Search

Institutional pressures are major driving forces for firms' green innovation. However, there is significant heterogeneity in firms' responses to these forces due to the complex information environment within the institutional field. Social ties are known to provide information and resources. This study explores how board social ties, including business and political ties, shape firms' responsiveness to formal and informal institutional forces related to green innovation. Using a dataset from Chinese listed companies in the manufacturing sector, we propose that firms' business ties strengthen the effects of various institutional pressures on green innovation. On the other hand, political ties strengthen the impact of environmental regulation on green innovation but weaken the influence of imitative pressure on green innovation. This suggests that political ties can be a double‐edged sword in firms' responses to institutional pressures. This research contributes to institutional theory and social capital theory, offering implications for green innovation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarding the relationship between CEO power and firm risk, contradictory views can be deduced from managerial power theory and organization theory. This study tries to reconcile these contradictions by delving into the differences in the types of CEO power. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies, we find that the formal power CEOs derive from ownership has a positive relationship with firm risk, but CEOs' informal power that originates from expertise is negatively associated with firm risk. Furthermore, CSR is verified as a mediator in the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In transitional economies, the governing central authorities impose heavy regulatory burdens on firms, which results in great costs for business in terms of time, resources, and other constraints. However, quality assurance through decentralized institutions (such as private certified management standards) is rapidly becoming more prevalent. This study examines the contingent implications that such decentralized institutions have for centralized regulation by focusing on the relationship between international certifications and regulatory burdens. As two prominent features of the institutional environment in emerging economies, the threat of competition from the informal sector and corruption may influence the relationship between international certifications and regulatory burdens. These features are therefore examined in terms of their moderating roles. The study draws on institutional and signaling theories to interpret data from a survey conducted by the World Bank in China in 2012. The empirical results show that international certification is negatively associated with regulatory burdens. This relationship is strengthened by the threat of competition from the informal sector, but mitigated by a corrupt business environment. Our study contributes to the institutional literature and to research on international certifications, and it has implications for both business management and governmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms in emerging economies are faced with multiple, incompatible institutional forces in their environmental activities. Which of these forces will be dominant and instantiated within an organization is partly determined by the social relationships that a firm maintains with external actors. This paper investigates the relationship between board social ties and the level of environmental responsibility undertaken by firms in China, an emerging economy, by categorizing board social ties into three types in terms of the three isomorphic forces in the institutional field (coercive, normative and mimetic). Drawing on institutional and agency theories, using a sample of listed firms in environmentally sensitive industries, and a generalized least squares regression method, the results provide empirical evidence that ties that are linked to coercive and normative forces (i.e., political organizations and universities) are related to a higher level of environmental responsibility; however, those that are linked to mimetic forces (i.e., industrial peers) have a negative association with environmental responsibility, which is mitigated by CEO power. These findings suggest that the heterogeneous effects of board social ties on environmental responsibilities experienced by firms in a context of environmentalism are at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This research aims to empirically investigate the influence of stakeholders on the corporate decision of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 certifications and how that influence differs across different certification types. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes a survey of 1,268 industrial enterprises in China, using logistic regressions to analyze corporate decision towards management standards use. Findings – The results show that stakeholder influence varies across different management standard certifications. Foreign customers and neighboring community are significant drivers for ISO 9001 certification. Foreign investors, being publicly listed, and neighboring community each demonstrate a significant impact on ISO 14001 certification. Only being publicly listed shows significant explanatory power for certifying with OHSAS 18001. Research limitations/implications – This study does not touch upon performance issues. The relationship between stakeholder pressure, certifications, and performance would be interesting to explore. Practical implications – Information disclosure may be an effective tool to motivate firms to be more responsible for environment and society. Furthermore, measures should be taken to raise stakeholder awareness of corporate occupational health and safety (OH&S). Originality/value – Although sustainability management demands attention to the three pillars of sustainability, empirical research tends to focus on only one aspect of it when studying standardized management practices use. This study investigates all three pillars using a unified framework. Furthermore, existing studies have focused predominantly on developed countries. The paper conducts research in China, one of the major developing economies. Lastly, the paper utilizes firm-level data on corporate sustainability management, which is hard to obtain in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The relationship between ISO 14001 certification and corporate environmental performance has become an important research topic in recent years. Based on the internalization process of ISO 14001 (the process that consolidates and embeds a firm's beliefs, attitudes, and values into its management and employees), this paper examines how internalization can impact on the corporate environmental performance. It is found that the internalization process of ISO 14001 serves an important role in mediating the relationship between ISO 14001 certification and environmental performance. The results also reveal that the internal motivation is the main driving force of internalizing ISO 14001. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]