IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-05275-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Extreme weather, IT investment, and corporate sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Peinan Ji

    (Lanzhou University)

  • Linke Guo

    (Lanzhou University)

  • Xiangbin Yan

    (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)

  • Lianchao Yu

    (Lanzhou University)

Abstract

The capacity of businesses to withstand the impacts of extreme weather has become a subject of concern in both theoretical and practical terms. This growing focus is driven by the occurrence of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, both natural and human-induced, which have had a significant impact on economic development and business operations. This study examines the impact of extreme weather on corporate IT investment using a sample of 20,224 observations of 3330 Chinese listed firms from 2013 to 2022. The findings indicate that there is a correlation between extreme weather and an increase in corporate IT investment. This is attributed to a reduction in the availability of labor due to the adverse effects of extreme weather. Concurrently, the rise in IT investment levels observed in companies as a consequence of extreme weather conditions has the effect of enhancing their resilience to climate risk and improving firm value, which is a crucial factor in the sustainable development of business. This study has theoretical and practical significance for a deeper understanding of the relationship between extreme weather and enterprise IT construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Peinan Ji & Linke Guo & Xiangbin Yan & Lianchao Yu, 2025. "Extreme weather, IT investment, and corporate sustainability," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05275-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05275-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-05275-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-05275-z?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olivier Deschênes & Michael Greenstone, 2011. "Climate Change, Mortality, and Adaptation: Evidence from Annual Fluctuations in Weather in the US," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 152-185, October.
    2. Jiekun Huang & Nianhang Xu & Honghai Yu, 2020. "Pollution and Performance: Do Investors Make Worse Trades on Hazy Days?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4455-4476, October.
    3. David Hirshleifer & Tyler Shumway, 2003. "Good Day Sunshine: Stock Returns and the Weather," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1009-1032, June.
    4. Flammer, Caroline, 2021. "Corporate green bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 499-516.
    5. Vestrelli, Roberto & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & Pisello, Anna Laura, 2024. "When attention to climate change matters: The impact of climate risk disclosure on firm market value," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    6. Cui, Xiaomeng & Tang, Qu, 2024. "Extreme heat and rural household adaptation: Evidence from Northeast China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Lu, Jing & Chou, Robin K., 2012. "Does the weather have impacts on returns and trading activities in order-driven stock markets? Evidence from China," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 79-93.
    8. E. Somanathan & Rohini Somanathan & Anant Sudarshan & Meenu Tewari, 2021. "The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(6), pages 1797-1827.
    9. Chen, Shuai & Gong, Binlei, 2021. "Response and adaptation of agriculture to climate change: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    10. Wang, He-tong & Qi, Shao-zhou & Li, Kai, 2023. "Impact of risk-taking on enterprise value under extreme temperature: From the perspectives of external and internal governance," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Mathilde Maurel & Michele Tuccio, 2016. "Climate Instability, Urbanisation and International Migration," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 735-752, May.
    12. Raj Aggarwal & Sandra Dow, 2012. "Corporate governance and business strategies for climate change and environmental mitigation," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3-4), pages 311-331, April.
    13. Jingbin He & Xinru Ma, 2021. "Extreme Temperatures and Firm-Level Stock Returns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-22, February.
    14. Albitar, Khaldoon & Al-Shaer, Habiba & Liu, Yang Stephanie, 2023. "Corporate commitment to climate change: The effect of eco-innovation and climate governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    15. Chang, Shao-Chi & Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chou, Robin K. & Lin, Yueh-Hsiang, 2008. "Weather and intraday patterns in stock returns and trading activity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1754-1766, September.
    16. David Hirshleifer, 2001. "Investor Psychology and Asset Pricing," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1533-1597, August.
    17. Cai, Xiqian & Lu, Yi & Wang, Jin, 2018. "The impact of temperature on manufacturing worker productivity: Evidence from personnel data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 889-905.
    18. 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.
    19. Frederik Dahlmann & Layla Branicki & Stephen Brammer, 2019. "Managing Carbon Aspirations: The Influence of Corporate Climate Change Targets on Environmental Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 1-24, August.
    20. Lin, Jing & Cao, Xiyang & Dong, Xiaoqi & An, Yunbi, 2024. "Environmental regulations, supply chain relationships, and green technological innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    21. C. W. Mauelshagen & S. J. T. Pollard & D. Owen & S. Herndlhofer & P. Firth & J. McKenna & N. Bingley & P. Jenson, 2014. "Protecting asset value and driving performance with a dynamic, risk-based contingency fund," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 417-424, September.
    22. Cevik, Serhan & Jalles, João Tovar, 2023. "For whom the bell tolls: Climate change and income inequality," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    23. Gerard J. Lewis & Brian Harvey, 2001. "Perceived Environmental Uncertainty: The Extension of Miller’s Scale to the Natural Environment," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 201-234, March.
    24. Yuqiang Zhang & Drew T. Shindell, 2021. "Costs from labor losses due to extreme heat in the USA attributable to climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-18, February.
    25. Serhan Cevik, João Tovar Jalles, 2023. "For Whom the Bell Tolls: Climate Change and Income Inequality," Working Papers REM 2023/0277, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.
    26. Nora Pankratz & Rob Bauer & Jeroen Derwall, 2023. "Climate Change, Firm Performance, and Investor Surprises," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(12), pages 7352-7398, December.
    27. Cao, Kaiying & Guo, Qiang & Xu, Yuqiu, 2023. "Information sharing and carbon reduction strategies with extreme weather in the platform economy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    28. Yu, Xiumei & Lei, Xiaoyan & Wang, Min, 2019. "Temperature effects on mortality and household adaptation: Evidence from China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 195-212.
    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. Wang, He-tong & Qi, Shao-zhou & Li, Kai, 2023. "Impact of risk-taking on enterprise value under extreme temperature: From the perspectives of external and internal governance," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Song, Malin & Wang, Jianlin & Zhao, Jiajia, 2023. "Effects of rising and extreme temperatures on production factor efficiency: Evidence from China's cities," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    3. Hai‐Anh H. Dang & Stephane Hallegatte & Trong‐Anh Trinh, 2024. "Does global warming worsen poverty and inequality? An updated review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1873-1905, December.
    4. Gong, Jiaowei & Shi, Xiangyu & Wang, Chang & Zhang, Xin, 2025. "Extreme high temperatures and adaptation by social dynamics: Theory and evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    5. Bui, Thanh-Huong & Bui, Ha-Phuong & Pham, Thi Mai-Anh, 2024. "Effects of temperature on job insecurity: Evidence from Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 264-276.
    6. Moustafa Feriga & Nancy Lozano Gracia & Pieter Serneels, 2025. "The Impact of Climate Change on Work: Lessons for Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 40(1), pages 104-146.
    7. Zhengtao Li & Bin Hu, 2025. "Temperature Effects on People’s Subjective Well-Being and Their Subjective Adaptation: Empirical Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 1081-1112, April.
    8. He, Feng & Ren, Xingzi & Wang, Yueren & Lei, Xingfan, 2025. "Climate risk and corporate bond credit spreads," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    9. Yang, Chih-Yuan & Jhang, Ling-Jhen & Chang, Chia-Chien, 2016. "Do investor sentiment, weather and catastrophe effects improve hedging performance? Evidence from the Taiwan options market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 35-51.
    10. Seok, Sangik & Cho, Hoon & Ryu, Doojin, 2024. "Intraday analyses on weather-induced sentiment and stock market behavior," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    11. Xiaoke Zhu & Qiyun Deng, 2025. "The impacts of extreme heat on wage losses: Evidence from the Chinese agri‐food industry," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 738-764, July.
    12. Yue, Xiaotong & Kong, Xiaoran & Zhao, Qiuyun & Ho, Kung-Cheng, 2024. "Impact of climate change risks on equity capital: Evidence-based on Chinese markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Su, Yuandong & Lu, Xinjie & Zeng, Qing & Huang, Dengshi, 2022. "Good air quality and stock market returns," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Wang, Meng & Zhang, Shiying, 2024. "High temperatures and traffic accident crimes: Evidence from more than 470,000 offenses in China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Yan Chen & Xiaohong Chen & Hongshan Ai & Xiaoqing Tan, 2022. "Temperature and Migration Intention: Evidence from the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-23, August.
    16. Daglis, Theodoros & Konstantakis, Konstantinos N. & Michaelides, Panayotis G. & Papadakis, Theodoulos Eleftherios, 2020. "The forecasting ability of solar and space weather data on NASDAQ’s finance sector price index volatility," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. Liu, Ziheng, 2025. "CO2-driven crop comparative advantage and planting decision: Evidence from US cropland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    18. Li, Xue & Smyth, Russell & Xin, Guangyi & Yao, Yao, 2023. "Warmer temperatures and energy poverty: Evidence from Chinese households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Nicola Gagliardi & Elena Grinza & François Rycx, 2024. "The Productivity Impact of Global Warming: Firm-Level Evidence for Europe," Working Papers CEB 24-013, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    20. Fatima Batool & Kainat Iftikhar & Muhammad Nadir Shabbir, 2025. "Does green innovation pay off in China? Market valuation, investor sentiment, and risk-taking in A-listed firms," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(3), pages 1-35, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05275-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/palcomms/ .

    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.