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The moderating effects of environmental risk of the industry on the relationship between corporate environmental and financial performance

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  • Natalia Semenova
  • Lars G. Hassel

Abstract

Purpose - – Industries differ in their environmental impacts, such as emissions, water and energy use, fuel consumption and hazardous wastes, which will have implications for how environmental performance translates to operating performance and market value at company level. By incorporating industry-specific differences of environmental impacts, this paper includes industry-level environmental risk as a moderating factor on the relationship between two indicators of corporate environmental performance (CEP) (management and policy) and corporate financial performance (profitability and market value). The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - – Using panel data of US companies across all industries, the paper empirically tests a regression model, which includes an interaction effect representing both the form and strength of dependency of CEP on the environmental risk of the industry. The paper adopts the natural resource based theory to argue that financial returns are a decreasing function of CEP in high environmental impact industries, where environmental spending beyond compliance is costly and there is not much opportunity for consumer orientation. Findings - – The results show that environmental management has different impacts on operating performance at high and low environmental risk of the industry (form of relationship) while environmental policy (reporting) has a stronger signal on market premium in industries with low rather than high environmental risk (strength of relationship). Differences in both form and strength of moderating effects are demonstrated. Research limitations/implications - – Further research can introduce other industry-specific moderating factors, such as the disclosure maturity of the industry and the institutionalization of environmental disclosures across boarders in the industries, in order to explore the complexity of the relationship. Practical implications - – The results of the paper are relevant to investors, company managers and a broad group of stakeholders when considering both industry- and company-level environmental risks. Originality/value - – Previous studies have relied on controlling for industry membership. This paper uses an industry-specific environmental variable, environmental risk of the industry, to examine the form and strength of moderating effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalia Semenova & Lars G. Hassel, 2016. "The moderating effects of environmental risk of the industry on the relationship between corporate environmental and financial performance," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(1), pages 97-114, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:jaarpp:v:17:y:2016:i:1:p:97-114
    DOI: 10.1108/JAAR-09-2013-0071
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Miriam Breitenstein & Duc Khuong Nguyen & Thomas Walther, 2021. "Environmental Hazards And Risk Management In The Financial Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 512-538, April.
    2. Olivier Boiral & David Talbot & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2020. "Measuring sustainability risks: A rational myth?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2557-2571, September.
    3. Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez & María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez, 2020. "How cultural dimensions, legal systems, and industry affect environmental reporting? Empirical evidence from an international perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 2037-2057, July.
    4. Linda Kusumaning Wedari & Amir Moradi‐Motlagh & Christine Jubb, 2023. "The moderating effect of innovation on the relationship between environmental and financial performance: Evidence from high emitters in Australia," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 654-672, January.
    5. Surender Kumar & Shivananda Shetty, 2018. "Does environmental performance improve market valuation of the firm: evidence from Indian market," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(2), pages 241-260, April.
    6. Sergio Manrique & Carmen-Pilar Martí-Ballester, 2017. "Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Environmental Performance on Corporate Financial Performance in Developed and Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-30, October.
    7. Abeer Mohamed Hassan & Lee Roberts & Jill Atkins, 2020. "Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1419-1436, March.
    8. Ruiqian Li & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan, 2018. "Impacts of Industrial Heterogeneity and Technical Innovation on the Relationship between Environmental Performance and Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, May.
    9. Orzes, Guido & Moretto, Antonella Maria & Moro, Mattia & Rossi, Matteo & Sartor, Marco & Caniato, Federico & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2020. "The impact of the United Nations global compact on firm performance: A longitudinal analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Xixiong Xu & Lingling Duan & Youliang Yan, 2019. "The Influence of Confucianism on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, October.

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