Inter‐firm R&D collaborations and green innovation value: The role of family firms' involvement and the moderating effects of proximity dimensions

The present paper investigates the relationship between the involvement of family firms in R&D collaborations aimed at developing green solutions and the value of resulting innovations. To dig into this relationship, the moderating effects of two proximity dimensions (i.e., geographical distance and technological relatedness) are also assessed. Analyses are based on a sample of 156 joint patents classified into the “Alternative energy production” field, as defined by the International Patent Classification Green Inventory and successfully filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in the period 1997–2010 by publicly listed companies. According to our conjectures, results reveal a positive relationship between the involvement of family firms and green innovation value. Moreover, our findings show that this relationship is hindered when partners are geographically distant or technologically proximate. Eventually, we contribute to the literature on green innovation by unveiling under which conditions inter‐firm R&D collaborations lead to more valuable innovations.     

Antecedents of Green Loyalty in the Cruise Industry: Sustainable Development and Environmental Management

As there is a lack of understanding about cruise travelers' eco‐friendly behaviors and knowledge about eco‐friendly cruises, this study attempted to examine the role of green value, satisfaction, desire, and internal and external normative factors in building passengers' green loyalty for environmentally responsible cruises. A survey methodology and structural equation modeling were utilized to achieve the research purpose. Data quality assessment revealed that all measures for variables included an adequate level of reliability and validity. Results of the structural analysis indicated that our theoretical framework had a sufficient level of anticipation power for loyalty. The proposed associations among study variables were generally supported. The significant indirect influence of green values and social norms on loyalty was identified. Moreover, the magnitude of the total influence of social norms on loyalty was the greatest among the study constructs. Overall, our findings offer valuable and meaningful insights for cruise researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The Feasibility of the Double‐Dividend Hypothesis in a Democratic Economy

The two dividends in the double‐dividend hypothesis are assumed to be independent. This assumption can be misleading when it comes to formulating policy. I construct a model where the pollution tax rate is voted for by heterogeneous people. In addition to the revenue‐recycling effect, the equilibrium pollution tax rate depends on two opposite forces: the tax‐cutting effect and the profit effect. The two forces show that an instrument that exploits a greater revenue‐recycling effect can cause a more severe environmental deterioration, thereby resulting in the infeasibility of the hypothesis. The introduction of the interdependence between the two dividends can also mean that non‐revenue‐raising instruments are more efficient than revenue‐raising instruments.     

How to respond to competitors' green success for improving performance: The moderating role of organizational ambidexterity

With increasing environmental competitions between companies, there is a pressing need to explore how the environmental pressures from rivals influence focal firms' actions and the subsequent performance consequences. On the basis of social contagion theory and upper echelons theory, we examine whether firms respond to competitors' green success through green supplier integration, which further improves firm performance, and the moderating effect of organizational ambidexterity. The research explores hypothesized relationships adopting hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping method by collecting survey data from 206 Chinese manufacturers. Our findings suggest that competitors' green success positively influences green supplier integration. Green supplier integration mediates the impacts of competitors' green success on financial and environmental performance. In addition, the combined dimension of organizational ambidexterity plays a positive moderating role in the impacts of green supplier integration on financial and environmental performance. This study expands previous literature and managers' practices on green supply chain management.     

Fuel consumption for various driving styles in conventional and hybrid electric vehicles: Integrating driving cycle predictions with fuel consumption optimization*

Improving fuel economy and lowering emissions are key societal goals. Standard driving cycles, pre-designed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have long been used to estimate vehicle fuel economy in laboratory-controlled conditions. They have also been used to test and tune different energy management strategies for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). This paper aims to estimate fuel consumption for a conventional vehicle and a HEV using personalized driving cycles extracted from real-world data to study the effects of different driving styles and vehicle types on fuel consumption when compared to the estimates based on standard driving cycles. To do this, we extracted driving cycles for conventional vehicles and HEVs from a large-scale U.S. survey that contains real-world GPS-based driving records. Next, the driving cycles were assigned to one of three categories: volatile, normal, or calm. Then, the driving cycles were used along with a driver-vehicle simulation that captures driver decisions (vehicle speed during a trip), powertrain, and vehicle dynamics to estimate fuel consumption for conventional vehicles and HEVs with power-split powertrain. To further optimize fuel consumption for HEVs, the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy (ECMS) is applied. The results show that depending on the driving style and the driving scenario, conventional vehicle fuel consumption can vary widely compared with standard EPA driving cycles. Specifically, conventional vehicle fuel consumption was 13% lower in calm urban driving, but almost 34% higher for volatile highway driving compared with standard EPA driving cycles. Interestingly, when a driving cycle is predicted based on the application of case-based reasoning and used to tune the power distribution in a hybrid electric vehicle, its fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 12% in urban driving. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.     

Impacts of sustainability certification on farm income: Evidence from small-scale specialty green tea farmers in Vietnam

Sustainability certification for small-scale farms has gained considerable momentum in developing countries. However, evidence on the economic benefits of certification schemes in the context of domestically consumed foods and beverages is scarce. This paper addresses this gap by evaluating the impacts of sustainability standards on the selling prices, sales, costs and net income of small-scale specialty green tea farming in Vietnam. We analyze original survey data on 401 smallholder green tea farmers and employ propensity score matching to mitigate self-selection bias. Our estimates reveal that certified green tea producers are able to obtain a higher average selling price and sales value. In addition, although certification leads to a dramatic increase in the costs of hired labor, net farm income is still significantly improved.     

CEO hometown identity and firm green innovation

Drawn on the upper echelons theory, this study investigates how chief executive officer (CEO) hometown identity drives firm green innovation. We propose that CEO hometown identity has a positive impact on a firm's green innovation performance. Furthermore, we explore the moderating role of managerial discretion determined by organizational and environmental factors (i.e., institutional ownership and market complexity). We propose that institutional ownership negatively moderates the positive relationship between CEO hometown identity and green innovation, but market complexity plays a positive moderating role. Using Chinese publicly listed firms from 2002 to 2016 in heavily polluting industries, our findings support these hypotheses. Our research contributes to the upper echelons theory and corporate social responsibility literature and has substantial practical implications.     

Understanding consumers' purchase intentions toward natural‐claimed products: A qualitative research in personal care products

In recent years there is a trend of consuming natural products for a sustainable and healthier life. Therefore, firms began aligning their strategy with sustainability by communication strategies that they produce natural products, which are better for health as well as the environmental sustainability. However, sometimes these claims may be deceptive. The purpose of this paper is to understand the consumers' purchasing intentions toward products claiming naturalness in their advertising and packaging strategies. This research also examined greenwashing perceptions and their potential roles in purchasing intentions. In‐depth face‐to‐face interviews carried out with 20 Turkish women regarding personal care products (local brand and international brand). The findings of the interviews revealed eight themes (perceived greenwashing, perceived green image, price perception, environmental concern, green trust, skepticism, perceived risk, and purchase intention). This study contributes to predict a framework from consumer viewpoint for identifying the themes related to greenwashing.     

Investigating the link between managers' green knowledge and leadership style,and their firms' environmental performance: The mediation role of green creativity

Despite extensive literature on green hotel management and sustainability, scant attention has been given on the role of managers to solve environmental related issues. This study's aim is to assess the effects of managers' green knowledge and green transformational leadership on firms' environmental performance with the mediating effect of green creativity. The study analyzes the perceptions of 363 employees in different managerial positions of the hotel industry employing Partial Last Square Structural Equation Modeling. The findings of the study show a positive effect of green knowledge and green transformational leadership on green creativity and green transformational leadership on environmental performance. Furthermore, green creativity is also found to have significant mediating effect between green knowledge and environmental performance, and green transformational leadership and environmental performance relations. The main implication of the current research is that managers' green concerns might help the stakeholders in the hotel industry to respond through appropriate green initiatives for their organizations. Further suggestions for literature and practice are discussed.     

What you see is meaningful: Does green advertising change the intentions of consumers to purchase eco-labeled products?

Consumers are increasingly worried that their current consumption patterns have negative environmental impacts, which in turn shapes their green purchase intentions. Based on the signaling theory and stimulus–organism–response model, the purpose of this research is to construct a theoretical framework to understand consumer intentions to buy eco-labeled products. Empirical results from 671 questionnaires show that as expected, green advertising receptivity positively affects intention, and the relationship between green advertising receptivity and intention is also moderated by promotion focus and mediated by system trust and personal trust. However, the relationship between green advertising receptivity and purchase intention is not moderated by prevention focus. Hence, this research suggests that stakeholders should conduct truthful green advertising campaigns to dispel consumer suspicion and target different consumers with different green advertising and marketing campaigns to increase sales.