation. This study examines the effect of ENGO presence on corporate environmental responsibility (CER) performance, along with internal factors as covariate variables. With a sample of 677 enterprises, it operationalizes the independent variable in terms of the number of ENGOs within certain distances from each enterprise, and the dependent variable based on the corporate social responsibility report using the specific criteria in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines. The results of Tobit regression analyses indicate that ENGO presence is conducive to CER performance, and asset size, power concentration, and industry type also make differences. The findings suggest that ENGOs are helpful in solving environment issues by bridging the gap between private and public sectors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhaojun Yang & Weihao Liu & Jun Sun & Yali Zhang, 2017. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-12, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:10:p:1756-:d:113552
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1756/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1756/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jason Zhang & Hong Zhu & Hung-bin Ding, 2013. "Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 381-392, May.
    2. Denis Cormier & Michel Magnan & Barbara Van Velthoven, 2005. "Environmental disclosure quality in large German companies: Economic incentives, public pressures or institutional conditions?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 3-39.
    3. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    4. World Bank, 2016. "World Development Indicators 2016," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 23969, December.
    5. Kangtao Ye & Ran Zhang, 2011. "Do Lenders Value Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 197-206, December.
    6. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    7. S. Zeng & X. Xu & H. Yin & C. Tam, 2012. "Factors that Drive Chinese Listed Companies in Voluntary Disclosure of Environmental Information," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 309-321, September.
    8. Wiseman, Joanne, 1982. "An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 53-63, January.
    9. Qiong Xia & Min Li & Huaqing Wu & Zhenggang Lu, 2016. "Does the Central Government’s Environmental Policy Work? Evidence from the Provincial-Level Environment Efficiency in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    11. Wu, Jing & Chang, I-Shin & Yilihamu, Qimanguli & Zhou, Yu, 2017. "Study on the practice of public participation in environmental impact assessment by environmental non-governmental organizations in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 186-200.
    12. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    13. Pei-Pei He & Yu-Jing Zhuang & Ying Lin & Cheng-Hui Zheng, 2017. "Environmental Law Clinics in Collaboration with Environmental NGOs in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, February.
    14. Cheng-Li Huang & Fan-Hua Kung, 2010. "Drivers of Environmental Disclosure and Stakeholder Expectation: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 435-451, October.
    15. Stephen Brammer & Stephen Pavelin, 2008. "Factors influencing the quality of corporate environmental disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 120-136, February.
    16. Hong Yang, 2014. "China must continue the momentum of green law," Nature, Nature, vol. 509(7502), pages 535-535, May.
    17. Hayam Wahba, 2008. "Does the market value corporate environmental responsibility? An empirical examination," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 89-99, March.
    18. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Polluting Industries: Does Religion Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 485-507, October.
    19. Shui-Yan Tang & Xueyong Zhan, 2008. "Civic Environmental NGOs, Civil Society, and Democratisation in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 425-448.
    20. Lopin Kuo & Chin‐Chen Yeh & Hui‐Cheng Yu, 2012. "Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(5), pages 273-287, September.
    21. X. Meng & S. Zeng & C. Tam & X. Xu, 2013. "Whether Top Executives’ Turnover Influences Environmental Responsibility: From the Perspective of Environmental Information Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 341-353, May.
    22. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Yingjie Du & Wentao Feng & Quan Zeng, 2014. "Religion, the Nature of Ultimate Owner, and Corporate Philanthropic Giving: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 235-256, August.
    23. Kel Dummett, 2006. "Drivers for Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 375-389, August.
    24. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment: A Theoretical Perspective," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 2(2), pages 240-260, Summer.
    25. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    26. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    27. X. H. Meng & S. X. Zeng & X. M. Xie & G. Y. Qi, 2016. "The impact of product market competition on corporate environmental responsibility," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 267-291, 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. Tae Hyung Kim & Bowon Kim, 2018. "Firm’s Environmental Expenditure, R&D Intensity, and Profitability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-12, June.
    2. Anca Gabriela Petrescu & Florentina Raluca Bîlcan & Marius Petrescu & Ionica Holban Oncioiu & Mirela Cătălina Türkeș & Sorinel Căpuşneanu, 2020. "Assessing the Benefits of the Sustainability Reporting Practices in the Top Romanian Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-31, April.
    3. Yu Bai & Yuchen Xu & Jianling Jiao, 2022. "Can corporate environmental management benefit from multirelationship social network? An improved maturity model and text mining based on the big data from Chinese enterprises," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5783-5810, April.
    4. Alamo Alexandre da Silva Batista & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2018. "Organizational Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Firms Listed by the Corporate Sustainability Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, January.
    5. Rong Liu & Min Zhao & Jianyu Ren, 2022. "The Influence Mechanism of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Corporate Performance: The Mediation Effect of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-27, September.
    6. Xixiong Xu & Lingling Duan & Youliang Yan, 2019. "The Influence of Confucianism on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, 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. Xingqiang Du & Wei Jian & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility in Polluting Industries: Does Religion Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 485-507, October.
    2. Wang, Yun & Wilson, Craig & Li, Yanxi, 2021. "Gender attitudes and the effect of board gender diversity on corporate environmental responsibility," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    3. Mumtaheena Anwar & Sohanur Rahman & Md. Nurul Kabir, 2021. "Does national carbon pricing policy affect voluntary environmental disclosures? A global evidence," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(2), pages 211-244, April.
    4. Linyan Fan & Sheng Yao, 2022. "Analyst Site Visits and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Ge Wang & Huijin Zhang & Saixing Zeng & Xiaohua Meng & Han Lin, 2023. "Reporting on sustainable development: Configurational effects of top management team and corporate characteristics on environmental information disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 28-52, January.
    6. Zhengguang Li & Ping Li & Xibo Zhao & Ziying Tu, 2022. "Business Strategy and Environmental Information Disclosure Quality: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Heavy Pollution Listed Firms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-18, July.
    7. Stefano Fontana & Daniela Coluccia & Silvia Solimene, 2019. "VAIC as a Tool for Measuring Intangibles Value in Voluntary Multi-Stakeholder Disclosure," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(4), pages 1679-1699, December.
    8. Laura Girella & Paola Rossi & Stefano Zambon, 2019. "Exploring the firm and country determinants of the voluntary adoption of integrated reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1323-1340, November.
    9. Eugenio D'Amico & Daniela Coluccia & Stefano Fontana & Silvia Solimene, 2016. "Factors Influencing Corporate Environmental Disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 178-192, March.
    10. Zhang, Cui, 2017. "Political connections and corporate environmental responsibility: Adopting or escaping?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 539-547.
    11. Rongbing Huang & Yubo Huang, 2020. "Does Internal Control Contribute to a Firm’s Green Information Disclosure? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, April.
    12. Raquel Garde Sánchez & Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar & Antonio M. López Hernández, 2017. "Corporate and managerial characteristics as drivers of social responsibility disclosure by state-owned enterprises," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 633-659, July.
    13. Fatma Baalouch & Salma Damak Ayadi & Khaled Hussainey, 2019. "A study of the determinants of environmental disclosure quality: evidence from French listed companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 939-971, December.
    14. Waris Ali & Jedrzej George Frynas & Zeeshan Mahmood, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure in Developed and Developing Countries: A Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(4), pages 273-294, July.
    15. Emerald Edem Welbeck & Godfred Matthew Yaw Owusu & Rita Amoah Bekoe & John Amoah Kusi, 2017. "Determinants of environmental disclosures of listed firms in Ghana," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.
    16. Md Ali Arshad Chowdhury & Mohammad Morshedur Rahman & Mouri Dey & Syed Moudud-Ul-Huq & Sk Alamgir Hossain, 2023. "Perceived Pressures and Motivations for Environmental Disclosures: Role of Certification," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    17. Bonsón, Enrique & Bednárová, Michaela, 2015. "CSR reporting practices of Eurozone companies," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 182-193.
    18. Xiaohua Meng & Saixing Zeng & Xuemei Xie & Hailiang Zou, 2019. "Beyond symbolic and substantive: Strategic disclosure of corporate environmental information in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 403-417, February.
    19. Qiang Li & Tian Li & Hongtao Chen & Erwei Xiang & Wenjuan Ruan, 2019. "Executives' excess compensation, legitimacy, and environmental information disclosure in Chinese heavily polluting companies: The moderating role of media pressure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 248-256, January.
    20. Cabeza-García, Laura & Sacristán-Navarro, María & Gómez-Ansón, Silvia, 2017. "Family involvement and corporate social responsibility disclosure," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 109-122.

    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:9:y:2017:i:10:p:1756-:d:113552. 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.