IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v30y2021i4p2008-2020.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental proactivity, competitive strategy, and market performance: The mediating role of environmental reputation

Author

Listed:
  • Nguyen Phong Nguyen
  • Samuel Adomako

Abstract

This article examines the impact of small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs) proactive environmental strategy on market performance through the mediating mechanism of environmental reputation. In addition, we investigate the potential moderating role of competitive strategies on the environmental reputation‐market performance nexus. Data were collected from 223 SMEs. Using the hierarchical multiple regression analysis, the results show that a proactive environmental strategy positively enhances environmental reputation. Also, the influence of proactively environmental strategy on market performance is mediated by environmental reputation. In addition, our findings show the relationship between environmental reputation and market performance is greater for firms that adopt the differentiation strategy but not significant for firms adopting the low‐cost and integrated strategies. Our study offers several theoretical and practical implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen Phong Nguyen & Samuel Adomako, 2021. "Environmental proactivity, competitive strategy, and market performance: The mediating role of environmental reputation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2008-2020, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:2008-2020
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2729
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2729
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.2729?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kristel Buysse & Alain Verbeke, 2003. "Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 453-470, May.
    2. Marcus Wagner, 2013. "‘Green’ Human Resource Benefits: Do they Matter as Determinants of Environmental Management System Implementation?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 443-456, May.
    3. James J. Cordeiro & Joseph Sarkis, 1997. "Environmental proactivism and firm performance: evidence from security analyst earnings forecasts," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 104-114, May.
    4. Karen Palmer & Wallace E. Oates & Paul R. Portney & Karen Palmer & Wallace E. Oates & Paul R. Portney, 2004. "Tightening Environmental Standards: The Benefit-Cost or the No-Cost Paradigm?," Chapters, in: Environmental Policy and Fiscal Federalism, chapter 3, pages 53-66, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Defeng Yang & Wei Jiang & Weihong Zhao, 2019. "Proactive environmental strategy, innovation capability, and stakeholder integration capability: A mediation analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1534-1547, December.
    6. Yiannis E. Spanos & George Zaralis & Spyros Lioukas, 2004. "Strategy and industry effects on profitability: evidence from Greece," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 139-165, February.
    7. Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Albert Danso & Samuel Adomako, 2019. "Entrepreneurial orientation, environmental sustainability and new venture performance: Does stakeholder integration matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 79-87, January.
    8. Berrone, Pascual & Gelabert, Liliana & Fosfuri, Andrea, 2009. "The impact of symbolic and substantive actions on environmental legitimacy," IESE Research Papers D/778, IESE Business School.
    9. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    10. Carl Shapiro, 1983. "Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(4), pages 659-679.
    11. Yang Chen & Guiyao Tang & Jiafei Jin & Ji Li & Pascal Paillé, 2015. "Linking Market Orientation and Environmental Performance: The Influence of Environmental Strategy, Employee’s Environmental Involvement, and Environmental Product Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 479-500, March.
    12. Samuel Adomako & Nguyen Phong Nguyen, 2020. "Human resource slack, sustainable innovation, and environmental performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises in sub‐Saharan Africa," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 2984-2994, December.
    13. Lillis, Bob & Sweeney, Mike, 2013. "Managing the fit between the views of competitive strategy and the strategic role of service operations," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 564-590.
    14. Samuel Adomako & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Albert Danso & Renata Konadu & Samuel Owusu‐Agyei, 2019. "Environmental sustainability orientation and performance of family and nonfamily firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1250-1259, September.
    15. Dixon, Robert & Mousa, Gehan A. & Woodhead, Anne, 2005. "The Role of Environmental Initiatives in Encouraging Companies to Engage in Environmental Reporting," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 702-716, December.
    16. Chan, Ricky Y.K., 2010. "Corporate environmentalism pursuit by foreign firms competing in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 80-92, January.
    17. Magali Delmas & Vered Doctori Blass, 2010. "Measuring corporate environmental performance: the trade‐offs of sustainability ratings," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 245-260, May.
    18. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias, 2012. "Is green and profitable sustainable? Assessing the trade-off between economic and environmental aspects," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 92-102.
    19. Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2009. "With greater power comes greater responsibility? takeover protection and corporate attention to stakeholders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 261-285, March.
    20. Ricky Y. K. Chan, 2005. "Does the Natural‐Resource‐Based View of the Firm Apply in an Emerging Economy? A Survey of Foreign Invested Enterprises in China," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 625-672, May.
    21. Belaid Rettab & Anis Brik & Kamel Mellahi, 2009. "A Study of Management Perceptions of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organisational Performance in Emerging Economies: The Case of Dubai," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 371-390, October.
    22. Sandra Rothenberg & Stelios C. Zyglidopoulos, 2007. "Determinants of environmental innovation adoption in the printing industry: the importance of task environment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 39-49, January.
    23. Ailie K.Y. Tang & Kee‐hung Lai & T. C. E. Cheng, 2012. "Environmental Governance of Enterprises and their Economic Upshot through Corporate Reputation and Customer Satisfaction," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 401-411, September.
    24. Yi Quan & Huiying Wu & Sihai Li & Sammy Xiaoyan Ying, 2018. "Firm sustainable development and stakeholder engagement: The role of government support," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1145-1158, December.
    25. Nicole Darnall & Irene Henriques & Perry Sadorsky, 2010. "Adopting Proactive Environmental Strategy: The Influence of Stakeholders and Firm Size," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1072-1094, September.
    26. Richard B. Robinson & John A Pearce, 1988. "Planned patterns of strategic behavior and their relationship to business‐unit performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 43-60, January.
    27. Anisya S Thomas & Stephen L Mueller, 2000. "A Case for Comparative Entrepreneurship: Assessing the Relevance of Culture," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(2), pages 287-301, June.
    28. Liu, Yi & Guo, Jingzhou & Chi, Nan, 2015. "The Antecedents and Performance Consequences of Proactive Environmental Strategy: A Meta-analytic Review of National Contingency," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 521-557, September.
    29. Moses Acquaah, 2007. "Managerial social capital, strategic orientation, and organizational performance in an emerging economy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(12), pages 1235-1255, December.
    30. Horbach, Jens, 2008. "Determinants of environmental innovation--New evidence from German panel data sources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 163-173, February.
    31. Junsheng Dou & Emma Su & Song Wang, 2019. "When Does Family Ownership Promote Proactive Environmental Strategy? The Role of the Firm’s Long-Term Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 81-95, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liang, Ting & Zhang, Yue-Jun & Qiang, Wei, 2022. "Does technological innovation benefit energy firms’ environmental performance? The moderating effect of government subsidies and media coverage," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    2. Adomako, Samuel & Tran, Mai Dong, 2022. "Sustainable environmental strategy, firm competitiveness, and financial performance: Evidence from the mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Battisti, Enrico & Nirino, Niccolò & Leonidou, Erasmia & Thrassou, Alkis, 2022. "Corporate venture capital and CSR performance: An extended resource based view’s perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1058-1066.
    4. Zhou, Luoqiong & Ren, Shenggang & Du, Lei & Tang, Fei & Li, Ronghua, 2023. "Is environmental labeling certification a “green passport” for firm exports in emerging economies? Evidence from China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(5).
    5. Md Mosharraf Hossain & Lafang Wang & Jing Yu, 2024. "The reputational costs of corporate environmental underperformance: evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 930-948, February.
    6. Allal-Chérif, Oihab & Guijarro-Garcia, María & Ulrich, Klaus, 2022. "Fostering sustainable growth in aeronautics: Open social innovation, multifunctional team management, and collaborative governance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    7. Ricky Y. K. Chan & Jennifer W. M. Lai & Namwoon Kim, 2022. "Strategic motives and performance implications of proactive versus reactive environmental strategies in corporate sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2127-2142, July.
    8. Xiu Jie Deng & Man Qing Yuan & Cai Yi Luo, 2024. "Corporate digital transformation, market competition, and the environmental performance—Microevidence from Chinese manufacturing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3279-3298, May.
    9. Paolo Esposito & Emanuele Doronzo & Spiridione Lucio Dicorato, 2023. "The financial and green effects of cultural values on mission drifts in European social enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 1-29, January.
    10. Kang Tan & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Farid Ahammad Sobhani & Muhammad Hamayun & Mohammad Masukujjaman, 2022. "Do Environmental Strategy and Awareness Improve Firms’ Environmental and Financial Performance? The Role of Competitive Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, August.
    11. Ajay Kumar & Jyotirani Gupta & Niladri Das, 2022. "Revisiting the influence of corporate sustainability practices on corporate financial performance: An evidence from the global energy sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3231-3253, November.
    12. Mai Dong Tran & Samuel Adomako, 2022. "How environmental reputation and ethical behavior impact the relationship between environmental regulatory enforcement and environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2489-2499, July.
    13. Xu Chu & Yuntao Bai & Congshan Li, 2024. "The Dark Side of Firms’ Green Technology Innovation on Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(1), pages 47-66, November.
    14. Maria Jell‐Ojobor & Aveed Raha, 2022. "Being good at being good—The mediating role of an environmental management system in value‐creating green supply chain management practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1964-1984, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samuel Adomako & Ernestine Ning & Emmanuel Adu‐Ameyaw, 2021. "Proactive environmental strategy and firm performance at the bottom of the pyramid," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 422-431, January.
    2. Defeng Yang & Wei Jiang & Weihong Zhao, 2019. "Proactive environmental strategy, innovation capability, and stakeholder integration capability: A mediation analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1534-1547, December.
    3. Haddoud, Mohamed Yacine & Onjewu, Adah-Kole Emmanuel & Nowiński, Witold, 2021. "Environmental commitment and innovation as catalysts for export performance in family firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Petra Andries & Ute Stephan, 2019. "Environmental Innovation and Firm Performance: How Firm Size and Motives Matter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Oksana Seroka‐Stolka, 2023. "Towards sustainability: An environmental strategy choice, environmental performance, and the moderating role of stakeholder pressure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5992-6007, December.
    6. Palmer, Mark & Truong, Yann, 2017. "The Impact of Technological Green New Product Introductions on Firm Profitability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 86-93.
    7. Vasileiou, Efi & Georgantzis, Nikolaos & Attanasi, Giuseppe & Llerena, Patrick, 2022. "Green innovation and financial performance: A study on Italian firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    8. Samuel Adomako, 2020. "Environmental collaboration, sustainable innovation, and small and medium‐sized enterprise growth in sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1609-1619, November.
    9. Zhunxin Huang & Zengrui Xiao, 2023. "Dynamic Capabilities, Environmental Management Capabilities, Stakeholder Pressure and Eco-Innovation of Chinese Manufacturing Firms: A Moderated Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, May.
    10. Graham, Stephanie & Potter, Antony, 2015. "Environmental operations management and its links with proactivity and performance: A study of the UK food industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PA), pages 146-159.
    11. Holtbrügge, Dirk & Dögl, Corinna, 2012. "How international is corporate environmental responsibility? A literature review," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 180-195.
    12. Samuel Adomako & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Albert Danso & Renata Konadu & Samuel Owusu‐Agyei, 2019. "Environmental sustainability orientation and performance of family and nonfamily firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1250-1259, September.
    13. Adomako, Samuel & Tran, Mai Dong, 2022. "Sustainable environmental strategy, firm competitiveness, and financial performance: Evidence from the mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    14. Kang Tan & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Farid Ahammad Sobhani & Muhammad Hamayun & Mohammad Masukujjaman, 2022. "Do Environmental Strategy and Awareness Improve Firms’ Environmental and Financial Performance? The Role of Competitive Advantage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, August.
    15. Christina W. Y. Wong & Xin Miao & Shuang Cui & Yanhong Tang, 2018. "Impact of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Operating Income: Moderating Role of Regional Disparities in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 363-382, May.
    16. Francesco Calza & Adele Parmentola & Ilaria Tutore, 2021. "For green or not for green? The effect of cooperation goals and type on environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 267-281, January.
    17. Defeng Yang & Aric Xu Wang & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Wei Jiang, 2019. "Environmental Strategy, Institutional Force, and Innovation Capability: A Managerial Cognition Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1147-1161, November.
    18. Lin, Han & Chen, Lu & Yu, Mingchuan & Li, Chao & Lampel, Joseph & Jiang, Wan, 2021. "Too little or too much of good things? The horizontal S-curve hypothesis of green business strategy on firm performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Nguyen Phong Nguyen & Samuel Adomako, 2022. "International orientation and environmental performance in Vietnamese exporting small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2424-2436, July.
    20. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer‐Klingeberg & Andreas W. Rathgeber, 2019. "It is merely a matter of time: A meta‐analysis of the causality between environmental performance and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 257-273, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:2008-2020. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.