IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v30y2023i5p2435-2456.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The power of culture: Does Confucian culture contribute to corporate environmental information disclosure?

Author

Listed:
  • Shujun Chao
  • Shanyong Wang
  • Haidong Li
  • Shu Yang

Abstract

With the intensification of global environmental issues, corporate environmental information disclosure has received increasing attention. Different cultural and policy backgrounds have led to very different styles of corporate environmental information disclosure behavior. Whether Confucianism, the dominant culture that has influenced China for thousands of years, contributes to corporate environmental information disclosure deserves to be studied. Based on data from 3180 Chinese listed firms, this study confirms the positive effect of Confucian culture on environmental information disclosure. Meanwhile, Taoist culture and environmental regulation can positively moderate this effect. In addition, heterogeneity analysis unveils that Confucian culture plays a greater role in corporate environmental information disclosure for state‐owned firms and firms in highly polluting industries, while this role is weakened for firms with a high proportion of female executives and executives with foreign experience. This study links culture and environmental information disclosure, which helps to arouse the attention of whole society to utilize excellent traditional culture and helps the government to formulate effective environmental regulation policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Shujun Chao & Shanyong Wang & Haidong Li & Shu Yang, 2023. "The power of culture: Does Confucian culture contribute to corporate environmental information disclosure?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2435-2456, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:30:y:2023:i:5:p:2435-2456
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2495
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2495
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2495?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. Quanqi Liu & Li Li, 2019. "Spatial Heterogeneity of Government Regulation, Spatial Distance and Enterprise Carbon Information Disclosure: An Analysis Based on the Heavy Pollution Industry in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Fuan Li & Xingyuan Wang & Rajiv Kashyap, 2019. "Socially Responsible Practice and CSR Orientation of Chinese Managers: The Role of Confucian Ethics and Confucian Dynamism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-13, November.
    3. David A Ralston, 2008. "The crossvergence perspective: reflections and projections," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(1), pages 27-40, January.
    4. repec:eme:par000:par-05-2020-0061 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Yan, Youliang & Xu, Xixiong & Lai, Jieji, 2021. "Does Confucian culture influence corporate R&D investment? Evidence from Chinese private firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Ming Jia & Yi Xiang & Zhe Zhang, 2019. "Indirect Reciprocity and Corporate Philanthropic Giving: How Visiting Officials Influence Investment in Privately Owned Chinese Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 372-407, March.
    7. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    8. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    9. 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.
    10. Fang, Jianchun & Gozgor, Giray & Lau, Chi-Keung Marco & Wu, Wanshan & Yan, Cheng, 2020. "Listed zombie firms and top executive gender: Evidence from an emerging market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    11. Shihua Chen & Yan Ye & Khalil Jebran & Muhammad Ansar Majeed, 2020. "Confucianism culture and corporate cash holdings," International Journal of Emerging Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(6), pages 1127-1159, March.
    12. Lei Wang & Heikki Juslin, 2009. "The Impact of Chinese Culture on Corporate Social Responsibility: The Harmony Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 433-451, October.
    13. Thi H.H. Nguyen & Mohamed H. Elmagrhi & Collins G. Ntim & Yue Wu, 2021. "Environmental performance, sustainability, governance and financial performance: Evidence from heavily polluting industries in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2313-2331, July.
    14. Xingqiang Du, 2015. "Does Confucianism Reduce Minority Shareholder Expropriation? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(4), pages 661-716, December.
    15. Haina Zhang & Malcolm Cone & André Everett & Graham Elkin, 2011. "Aesthetic Leadership in Chinese Business: A Philosophical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 475-491, July.
    16. Wu, Jing & Gyourko, Joseph & Deng, Yongheng, 2012. "Evaluating conditions in major Chinese housing markets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 531-543.
    17. Wu, Qiang & Dbouk, Wassim & Hasan, Iftekhar & Kobeissi, Nada & Zheng, Li, 2021. "Does gender affect innovation? Evidence from female chief technology officers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    18. Xingqiang Du, 2016. "Does Confucianism Reduce Board Gender Diversity? Firm-Level Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 399-436, June.
    19. 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.
    20. Irene Chu & Geoff Moore, 2020. "From Harmony to Conflict: MacIntyrean Virtue Ethics in a Confucian Tradition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 221-239, August.
    21. Po Ip, 2009. "Is Confucianism Good for Business Ethics in China?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 463-476, September.
    22. Panpan Fu & Seema Wati Narayan & Olaf Weber & Yonggang Tian & Yi-Shuai Ren, 2022. "Does Local Confucian Culture Affect Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Ratings? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    23. Carpenter, Jennifer N. & Lu, Fangzhou & Whitelaw, Robert F., 2021. "The real value of China’s stock market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 679-696.
    24. Tingting Chen & Fuli Li & Kwok Leung, 2017. "Whipping into shape: Construct definition, measurement, and validation of directive-achieving leadership in Chinese culture," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 537-563, September.
    25. Zhang, Dongyang & Kong, Qunxi, 2022. "Do energy policies bring about corporate overinvestment? Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    26. Daxin Sun & Saixing Zeng & Hongquan Chen & Xiaohua Meng & Zhizhou Jin, 2019. "Monitoring effect of transparency: How does government environmental disclosure facilitate corporate environmentalism?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1594-1607, December.
    27. María del Mar Miras‐Rodríguez & Amalia Carrasco‐Gallego & Bernabé Escobar‐Pérez, 2015. "Are Socially Responsible Behaviors Paid Off Equally? A Cross‐cultural Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(4), pages 237-256, July.
    28. 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.
    29. Wei Qian & Ping Zhu & Carol Tilt, 2022. "Corporate environmental disclosure and local government environmental oversight in China," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(2), pages 358-382, February.
    30. Cui Zhang & Ping Fu, 2022. "Overseas-returned executives and their roles in firm performance: evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 622-631, May.
    31. Shihua Chen & Lili Xu & Khalil Jebran, 2021. "The effect of Confucian culture on corporate tax avoidance: evidence from China," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 1342-1365, January.
    32. Wang, Shanyong & Zhang, Rongwei & Wan, Liang & Chen, Jiusong, 2023. "Has Central Government Environmental Protection Interview Improved Air Quality in China?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    33. Sohail Ahmad Javeed & Boon Heng Teh & Tze San Ong & Lee Lee Chong & Mohd Fairuz Bin Abd Rahim & Rashid Latief, 2022. "How Does Green Innovation Strategy Influence Corporate Financing? Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity Play a Moderating Role," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    34. Gao, Feng & Lisic, Ling Lei & Zhang, Ivy Xiying, 2014. "Commitment to social good and insider trading," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 149-175.
    35. Fuxiu Jiang & Kenneth A Kim, 2020. "Corporate Governance in China: A Survey [The role of boards of directors in corporate governance: a conceptual framework and survey]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(4), pages 733-772.
    36. Fang, Zhenming & Kong, Xiaoran & Sensoy, Ahmet & Cui, Xin & Cheng, Feiyang, 2021. "Government’s awareness of Environmental protection and corporate green innovation: A natural experiment from the new environmental protection law in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 294-312.
    37. Elena M. Barbu & Liliana Ionescu-Feleagă & Yann Ferrat, 2022. "The Evolution of Environmental Reporting in Europe: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Regulation," The International Journal of Accounting (TIJA), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 57(02), pages 1-25, June.
    38. Lawrence H. Summers, 1999. "Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Reflections on Managing Global Integration," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 3-18, Spring.
    39. Shenggang Ren & Duojun He & Tao Zhang & Xiaohong Chen, 2019. "Symbolic reactions or substantive pro‐environmental behaviour? An empirical study of corporate environmental performance under the government's environmental subsidy scheme," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1148-1165, September.
    40. Liu, Fengyun & Yu, Jiaru & Shen, Yifan & He, Lingyun, 2022. "Does the resource-dependent motivation to disclose environmental information impact company financing? Evidence from renewable energy companies of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 156-166.
    41. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    42. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    43. Lei Chen & Zhi Jin & Yongqiang Ma & Hui Xu, 2019. "Confucianism, openness to the West, and corporate investment efficiency," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(3), pages 554-590, June.
    44. 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.
    45. Lonkani, Ravi, 2019. "Gender differences and managerial earnings forecast bias: Are female executives less overconfident than male executives?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 18-34.
    46. Xiangan Ding & Ying Qu & Mohsin Shahzad, 2019. "The Impact of Environmental Administrative Penalties on the Disclosure of Environmental Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-24, October.
    47. Yongjun Tang & Jun Zhu & Wenchao Ma & Mengxue Zhao, 2022. "A Study on the Impact of Institutional Pressure on Carbon Information Disclosure: The Mediating Effect of Enterprise Peer Influence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-23, March.
    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. Kong, Xiaoran & Xu, Siping & Liu, Ming-Yu & Ho, Kung-Cheng, 2023. "Confucianism and D&O insurance demand of Chinese listed companies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Yan, Youliang & Xu, Xixiong & Lai, Jieji, 2021. "Does Confucian culture influence corporate R&D investment? Evidence from Chinese private firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    3. Xu, Xixiong & Duan, Lingling, 2023. "Confucianism and employee stock ownership plans: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 859-872.
    4. Yi Zhang, 2022. "Analyst coverage and corporate social responsibility decoupling: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 620-634, May.
    5. Yongbo Ge & Xiaoran Kong & Geilegeilao Dadilabang & Kung‐Cheng Ho, 2023. "The effect of Confucian culture on household risky asset holdings: Using categorical principal component analysis," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 839-857, January.
    6. Fan, Yunqi & Xu, Zijing, 2022. "Audit firm's Confucianism and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Lina Mao & Chongluan Lu & Guangfan Sun & Chunyan Zhang & Changwei Guo, 2024. "Regional culture and corporate finance: a literature review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Jebran, Khalil & Chen, Shihua & Ye, Yan & Wang, Chengqi, 2019. "Confucianism and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Tan, Huan & Wang, Zhi, 2023. "The impact of confucian culture on the cost of equity capital: The moderating role of marketization process," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 112-126.
    10. Li, Wanli & Xu, Xixiong & Long, Zhineng, 2020. "Confucian Culture and Trade Credit: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    11. Chen, Shihua & Ye, Yan & Jia, Fei & Wang, Chengqi, 2022. "Accounting for the role of culture in board directors’ dissent," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    12. Min Huang & Xiaobo Li & Jun Xia & Mengyao Li, 2024. "Does Confucianism Prompt Firms to Participate in Poverty Alleviation Campaigns?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 743-762, February.
    13. Kong, Xiaoran & Zhang, Xueying & Yan, Cheng & Ho, Kung-Cheng, 2022. "China's historical imperial examination system and corporate social responsibility," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Boubakri, Narjess & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He (Helen), 2021. "Corporate social responsibility in emerging market economies: Determinants, consequences, and future research directions," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    15. Xingqiang Du & Yingjie Du & Quan Zeng & Hongmei Pei & Yingying Chang, 2016. "Religious atmosphere, law enforcement, and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 229-265, March.
    16. Shouyu Yao & Yuying Pan & Lu Wang & Ahmet Sensoy & Feiyang Cheng, 2023. "Building Eco-friendly Corporations: The Role of Minority Shareholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 933-966, February.
    17. Irene Chu & Mai Chi Vu, 2022. "The Nature of the Self, Self-regulation and Moral Action: Implications from the Confucian Relational Self and Buddhist Non-self," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 245-262, September.
    18. Trinh, Vu Quang & Trinh, Hai Hong & Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2023. "Board gender diversity and firm-level climate change exposure: A global perspective," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    19. 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.
    20. Chen, Shihua & Chen, Yulin & Jebran, Khalil, 2021. "Trust and corporate social responsibility: From expected utility and social normative perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 518-530.

    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:30:y:2023:i:5:p:2435-2456. 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.