{"title":"ESG Performance and Dividend Payout: The Moderating Role of ESG Controversies and Legal Systems","authors":"Satish Kumar, Avinash Ghalke","doi":"10.1002/bse.4355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4355","url":null,"abstract":"This study delves into the relationship between ESG performance and dividend payout in G20 countries. Based on a comprehensive sample of 2344 firms from 2011 to 2022, our findings reveal a positive correlation between ESG performance and dividend payout. Notably, this positive impact is significantly pronounced in common‐law countries, where investor protection is robust. Moreover, companies with high ESG performance are more adept at increasing dividends despite ESG controversies. These results remain robust even when considering endogeneity concerns, reduced sample size, or the use of alternative proxies for dividends and ESG. Our study's findings have practical implications, as they suggest that companies can enhance their dividend payout by improving their ESG performance, even in the face of controversies. This contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the relationship between non‐financial performance and a key corporate financial decision (dividends) in a cross‐country context.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transitioning to Circular Economy in Agriculture Sector: An Extended Institutional Theory and Stakeholder Perspective","authors":"Deepak Kumar Sahu, Divya Choudhary","doi":"10.1002/bse.4345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4345","url":null,"abstract":"The deteriorating impact of traditional linear model on agriculture productivity and ecology has drawn a serious emphasis on the espousal of circular economy (<jats:sc>CE</jats:sc>) practices in the agriculture sector. Accordingly, an increasing number of startups operating on circular principles are emerging in the agriculture sector to create value from the agri‐waste. In this research, we aim to investigate the challenges faced by these agri waste‐to‐value (WTV) startups, which is currently missing in the extant literature. In the process, we have used the lens of extended institutional theory (EIT) to identify and understand the challenges faced by WTV startups and stakeholder theory (ST) is used to propose strategies for overcoming these obstacles. An innovative integrated model based on probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTS), evidential reasoning algorithm (ERA), and aggregated‐ranking model considering psychological preferences of decision makers is developed to examine the challenges. This is one of the initial studies to comprehensively explore the challenges faced by WTV startups in the agriculture sector and propose a framework to overcome these challenges based on EIT and ST. A multidimensional analysis is performed to consider the economic, operational, and socio‐environmental implications of the challenges. Different analyses are conducted for better understanding about the sector and maturity stage specific challenges faced by startups. The findings reveal that coercive challenges pose the most critical threat and a policy restructuring is urgently required to support the WTV startups in the agriculture sector. Further, operational challenges related to raw materials and infrastructure appear to be more critical in the waste‐to‐material sector whereas waste‐to‐energy sector is struggling due to technological issues.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"132 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catarina Cepêda, Albertina Paula Monteiro, Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán
{"title":"Bridging the ESG Credibility Gap: The Role of Institutional Investors in Mitigating ESG Decoupling","authors":"Catarina Cepêda, Albertina Paula Monteiro, Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán","doi":"10.1002/bse.4336","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4336","url":null,"abstract":"Because of their capacity for sustained and informed monitoring, institutional investors are uniquely positioned to enhance corporate transparency and mitigate ESG decoupling, the gap between corporate sustainability rhetoric and reality. This study examines whether and under what circumstances institutional ownership contributes to aligning ESG disclosure with actual sustainability performance. Analysing an international sample of 3465 listed companies (13,488 firm‐year observations) from 2009 to 2023, we find that institutional investors play a crucial role in reducing ESG decoupling. However, this effect depends on their investment horizon: long‐term institutional investors mitigate ESG decoupling, whereas short‐term institutional investors exacerbate it. These findings contribute to the corporate governance and sustainability literature by showing that institutional investors are not a homogeneous group and that their monitoring effectiveness varies depending on their investment horizon. From a practical perspective, our results highlight the need for regulatory initiatives that incentivise long‐term institutional engagement and more stringent ESG reporting requirements to curb opportunistic disclosure practices.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Legitimacy in the Literature: Distinguishing Between Perceived and Actual Value Congruence in Carbon Reduction Initiatives","authors":"Siân Stephens, Satkeen Azizzadeh, Wee Chan Au","doi":"10.1002/bse.4321","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4321","url":null,"abstract":"Academic and social concerns regarding the management of carbon emissions are pressing due to the importance of carbon reduction in the fight against climate change and the strategic implications of the various approaches. In particular, the relationship between carbon reduction and legitimacy has received significant attention, with academics noting both the positive relationship between the two and the risk of ‘greenwashing’. Here, we review the extant literature on carbon reduction and legitimacy, presenting insights into the current academic discourse and highlighting an important distinction between ‘legitimacy’ as it relates to perception and ‘legitimacy’ as it relates to actual congruence between the actions of the company and social expectations. Our review demonstrates that legitimacy as perception is the dominant application of the concept in the literature, and we highlight the importance of more academic consideration of the way in which companies' carbon reduction efforts actually cohere with relevant norms and values.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corporate Climate Risk Governance and Environmental Innovation","authors":"Md Tanvir Hamim, Sabur Mollah","doi":"10.1002/bse.4352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4352","url":null,"abstract":"The existing body of literature with regard to climate‐oriented governance focuses on carbon disclosure and climate change commitments, with a notable omission of an essential aspect of sustainable business practices and decarbonization, that is, environmental innovation. In this study, we examine the effect of climate risk governance on firm‐level environmental innovation. Based on a panel of 4378 firm‐year observations from the nonfinancial S&P 500 components over the period of 2011–2021, we provide novel empirical evidence that corporate climate risk governance is positively associated with environmental innovation. Firms with strong climate risk governance appear to engage more in environment‐friendly innovation to reduce environmental costs and the burden on customers. Further analysis identifies a channel, namely, environmental investment, through which climate risk governance facilitates environmental innovation. Our results remain consistent after we employ an instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching estimates to address potential endogeneity bias. The empirical results also pass a battery of robustness tests with alternative variables and different estimation techniques. This study carries important implications for executive management, regulators, and other stakeholders in relation to reforms in governance structures and the advancement of environmentally sustainable innovation.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"231 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesco Cafforio, Stefano Franco, Ilaria Giannoccaro
{"title":"Bridging Micro and Macro Perspectives in Circular Business Model Studies: An Integrated Literature Review","authors":"Francesco Cafforio, Stefano Franco, Ilaria Giannoccaro","doi":"10.1002/bse.4338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4338","url":null,"abstract":"The transition towards a circular economy requires companies to innovate their ways of doing business by giving rise to circular business models (CBMs). The literature on the topic is wide with a focus on both macro and micro aspects. However, only a few studies in CBM research have attempted to adopt an integrated micro–macro perspective, thus limiting the overall understanding of how effectively designing and implementing CBMs in organizations. This paper addresses this issue by providing an integrated framework of CBM studies, including both macro and micro factors and bridging mechanisms. The findings aim to provide a more comprehensive knowledge of CBM design and implementation and guide future academic inquiry into unexplored areas.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143946095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to ‘Business Strategy and Innovative Models in the Fashion Industry: Clothing Leasing as a Driver of Sustainability’","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bse.4337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4337","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143940623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Virtue Ethics, Corporate Sustainability, and Tax Disclosure: Evidence From Global Fortune 500","authors":"Chiara Mio, Silvia Panfilo, Francesco Scarpa","doi":"10.1002/bse.4327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4327","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on virtue ethics, this paper explores how corporate virtues influence sustainability performance and whether this, in turn, affects tax disclosure. Using a sample of 339 companies from the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list, our findings indicate that corporate virtues significantly drive sustainability performance. Furthermore, companies with higher sustainability performance are more likely to include tax disclosures in their sustainability reports. The findings suggest that tax transparency is not merely a compliance‐driven practice but a reflection of a company's commitment to the common good. By positioning tax disclosure as an extension of corporate virtues, this research enriches the discourse on sustainability reporting, offering valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and corporate leaders striving to align business success with societal impact.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heterogeneity of Green Investments, Firms' Sales, and Wages: Italian Evidence on Circular Economy, Resource‐Saving, and Energy Efficiency Investments","authors":"F. Quatraro, A. Ricci","doi":"10.1002/bse.4328","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4328","url":null,"abstract":"This paper analyses the relationship between firms' investment in green technologies and competitive performance. We take advantage of new data on the adoption of different green technologies (circular economy, technical advancements, energy savings, and efficiency gains) from a large representative sample of Italian firms. We find the following results. First, overall green investment increases the sales per employee and average wages. Second, we show a significant heterogeneity in the estimated effect across different green technologies. These results are robust to different checks, accounting for a large set of observed characteristics, time‐invariant unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity issues. In sum, our results support the hypothesis that the ongoing ecological transformation of productive processes may favor firms' competitiveness, but substantial heterogeneity still matters. The policy implications are then discussed.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Greening the Nexus Between Managerial Innovativeness and Innovation Performance of Manufacturing SMEs: The Mediating Role of Green Ambidexterity","authors":"Enoch Adusei, Tilo Halaszovich, Leonhard Gebhardt","doi":"10.1002/bse.4335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4335","url":null,"abstract":"The current business environment increasingly requires firms to adopt sustainable innovation strategies to improve their performance. Drawing from the dynamic capability theory and supported by upper echelons perspectives, this study examines the synergistic relationship between green managerial innovativeness and green ambidexterity on green innovation performance among manufacturing small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. This study employed a purposive sampling technique to obtain cross‐sectional survey data from 359 manufacturing SMEs. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses revealed that green managerial innovativeness positively affects both green innovation performance, and green exploitative–exploratory ambidexterity. In addition, the effect of green managerial innovativeness on green innovation performance is mediated by both exploitative and exploratory ambidexterity. This is one of the earliest studies to green the framework of managerial innovativeness, ambidexterity, and innovation performance concerning manufacturing SMEs in emerging markets, and thus, its findings contribute to establishing firms' competitive green strategy.","PeriodicalId":9518,"journal":{"name":"Business Strategy and The Environment","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143920265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}