Corporate Governance and the Environment: What Type of Governance Creates Greener Companies?

We build on a stakeholder–agency theoretical perspective to explore the impact of particular corporate governance mechanisms on firm environmental performance. Our empirical evidence shows that several important corporate governance mechanisms such as the board of directors, managerial incentives, the market for corporate control, and the legal and regulatory system determine firms' environmental performance levels. These results suggest that these different governance mechanisms resolve, to some extent, the existing divergence of interests between stakeholders and managers with respect to environmental activities.     

Examining the Relationships Between Monitoring and Incentives in Corporate Governance*

abstract Agency theory focuses on monitoring and incentives as two solutions to agency problems. Prior research suggests that monitoring and incentives may act either as substitutes or as complements, and that the context of the agency relationship plays a major role in determining the direction of the relationship between them. In a corporate governance setting, we contend that board information and boards' usage of CEO control mechanisms are best viewed as complements. Thus, we hypothesize that boards' information gathering behaviour will be positively related to boards' usage of CEO control mechanisms. Using primary and secondary data from 149 US firms, we find that increases in boards' information gathering are associated with increases in boards' usage of managerial controls. These findings suggest that information and managerial control mechanisms act as complements in the governance context, and that boards take a variety of actions to protect the interests of shareholders.     

Does doing “good” always translate into doing “well”? An eco‐efficiency perspective

Does doing “good” always translate into doing “well”? Debate over the “value” of corporate social responsibility is high on the agenda of corporate finance research. Deeper understanding is required on managers' incentives to pursue and implement corporate social responsibility related strategies, as is more thorough comprehension of the effect of these strategies to firms' performance levels as well as shareholder and wider stakeholder valuations of the firm. This paper provides a new lens by approaching the subject from a different methodological paradigm, grounded in the performance benchmarking methods more commonly applied in operational research. In so doing, we provide novel evidence of the effect of corporate choices on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategic investment compliance (i.e., doing good) to firms' eco‐efficiency levels (doing well). In brief, our empirical findings suggest that ESG and firm's eco‐performance are nonlinearly related. Specifically, advanced ESG policies and disclosure levels are associated with a positive affect to firms' eco‐efficiency levels, but only up to a point, after which the effect becomes “neutral,” that is, ESG demonstrates a visible pattern of diminishing marginal returns. Thus, we may humbly conclude that a firm may “do well” by doing good, but it is not clear they should ever expect to “do great” just by “doing good.” The threshold at which this “neutrality” appears varies systematically with the characteristics of the sector in which the firm is operating, as well as dimensions of board diversity. Finally, it is evident that ESG implementation choices can be a source of managerial agency problems.     

The Effects of Corporate Governance on the Relationship between Innovative Efforts and Performance1

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of managerial share ownership, CEO duality and board independence on the relationship between innovative efforts and performance. The study is motivated by the observation that despite the widely held belief that innovative efforts are crucial to firms' survival, previous studies were unable to provide any evidence in support of this belief. It addresses this incongruity by focusing on the effects of corporate governance on the relationship between innovative efforts and performance. Specifically, this study predicts and finds that managerial share ownership has a positive effect on this relationship while CEO duality has a negative effect. Contrary to the hypothesis, this study finds that board independence also has a negative effect on the relationship between innovative efforts and performance. This contradictory result is, however, consistent with the managerial-incentive theory, which proposes that inside directors are in a better position than outside directors to motivate managers to undertake profitable projects because they have superior access to firms' specific information.     

Corporate governance practices that address climate change: an exploratory study

This exploratory study sought to investigate how well 98 firms in three industries, across 10 countries, are addressing climate change through five specific governance practices. The findings suggest that non‐US firms demonstrate higher performance on the governance dimensions than their US counterparts. Further, by separating firms into low versus high performers on the governance dimensions, some board structure variables, such as number of directors and an independent board chair, were associated with higher performing firms. The study contributes both to institutional and agency theory. For example, coercive isomorphisms in regions of the world, such as Europe, might be driving firms to demonstrate that they are addressing climate change at the governance level in order to gain legitimacy. As for agency theory, this study offers both confirmatory and contradictory results regarding board independence. For example, firms who separated the CEO–board chair role achieved better governance on climate change, while at the same time firms who demonstrated lack of independence with respect to the inside versus outside director ratio also achieved better governance on climate change. This paves the way for additional research in understanding how board structure influences organizational phenomena. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental performance,sustainability, governance and financial performance: Evidence from heavily polluting industries in China

This study seeks to contribute to the existing business strategy and the environment literature by examining the effect of governance structures on Chinese firms' environmental performance, and consequently ascertain the extent to which the financial performance–environmental performance nexus is moderated by governance mechanisms. Using a sample of Chinese companies from heavily polluting industries over a 5-year period, our baseline findings suggest that, on average, board size and governing board meetings are positively associated with Chinese firms' environmental performance, whilst board independence and gender diversity have positive, but insignificant association with firms' environmental performance. Our evidence suggests further that the examined internal governance mechanisms have a mixed moderating effect on the link between financial performance and environmental performance. Our findings have important implications for company executives, environmental activists, policy-makers, and regulators. Our results support insights drawn from agency, resource dependence, stakeholder, and legitimacy theories.     

Board Effectiveness and the Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Information

This paper examines the relationship between board of directors' effectiveness and voluntary climate change disclosures. Since risk management and reporting fall under the board's responsibility, we relate board effectiveness to the firm's decision to voluntarily respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) annual questionnaire as well as the quality of disclosures about climate‐change‐related risks and strategies to mitigate them. Our results show a positive association between board effectiveness and the firm's decision to answer the CDP questionnaire as well as its carbon disclosure quality. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the determinants of voluntary climate change disclosures. Our findings highlight the importance of the board of directors' role in enhancing the transparency and relevance of voluntary disclosures of climate change business impacts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Corporate Governance in China: A Meta‐Analysis

How has the impact of ‘good corporate governance’ principles on firm performance changed over time in China? Amassing a database of 84 studies, 684 effect sizes, and 547,622 firm observations, we explore this important question by conducting a meta‐analysis on the corporate governance literature on China. The weight of evidence demonstrates that two major ‘good corporate governance’ principles advocating board independence and managerial incentives are indeed associated with better firm performance. However, we cannot find strong support for the criticisms against CEO duality. In addition, we go beyond a static perspective (such as certain governance mechanisms are effective or ineffective) by investigating the temporal hypotheses. We reveal that over time, with the improvement in the quality of market institutions and development of financial markets, the monitoring mechanisms of the board and state ownership become more strongly related to firm performance, whereas the incentive mechanisms lose their significance. Overall, our findings advance a dynamic institution‐based view by substantiating the case that institutional transitions matter for the relationship between governance mechanisms and firm performance in the second largest economy in the world.     

ESG controversies and bank risk taking

This study investigates how environmental, social, and governance controversies affect bank risk taking. By estimating a dynamic panel data model from 2011 to 2020, we find evidence that banks with fewer ESG controversies take less risk. Banks with a lower number of ESG controversies show their compliance with the implementation of ESG strategies to reduce risk, as evidenced by lower risk-weighted assets and higher Z-scores. The present study supports the recent guidelines on climate-related and environmental risks published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the European Central Bank. Therefore, the main results strengthen the need for the integration not only of social and governance risks but also of climate-related and environmental risks in banks' risk management framework.     

Applying the reduce,reuse, and recycle principle in the hospitality sector: Its antecedents and performance implications

Although the literature on eco-friendly strategies followed by firms is abundant, the focus on the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rs) policies as the cornerstone of environmental sustainability is scarce. This study examines the 3Rs environmental strategy among 143 large organizations in the hospitality industry. We use the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm theory to test the strategy's determinants and its impact on business performance on a suggested conceptualization level. As hypothesized, green corporate governance and environmental management systems, along with slack financial resources, were found to positively influence the adoption of a 3Rs environmental strategy. In turn, the implementation of the latter leads to superior business performance, measured in terms of operating profits and Tobin's Q. The study has several implications on a theoretical, managerial, and public policy level where intriguing directions for future research are provided.     

关于经理报酬的西方研究动态

经理报酬水平决定的早期模型把报酬看成公司业绩、规模和成长性的函数。在该模型基础上的实证研究发现业绩对经理报酬水平的解释力很弱。为解释该现象，新近的研究开始寻找决定经理报酬水平的其他机制如公司的董事治理、大股东治理，以及经理的人力资源特征；而且还对影响报酬和业绩敏感性的因素如公司财务杠杆、公司的风险、公司董事治理进行研究，寻找解释报酬业绩敏感性较低的原因。     

Board gender diversity and carbon emissions: European evidence on curvilinear relationships and critical mass

The role of European businesses in addressing environmental issues and climate change has taken center stage with the European Green Deal. With increasing attention to the effect of board gender diversity (BGD) on firms' environmental performance, the question arises whether BGD has any influence on carbon emissions. Based on legitimacy and critical mass theory, this study empirically investigates the impact of BGD on firms' carbon performance (CP), based on total carbon emissions intensity. The paper relies on two-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions with instrumental variable (IV) and a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) system approach to analyze a cross-country sample of 3123 observations from non-financial firms in the European STOXX600 index over the 2009–2018 period. Our findings add to the growing empirical evidence twofold: (1) there is a robust linear and positive relationship between BGD and CP, whereas some indication of a U-shaped relationship is found; and (2) we find that a critical mass of at least two women directors needs to be reached to increase CP. Our research results contribute to the current discussion on sustainable corporate governance, especially in the European capital market, and have implications for researchers, business practice, and regulatory issues alike.     

Intra‐Sectoral Differences in Climate Change Strategies: Evidence from the Global Automotive Industry

Companies are increasingly challenged for action on climate change. Most studies on business responses to climate change focus on cross‐sector comparisons and neglect intra‐sectoral dynamics. This paper investigates the influence of supply chain position and regional affiliation on climate change strategies within a particular industry. We present a generic framework integrating both market and non‐market responses to climate change. We argue that climate change strategies comprise several corporate activities that have different foci of interaction and four main objectives: governance, innovation, compensation and legitimation. Using a global sample of 116 automotive companies, we conduct a cluster analysis and identify four types of strategy. We find that the sophistication of automobile manufacturers' strategies significantly differs from that of suppliers. Regional affiliation and firm size prove to be determinants of the strategy type pursued. We cannot find evidence for a relationship between financial performance and a company's strategic approach to climate change. © 2017 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Toward sustainable development: Board characteristics,country governance quality,and environmental performance

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of board characteristics and country governance quality on both individual aspects and the overall level of environmental performance through the lens of agency, resource dependency, and institutional theories. The study is based on a sample of 3023 firm-year observations from European companies operating in 22 countries between 2009 and 2016. Data on the resources, emissions, and innovation dimensions of environmental performance and board governance data were collected from the Refinitiv database, whereas financial data were extracted from the Worldscope database. The study employs a multilevel modeling analysis and the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to analyze the data. The findings suggest that board gender diversity and the presence of a corporate social responsibility and sustainability committee have a positive impact on environmental performance. The results also show that country governance quality is positively related to environmental performance. The findings have important implications for practitioners, regulators, and policymakers with respect to the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms and country governance systems in determining corporate environmental practices.     

Can environmental governance lower toxic emissions? A panel study of U.S. high‐polluting industries

Firms have increasingly adopted environmental governance mechanisms in the form of environmental compensation and environmental board committees. The current study examines the argument that such environmental governance mechanisms contribute to lower toxic emissions in high‐polluting industries. The sample comprises firms that were part of the S&P 500 from the years 2006 to 2011 and were mandated to report toxic emissions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Toxic Release Inventory program. A panel regression model with propensity score matching was employed to minimize endogeneity bias. The results indicate that environmental compensation is a compelling incentive to motivate managers to invest in long‐term and highly uncertain environmental projects. Likewise, the presence of an environmental board committee appears to be significant, suggesting that directors contribute to a firm's strategy with their expertise and political influence. This research also found evidence supporting the cumulative adoption of both environmental governance mechanisms in enhancing environmental performance and the firm's legitimacy.     

新疆上市公司治理结构与绩效的相关性研究

以2001～2005年新疆上市公司为样本,综合考察了股权结构、董事会特征与高管激励对公司绩效的影响,发现股权集中度与公司绩效正相关,董事长与总经理两职合一与公司绩效正相关,董事会规模与绩效成倒U型关系,独立董事比例与绩效成负向关系;高管激励不论是采用年薪的方式还是采用股权激励都未通过显著性检验。考虑到公司内部治理结构与绩效的互动关系,还检验了治理结构的内生性问题,Granger因果关系检验发现公司治理结构对绩效有促进作用,但未发现绩效对治理机制的反馈作用。     

The Impact of Carbon Performance on Climate Change Disclosure

In the light of the significant role of environmental accounting in sustainable development, this study examines whether climate change disclosure reflects a firm's environmental performance. The novelty of the study stands on the approaches adopted to describe environmental performance. The first approach concerns performance in terms of output, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, while the second one is based on environmental intention of mitigating climate change, including climate change policy and emission reduction initiatives. The Climate Performance Leadership Index is employed as a measure for climate change disclosure level, incorporating initiatives contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation and transparency. Ordered logit regression is the appropriate methodology for the data employed concerning firms listed on FTSE 350. According to our findings, environmental performance for both adopted approaches entails a positive effect on climate change disclosure, a result that is consistent with voluntary disclosure theory. It is inferred that firms cannot manipulate their information reflecting their actual environmental performance and adopting a forthright and factual attitude towards sustainable development. Finally, findings provide an insight into managers' strategic behavior towards climate change issues. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

A THEORY OF GOVERNING THE PUBLIC'S BUSINESS: Redesigning the jobs of boards,councils, and commissions

The job of the board of directors is the least developed element in enterprise, whether public, business, or nonprofit. Incorporating insights from Mill, Hume, and the social contract philosophy of Rousseau, as well as the servant-leadership concept of Greenleaf, the author's Policy Governance® model constitutes a theory of governance applicable to any governing body. The model enables public boards to govern by making public values explicit, crafting the expression of those values for practical managerial effect. The new governance model compels radical change in the way boards conduct their business. One effect is more authoritative boards and more empowered management simultaneously; another is greater integrity in the relationship between the public and its boards.     

Opening up the firm: What explains participation and effort in voluntary carbon disclosure by global businesses? An analysis of internal firm factors and dynamics

A voluntary climate initiative that has emerged over the past two decades as an institutional arrangement for corporations around the globe to signal and demonstrate their proactive climate leadership is the CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). Unlike the extant literature that has emphasized stakeholder and regulatory pressures, this paper argues that voluntary carbon disclosure is both beneficial and costly for corporations with respect to the existence of supportive management structures, explicit CSR practices, and the existence of complementary assets. Moreover, there is variation between European firms and other global businesses because of Europe's distinctive national business systems framework in conjunction with global supply chain imperatives. Empirically, this study employs a novel discrete‐continuous modeling approach to distinguish between a corporation's decision to disclose and the linked but subsequent decision of how much to disclose climate change information. Results indicate that the main drivers of participation in voluntary carbon disclosure by the Global 500 firms is the existence of senior managers and executive‐level officers and the adoption of ESG principles by global businesses. Conditional on participation, European Union‐based and other global businesses that articulate a corporate vision for environmental sustainability, adopt ESG principles, and invest in complementary assets disclose climate change strategies and emissions at higher levels than companies without these internal firm capabilities. This study has implications for national climate policy and global climate change governance more generally, both of which increasingly focus on concrete climate solutions by corporations.     

Factors affecting corporate environmental disclosure in emerging markets: The role of corporate governance structures

This study seeks to examine whether internal corporate governance (CG) mechanisms affect corporate environmental disclosure (CED) in emerging economies. Using a sample of 500 firm-year observations, this study distinctively applies a linear panel quantile regression (PQR) model to examine the CG–CED nexus in Jordan. This technique is supplemented with conducting a two-step dynamic generalised method of moment (GMM) model to overcome any potential occurrence of endogeneity problems. This study reports an increasing trend in CED practice among the sampled companies over the period of analysis, yet it is still at an early stage as compared with their developed counterparts. Furthermore, this study suggests that board size, board independence, CEO duality and foreign ownership have positive associations with CED. In contrast, managerial ownership, institutional ownership and ownership concentration are negatively associated with the disclosed amount of environmental information in the Jordanian context. Theoretically, board structures appeared to be more efficient than ownership structures in reducing agency conflicts by addressing the asymmetric gap of information and promoting the disclosure of environmental information. These findings add to the debate about whether ownership structures detrimental to CED in developing economies. Specifically, when it comes to spending money on CED, owners seemed to be more concerned about any reductions in their share of the pie and may, therefore, be less motivated to disclose their companies' environmental information. This paper provides managers, owners and policymakers with a set of context-specific recommendations related to the crucial need for a more concerted effort to integrate governance and environmental regulations in order to ensure sustainability in emerging markets.