Emissions permit allocation and strategic firm behavior: Evidence from the oil sector in the European Union emissions trading scheme

With the growing urgency of climate change, governments around the world are increasingly implementing new regulations for greenhouse gases. This trend elevates the importance of examining how firms engage in strategic efforts to influence regulations before they are in place and how they respond once they are in effect (i.e., their ex‐ante and ex‐post strategic behavior). This paper examines the outcomes of such strategic efforts by multinational and domestic oil companies within the European Union emissions trading scheme. An analysis of a panel dataset of oil firms (2008–2012) shows that on average the outcome of ex‐ante strategies did not differ significantly between multinational companies (MNCs) and domestic firms. However, the findings indicate that among those firms that received positive net benefits from the new climate policy, domestic firms were able to maximize these benefits better than MNCs through their ex‐post strategies. In contrast, among the firms that faced net costs due to the policy, MNCs were able to minimize these costs better than domestic firms, ex‐post. This paper advances our understanding of whether and to what extent MNCs differ from domestic firms in their economic outcomes stemming from strategic behavior related to emissions trading. This question is especially pertinent for regulations related to climate change, which is one of humanity's grand challenges and has important consequences for our economic, social, and political systems.     

Analysing emission intensive firms as regulatory stakeholders: a role for adaptable business strategy

Climate change regulations pose significant challenges to firms that produce large volumes of carbon emissions. Accordingly, firms in the trade‐exposed emission intensive industries are critical regulatory stakeholders. Following the Australian Government's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2007, the proposed installation of an emission trading scheme is one of several business concerns as the government seeks to implement climate change policies and regulations. In this study, we inve stigate some of the major concerns that confront emission intensive businesses, and ask what the critical issues are for firms as a consequence of climate change policy implementation and what this means for their strategies. The study uses a concept mapping and analysis technique to reveal that future emission trading systems and business performance impacts resulting from emission reduction initiatives represent serious strategic concerns to stakeholder firms. Adaptable business strategies offer a potential solution to these perceived concerns and problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Marketing Strategies of Korean MNCs in the US Consumer Electronics Industry

Abstract

This study examines the marketing strategies and management styles of Korean and Japanese multinational corporations in the US consumer electronics industry. Hypotheses are developed with regard to strategic goals and objectives, marketing mix variable emphasis, market orientation and planning focus. The empirical results generally support the research hypotheses that Japanese companies are not only more aggressive in delivering marketing mix but also more-market oriented than Korean counterparts who often base their marketing strategy on short-term profitability rather than long-term market share growth.     

我国深度嵌入全球价值链对行业技术进步的影响研究

本文采用投入-产出法对2009~2018年10年间的工业行业数据进行研究。结果表明,发展中国家在嵌入全球价值链不深入的情况下,其技术进步是依附并适应跨国公司而取得的。若代工企业处于价值链上游,会过多地分割跨国公司的市场,对技术进步造成不利影响。在全球价值链中,很多行业的技术进步与嵌入深度为非线性倒U型曲线关系。建议各行业主动转变低端的生产参与模式,全方位提高自主创新水平;充分发挥自贸区试点作用,纵向扩展对外开放程度;借助国际会议交流机会提升国际话语权以参与构建更公平的国际经贸准则。     

Carbon management accounting and financial performance: Evidence from the European Union emission trading system

Companies are responding to the effects of climate change by reducing CO₂ emissions as a way of managing stakeholder interests and complying with legal and regulatory requirements. In Europe, the emissions trading system is consolidated as a limiting market and control scheme to support business climate change management through a collaborative relationship between government and industry. This work focuses on the economic accounting field, analysing carbon management accounting and its impact on financial performance in scenarios attached to that trading system. The methodological approach used is quantitative, empirically testing the hypotheses through a multiple regression analysis with a sample of 350 European companies. The results attest to the importance of carbon management accounting (CMA) control and its effects on financial performance. Compared with European emission trading, the results failed to display significant differences in the relationship studied between those that make up this type of market and those that do not.     

Convergence in human resource systems: A comparison of locally owned and MNC subsidiaries in Taiwan

This article investigates issues of convergence in human resource systems in Taiwan, with reference to the similarities and differences between locally owned companies and subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Traditionally, management in Taiwanese companies has been largely influenced by Confucian values and is quite distinct from approaches common to MNCs. However, globalization has engendered significant competitive pressures, coupled with cultural and institutional change within Taiwan. This article provides a theoretical framework for understanding such changes and provides empirical evidence indicating that Taiwanese companies are acting very much like MNCs with regard to the adoption of flexible, highperformance work systems. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Adaptation Measures of Energy and Utility Companies to Cope with Water Scarcity Induced by Climate Change

Resource‐intensive business plays a fundamental role in causing climate change through the emission of large amounts of GHGs (greenhouse gases), and, in turn, climate‐induced physical changes affect companies. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather and climate events (IPCC, 2012). Droughts represent a major challenge for energy and water businesses, in terms of both exacerbation of dry climates and increase in the number of territories that experience water shortage. On the basis of an analysis of the energy and utility companies operating in different continents, the objective of this empirical research is twofold: on the one hand, it examines how these companies perceive the changes in water availability induced by climate change (as well as the potential impacts on business); on the other hand, it analyses the corresponding measures that these companies adopt to cope with changes in hydrology and water resources driven by climate change. Data from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) provide valuable information about business climate‐related responses of several of the world's largest firms. Our results show that, in the energy and water sectors, some adaptive measures are starting to be implemented to deal not only with the risks but also with the opportunities related to climate‐induced physical changes, thus leading to interesting innovation. The paper concludes that anticipated positive effects could drive energy and utility companies towards a proactive stance to achieve a competitive advantage and trigger innovative trajectories. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Case Studies of Technological Change and Organisational Culture

Abstract

This paper focuses on technology as a central force in shaping cultural and environmental conditions as well as their interrelationships within an organisation. The research was carried out in Systems India Ltd., a subsidiary of Systems Corporation of USA, which is one of the oldest multinational corporations in the world. The two case studies from Systems India Ltd. bring out the ‘role of strategy in technological changes’ and the ‘role of leadership in technological changes.’ The findings of these two case studies when compared with three partner companies in similar industry indicated similar relationship between culture and technological change and organisational culture in Systems India Ltd.     

Corporate Incentives to Disclose Carbon Information: Evidence from the CDP Global 500 Report

We investigate how the Global 500 companies respond to the challenge of climate change with regard to their carbon disclosure strategies. This paper is motivated by a growing body of research that examines the role of large companies in carbon disclosure responsibility and practices. We consider the impact of social, financial market, economic, regulatory, and institutional factors on the motivation to voluntarily participate in the 2009 Carbon Disclosure Project. We find that economic pressure is significantly associated with the decision. That is, companies facing direct economic consequence are more likely to disclose. Companies in greenhouse gas (GHG) intensive sectors show the same tendency. In addition, big companies have a higher propensity for disclosing, suggesting that social pressure plays an important role. We also provide possible explanations as to why a large proportion of our sample firms refuse to disclose. Furthermore, our results suggest that the proxies for information needs of investors are not associated with a higher propensity to disclose the amount of their emission footprints. In sum, it appears that the major driving force for climate change disclosure comes from the general public and government rather than from the other major stakeholders such as shareholders and debtholders. Our results are robust after controlling for other influences.     

Pluralism in retreat? A comparison of Irish and multinational manufacturing companies

Traditionally it has been argued that the industrial relations practices of multinational corporations tended to conform with the prevailing industrial relations practices of the host country. Recent arguments claim that this trend has now been reversed and a new orthodoxy prevails which originates in the multinational corporation's country of origin. Drawing on a sample of companies in the Irish manufacturing sector, this paper examines the extent of these changes through a comparison of indigenous and foreign companies. The evidence of change emerging from this survey does not fully support the hypothesis that the practices of multinationals are significantly different or that there is a new orthodoxy in industrial relations originating in the multinational sector. We suggest that the impetus for change in employment practices is not to be found in the multinational sector but in the dynamic nature of competitive markets and the increasingly international mobility of capital.     

Industry and Regional Patterns in Sequential Foreign Market Entry

This study empirically investigates industry and region of origin patterns of sequential foreign market entry by multinational corporations (MNCs) at the line of business level. We use event history analysis to study sequential foreign direct investment in the United States by European and Japanese firms in the chemical and electronics industries from 1975 to 1992. Results show that European firms as well as Japanese firms first enter in their largest and strongest lines of business, and over time extend their positions by entering in lines of business that are smaller and less strong. As for industry effects, sequential entry is observed more strongly among electronics firms than among chemical firms, reflecting differences in the speed and extent of globalization of these two industries. Our findings confirm that foreign market entry is a sequential process, and show that industry effects are more important than region of origin effects.     

Dynamic and asymmetric effects between carbon emission trading,financial uncertainties,and Chinese industry stocks: Evidence from quantile-on-quantile and causality-in-quantiles analysis

This paper investigates the dynamic and asymmetric effects between carbon emission trading (CET), financial uncertainties, and Chinese stocks in different industries over the period from 19th December 2013 to 21st March 2022. We utilized a novel quantile framework including rolling window quantile regression method, quantile-on-quantile method, and causality-in-quantiles method to implement this research more comprehensively and accurately. Our contributions and findings, empirical in nature, are as follows: (i) In the early establishing stage of the carbon market, with a bullish market situation, carbon emission trading has a negative impact on most industry stocks. In the developing and improving stage of the carbon market, different industries have different impact situations. (ii) We find that the effects of financial uncertainty on stocks are stronger than CET on stocks. We also find that the dependence structures between CET, financial uncertainty, and industry stocks are asymmetric in most industries, and there are many mutation structures with significant risks in extreme situations. (iii) Carbon emissions trading, crude oil volatility, and US stock volatility all have strong causal relationships with Chinese industry stocks. (iv) We also provide policy suggestions to relevant countries to balance carbon market and stock markets and avoid risks from financial uncertainty in different industries.     

Purchasing's contribution to supply chain emission reduction

Does environmental purchasing and supplier management (EPSM) help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the supply chain and, thereby, mitigate climate change? And, if so, under which conditions? Taking these two questions as a starting point, we hypothesize that heightened environmental protection efforts targeting the upstream value chain should lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the buying companies' supply chain. We continue to delineate three contingency factors that might affect the relationship between EPSM and supply chain GHG emissions: The power of the buying firm over supply chain partners, prior experience in EPSM, and materiality of environmental supply chain management in a certain industry. We collect longitudinal data from 260 companies and analyze them using hybrid panel data analysis. We find that the increase of EPSM leads to a significant reduction of the GHG emission intensity of buying firms’ supply chains and that this reduction is stronger for companies operating in industries where emission management is more material.     

Institutional Pressures and an Evolving Forest Carbon Market

It is estimated that 87 million acres of forestland in the United States (US) is managed by private industrial forestland owners (nearly 14% of the forestland nationwide). Private industrial forestland owners include forest product companies, Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Current regulatory and voluntary carbon markets, as well as proposed national emission reduction legislation, in the US make provisions for substantial carbon offsets from domestic forestry projects. This research employs the theory of planned behavior by means of an online questionnaire in order to survey large industrial forestland owners (>30 000 acres) regarding intentions to manage forestland for carbon sequestration and trading. Quantitative results suggest that very few organizations (18%) were managing forestland for carbon values. Attitudes towards carbon sequestration and trading were significantly influenced by the managers' beliefs that emission reduction legislation would become law and that US forest carbon offsets can be used as a legitimate climate change mitigation tool. Qualitative results revealed that most organizations are taking a passive approach to carbon sequestration and trading until a suitable regulatory framework emerges and carbon prices provide the conditions for a sound investment. The researchers suggest that, given the size and scope of the climate change phenomenon as well as the multifaceted and unified mitigation strategy required to address it, the development of functional carbon markets will be an iterative process and may require a global carbon framework that reflects the globalized nature of the forest economy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

促进我国企业经济发展的策略探讨

随着经济的发展,全球化是必然趋势,中国企业要想发展,就必然要加入到国际化的竞争中,必然会因为国际贸易的开展受到来自跨国公司的威胁,从而带来经营风险。只有充分考虑企业的经营风险并依据各自所在的行业和对现金流的要求制定相应的策略,找出与行业和个体情况相适应的方法,才能最切实有效地防御企业的经营风险。本文主要探讨促进我国企业经济发展的策略。     

Stakeholder engagement and environmental strategy – the case of climate change

Many management studies analyze stakeholder pressures and corresponding corporate strategies in the context of the natural environment. This study investigates the role of the sources of stakeholder pressures and additional contextual factors for choosing an environmental strategy. By focusing on climate change as an important ecological challenge, four general response strategies to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction pressures are empirically derived and discussed. The analysis is based on a global survey that includes 141 companies across eight different GHG emission‐intensive industries. It is found that organizations' response strategies do not relate to individual stakeholder groups, but rather the organization's level of pollution measured as its GHG intensity is identified to have an influence on the environmental strategy. We discuss important implications for stakeholder theory as well as policy makers and suggest areas for future research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

跨国公司对我国经济发展的负面影响及对策研究

跨国公司作为经济全球化的主要载体,推动了国际分工的深化,促进了资源在全球范围内的优化配置,在技术创新、信息交流、经济结构调整等方面都起着重要作用.尤其对我国这样一个新兴的市场经济体,更需要以跨国公司为代表的外来资本刺激经济的繁荣,进一步激发经济的潜在活力.然而,跨国公司在促进我国经济发展的同时,又存在一定的负面影响.文章对此进行了深入分析,并提出了解决对策.     

Business strategies and the transition to low‐carbon cities

Cities are key drivers of global climate change, with the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being tied to urban life. Local actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change are essential for stabilization of the global climate and can also help to address other urban ecological problems such as pollution, decreasing biodiversity, etc. Companies are important urban actors in the development of low‐carbon cities because they provide a multitude of goods and services to city populations and directly influence urban carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This is a new area of research. While studies on corporate sustainability are numerous, there is little, if any, existing research that examines the role of companies in climate change adaptation and mitigation within specific urban areas. Urban ecologists also have not examined how corporate activity affects urban systems. Taking a multi‐disciplinary systems approach, we present a conceptual model of the role of companies in managing urban interactions with the climate system. We also present empirical findings illustrating how one company ‘partners’ with the city of Rotterdam to test electric vehicles as a pilot project for urban climate adaptation and mitigation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

公司房地产的发展历史

一直以来,公司房地产仅仅被视为是一般建筑,但是往往对公司的发展甚至生存起着非常重要的作用。随着(跨国)公司的快速增长和改革的不断深入,公司房地产投资得到了不断的增长。为了有效管理公司的房地产投资组合,公司成立了专门部门,组织了专业人员对这些资产进行管理,文中对此作出了分析。除了对公司房地产发展历史进行了概述,还为目前正面临着相似增长路径的公司提供了可供参考的历史经验和教训,并提出了建议。     

Electoral system,corporate political donation,and carbon emission intensity: Cross-country evidence

We examine the association between a country's electoral system and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of firms and explore whether this association is influenced by corporate political donation. The study draws on the neo-pluralist theory of power in society to examine how possible corporate influence in the electoral systems relates to corporate environmental performance. Using a cross-country panel dataset, we find that companies operating in countries using majoritarian electoral systems (MAJ), where corporations have a relatively low influence on election outcomes, are associated with lower GHG emission intensity than those in proportional electoral systems, after controlling for macro-economic factors and variations in firm characteristics. Further, our findings show that corporate political donation positively moderates the association between MAJ and GHG emission intensity. Our results suggest that corporations are likely to utilise political donations as a component of business strategy to ease the regulatory actions of the state on companies. The results are robust to alternative variable measurements and tests of sensitivity.