An empirical study between OHSAS 18001 certification and innovation efficiency in green management: the moderating role of pay disparity and ownership

Abstract

This study explores the impact of Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 (OHSAS 18001) certification on innovation efficiency in green management and seeks to assist senior managers in understanding the ideal structural environment to maximise the innovation potential of the certification system. We examine the ownership status of organisations and the pay disparity between employees and executives to determine whether they influence the ability of OHSAS 18001 to promote innovation efficiency. We analyse data from 1,905 Chinese listed companies using stochastic frontier analysis to determine the innovation efficiency of OHSAS 18001-certified companies. We find that OHSAS 18001 stimulates firm innovation efficiency. However, this improvement in innovation efficiency is dependent on the level of pay disparity between executive and non-executive employees. We also demonstrate that the effect of OHSAS 18001 on innovation efficiency is closely related to enterprise ownership, whereby state-owned enterprises are less likely to realise the innovation potential of OHSAS 18001 than privately-owned organisations are.