IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v27y2020i1p339-357.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

First‐mover advantages in green innovation—Opportunities and threats for financial performance: A longitudinal analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Wojciech Przychodzen
  • Dante I. Leyva‐de la Hiz
  • Justyna Przychodzen

Abstract

Although the analysis of the relation between green innovative activism and financial performance is a popular topic, the existing literature has rarely addressed the tangible benefits that companies may enjoy if they engage in green innovations more than their competitors. This study tries to fill the above gap on the basis of an empirical analysis of a panel data set of the Standard & Poor's 500 companies over the years 1999–2016. We find that high green innovative activism, measured by patent data, only harms current financial performance when not carried out in conjunction with other types of innovative activism. In addition, we find that being the most active in green innovation in absolute terms results in significant positive lagged gains in stock market valuations. However, too much concentration on green innovation relative to other types of innovative activism has a negative influence on both accounting and stock market performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Wojciech Przychodzen & Dante I. Leyva‐de la Hiz & Justyna Przychodzen, 2020. "First‐mover advantages in green innovation—Opportunities and threats for financial performance: A longitudinal analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 339-357, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:1:p:339-357
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1809
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1809
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1809?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2019. "Academic Inventors and the Antecedents of Green Technologies. A Regional Analysis of Italian Patent Data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 247-263.
    2. J.David Cabedo & José Miguel Tirado, 2004. "The disclosure of risk in financial statements," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 181-200, June.
    3. Nameroff, T. J. & Garant, R. J. & Albert, M. B., 2004. "Adoption of green chemistry: an analysis based on US patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6-7), pages 959-974, September.
    4. William Boulding & Markus Christen, 2008. "Disentangling Pioneering Cost Advantages and Disadvantages," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 699-716, 07-08.
    5. Kar Yee Lo & Calvin Lee Kwan, 2017. "The Effect of Environmental, Social, Governance and Sustainability Initiatives on Stock Value – Examining Market Response to Initiatives Undertaken by Listed Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 606-619, November.
    6. Nazim Hussain & Ugo Rigoni & Elisa Cavezzali, 2018. "Does it pay to be sustainable? Looking inside the black box of the relationship between sustainability performance and financial performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1198-1211, November.
    7. Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2017. "Forms of knowledge and eco-innovation modes: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 208-221.
    8. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    9. Mansfield, Edwin, 1985. "How Rapidly Does New Industrial Technology Leak Out?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 217-223, December.
    10. Johnstone, Nick & Labonne, Julien, 2009. "Why do manufacturing facilities introduce environmental management systems? Improving and/or signaling performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 719-730, January.
    11. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Peng, Yu-Lu & Ma, Chao-Qun & Shen, Bo, 2017. "Can environmental innovation facilitate carbon emissions reduction? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 18-28.
    12. Kumar Ramesh & Raiswa Saha & Susoban Goswami & Sekar & Richa Dahiya, 2019. "Consumer's response to CSR activities: Mediating role of brand image and brand attitude," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 377-387, March.
    13. Zhongju Liao & Manting Zhang & Xiaopeng Wang, 2019. "Do female directors influence firms' environmental innovation? The moderating role of ownership type," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 257-263, January.
    14. Palmer, Mark & Truong, Yann, 2017. "The Impact of Technological Green New Product Introductions on Firm Profitability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 86-93.
    15. Fawzi Halila, 2007. "Networks as a means of supporting the adoption of organizational innovations in SMEs: the case of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) based on ISO 14001," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 167-181, July.
    16. Besharat, Ali & Langan, Ryan J. & Nguyen, Carlin A., 2016. "Fashionably late: Strategies for competing against a pioneer advantage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 718-725.
    17. Popp, David, 2005. "Lessons from patents: Using patents to measure technological change in environmental models," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2-3), pages 209-226, August.
    18. Anna Katharina Provasnek & Anton Sentic & Erwin Schmid, 2017. "Integrating Eco‐Innovations and Stakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Development and a Social License to Operate," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 173-185, May.
    19. April M. Franco & MB Sarkar & Rajshree Agarwal & Raj Echambadi, 2009. "Swift and Smart: The Moderating Effects of Technological Capabilities on the Market Pioneering-Firm Survival Relationship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(11), pages 1842-1860, November.
    20. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    21. Pasi Heikkurinen, 2010. "Image differentiation with corporate environmental responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 142-152, May.
    22. Noailly, Joëlle & Ryfisch, David, 2015. "Multinational firms and the internationalization of green R&D: A review of the evidence and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 218-228.
    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. Xie, Xuemei & Han, Yuhang & Hoang, Thu Thao, 2022. "Can green process innovation improve both financial and environmental performance? The roles of TMT heterogeneity and ownership," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    2. Ewa Mazur-Wierzbicka, 2022. "Measurement of Progress in the Environmental Area: Poland against the Countries of the European Union," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Benkraiem, Ramzi & Dubocage, Emmanuelle & Lelong, Yann & Shuwaikh, Fatima, 2023. "The effects of environmental performance and green innovation on corporate venture capital," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    4. Xiaojian Xiang & Chuanjiang Liu & Mian Yang & Xiaomeng Zhao, 2020. "Confession or justification: The effects of environmental disclosure on corporate green innovation in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2735-2750, November.
    5. Jo Crotty & Diane Holt, 2021. "Towards a typology of strategic corporate social responsibility through camouflage and courtship analogies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 980-991, May.
    6. Emrah Koçak & Umit Bulut & Angeliki N. Menegaki, 2022. "The resilience of green firms in the twirl of COVID‐19: Evidence from S&P500 Carbon Efficiency Index with a Fourier approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 32-45, January.
    7. Lingli Qing & Dongphil Chun & Abd Alwahed Dagestani & Peng Li, 2022. "Does Proactive Green Technology Innovation Improve Financial Performance? Evidence from Listed Companies with Semiconductor Concepts Stock in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, April.
    8. Liu, Ting & Quan, Lei & Gao, Xing, 2023. "Social dishonesty and corporate green innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 967-985.

    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. Qi Guoyou & Zeng Saixing & Tam Chiming & Yin Haitao & Zou Hailiang, 2013. "Stakeholders' Influences on Corporate Green Innovation Strategy: A Case Study of Manufacturing Firms in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Quang Le Van & Thanh Viet Nguyen & Manh Hung Nguyen, 2019. "Sustainable development and environmental policy: The engagement of stakeholders in green products in Vietnam," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 675-687, July.
    3. Thi‐Hong‐Van Hoang & Wojciech Przychodzen & Justyna Przychodzen & Elysé A. Segbotangni, 2020. "Does it pay to be green? A disaggregated analysis of U.S. firms with green patents," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1331-1361, March.
    4. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Simone Borghesi, 2012. "The European Emission Trading Scheme and environmental innovation diffusion: Empirical analyses using Italian CIS data," Working Papers 201201, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    5. Zhongju Liao, 2018. "Corporate culture, environmental innovation and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1368-1375, December.
    6. Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2019. "Academic Inventors and the Antecedents of Green Technologies. A Regional Analysis of Italian Patent Data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 247-263.
    7. Kim, Yeong Jae & Brown, Marilyn, 2019. "Impact of domestic energy-efficiency policies on foreign innovation: The case of lighting technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 539-552.
    8. Nicoletta Corrocher & Ilaria Solito, 2017. "How do firms capture value from environmental innovations? An empirical analysis on European SMEs," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 569-585, July.
    9. Pinget, Amandine, 2016. "Spécificités des déterminants des innovations environnementales : une approche appliquée aux PME [Specificities of determinants for environmental innovation : an approach applied to SMEs]," MPRA Paper 80108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Xiaojian Xiang & Chuanjiang Liu & Mian Yang & Xiaomeng Zhao, 2020. "Confession or justification: The effects of environmental disclosure on corporate green innovation in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2735-2750, November.
    11. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Roberto Zoboli, 2011. "Enviromental Innovations, Complementarity and Local/Global Cooperation," Working Papers 201104, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    12. 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).
    13. Yuanyuan Zhang & Zhe Ouyang, 2021. "Doing well by doing good: How corporate environmental responsibility influences corporate financial performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 54-63, January.
    14. Mario Morales-Parragué & Luis Araya-Castillo & Fidel Molina-Luque & Hugo Moraga-Flores, 2022. "Scientometric Analysis of Research on Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.
    15. H. L. Zou & R. C. Zeng & S. X. Zeng & Jonathan J. Shi, 2015. "How Do Environmental Violation Events Harm Corporate Reputation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 836-854, December.
    16. 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.
    17. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Sandro Montresor, 2012. "Environmental Innovations, Local Networks and Internationalization," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 697-734, November.
    18. Patricia Laurens & Christian Le Bas & Stéphane Lhuillery & Antoine Schoen, 2017. "The determinants of cleaner energy innovations of the world’s largest firms: the impact of firm learning and knowledge capital," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 311-333, May.
    19. Joaquin Sanchez-Planelles & Marival Segarra-Oña & Angel Peiro-Signes, 2020. "Building a Theoretical Framework for Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Maximilian Gasser & Simon Pezzutto & Wolfram Sparber & Eric Wilczynski, 2022. "Public Research and Development Funding for Renewable Energy Technologies in Europe: A Cross-Country Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-28, May.

    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:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:1:p:339-357. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.