IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v33y2024i4p3078-3102.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Board competence and green innovation—Does external governance matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Umair Bin Yousaf
  • Muhammad Zubair Tauni
  • Imran Yousaf
  • Nancy Lixin Su

Abstract

Previous research examining the link between board attributes and ecological strategies such as green innovation has primarily focused on structural board attributes, yielding mixed findings. Moreover, the critical contextual grounds that shape the relationship between board attributes and green innovation have often been overlooked, leading to potential biases in empirical investigations. Considering that competence drives outstanding performance, we developed a unique measure of board competence that represents the board's intrinsic ability to perform in corporate strategies. Drawing on a holistic perspective of agency, resource dependence, and stakeholder theories, we posit a strong relationship between board competence and green innovation. Furthermore, we contend that this association is moderated by external governance mechanisms, namely audit quality, media coverage, and imitative pressure. Through our analysis of publicly traded Chinese companies, we found compelling evidence to support our assertions. These findings have important implications for policymakers, practitioners, and managers.

Suggested Citation

  • Umair Bin Yousaf & Muhammad Zubair Tauni & Imran Yousaf & Nancy Lixin Su, 2024. "Board competence and green innovation—Does external governance matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3078-3102, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:4:p:3078-3102
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.3641
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3641
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.3641?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. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    2. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    3. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Langli, John Christian & Thomas, Wayne B., 2012. "Agency conflicts and auditing in private firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 500-517.
    4. Usman, Muhammad & Javed, Muzhar & Yin, Junming, 2020. "Board internationalization and green innovation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    5. Jason Zhang & Hong Zhu & Hung-bin Ding, 2013. "Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 381-392, May.
    6. Joseph V. Carcello & Dana R. Hermanson & Terry L. Neal & Richard A. Riley, 2002. "Board Characteristics and Audit Fees," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 365-384, September.
    7. Søren C. Winter & Peter J. May, 2001. "Motivation for Compliance with Environmental Regulations," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 675-698.
    8. Ammar Abid & Muhammad Shaique & Muhammad Anwar ul Haq, 2018. "Do Big Four Auditors Always Provide Higher Audit Quality? Evidence from Pakistan," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-22, June.
    9. Zoltan Matolcsy & Donald Stokes & Anna Wright, 2004. "Do Independent Directors Add Value?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 14(32), pages 33-40, March.
    10. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    11. Zhang, Dongyang & Mohsin, Muhammad & Rasheed, Abdul Khaliq & Chang, Youngho & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "Public spending and green economic growth in BRI region: Mediating role of green finance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    12. Fabrice Galia & Emmanuel Zenou & Marc Ingham, 2015. "Board composition and environmental innovation: does gender diversity matter?," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 24(1), pages 117-141.
    13. Peter Demerjian & Baruch Lev & Sarah McVay, 2012. "Quantifying Managerial Ability: A New Measure and Validity Tests," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1229-1248, July.
    14. Juhyun Jung & Kathleen Herbohn & Peter Clarkson, 2018. "Carbon Risk, Carbon Risk Awareness and the Cost of Debt Financing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1151-1171, July.
    15. Earnhart, Dietrich & Lizal, Lubomir, 2006. "Effects of ownership and financial performance on corporate environmental performance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 111-129, March.
    16. ChungMing Lau & Yuan Lu & Qiang Liang, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in China: A Corporate Governance Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 73-87, June.
    17. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    18. Intintoli, Vincent J. & Kahle, Kathleen M. & Zhao, Wanli, 2018. "Director Connectedness: Monitoring Efficacy and Career Prospects," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 65-108, February.
    19. Dayuan Li & Min Huang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Lutao Ning, 2018. "Environmental Legitimacy, Green Innovation, and Corporate Carbon Disclosure: Evidence from CDP China 100," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1089-1104, July.
    20. Liu, Xinghe & Xu, Huifeng & Lu, Meiting, 2021. "Do auditors respond to stringent environmental regulation? Evidence from China’s new environmental protection law," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 54-67.
    21. Xie, Xuemei & Huo, Jiage & Zou, Hailiang, 2019. "Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 697-706.
    22. Ahmad Hammami & Mohammad Hendijani Zadeh, 2020. "Audit quality, media coverage, environmental, social, and governance disclosure and firm investment efficiency," International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 45-72, January.
    23. Gerald J. Lobo & Yuan Xie & Joseph H. Zhang, 2018. "Innovation, financial reporting quality, and audit quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 719-749, October.
    24. Yuming Zhai & Zhenghuan Cai & Han Lin & Ming Yuan & Ye Mao & Mingchuan Yu, 2022. "Does better environmental, social, and governance induce better corporate green innovation: The mediating role of financing constraints," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1513-1526, September.
    25. Wunhong Su & Chun Guo & Xiaobao Song, 2022. "Media coverage, Environment Protection Law and environmental research and development: evidence from the Chinese-listed firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6953-6983, May.
    26. Claudio Nuber & Patrick Velte, 2021. "Board gender diversity and carbon emissions: European evidence on curvilinear relationships and critical mass," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1958-1992, May.
    27. Black, Bernard & de Carvalho, Antonio Gledson & Khanna, Vikramaditya & Kim, Woochan & Yurtoglu, Burcin, 2020. "Which Aspects of Corporate Governance Do and Do Not Matter in Emerging Markets," Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting, now publishers, vol. 5(1), pages 137-177, April.
    28. Pongelli, Claudia & Majocchi, Antonio & Bauweraerts, Jonathan & Sciascia, Salvatore & Caroli, Matteo & Verbeke, Alain, 2023. "The impact of board of directors’ characteristics on the internationalization of family SMEs," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    29. Valeria Naciti & Fabrizio Cesaroni & Luisa Pulejo, 2022. "Corporate governance and sustainability: a review of the existing literature," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(1), pages 55-74, March.
    30. Xiaoping He & Shuo Jiang, 2019. "Does gender diversity matter for green innovation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1341-1356, November.
    31. Lin Liao & Teng (Philip) Lin & Yuyu Zhang, 2018. "Corporate Board and Corporate Social Responsibility Assurance: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 211-225, June.
    32. Amy J. Hillman & Albert A. Cannella & Ramona L. Paetzold, 2000. "The Resource Dependence Role of Corporate Directors: Strategic Adaptation of Board Composition in Response to Environmental Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 235-256, March.
    33. Chen, Hsiang-Lan & Hsu, Wen-Tsung & Chang, Chiao-Yi, 2016. "Independent directors’ human and social capital, firm internationalization and performance implications: An integrated agency-resource dependence view," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 859-871.
    34. Byun, Seong K. & Oh, Jong-Min, 2018. "Local corporate social responsibility, media coverage, and shareholder value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 68-86.
    35. Liao, Lin & Luo, Le & Tang, Qingliang, 2015. "Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 409-424.
    36. Laura F. Spira & Ruth Bender, 2004. "Compare and Contrast: perspectives on board committees," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 489-499, October.
    37. Ira C. Harris & Katsuhiko Shimizu, 2004. "Too Busy To Serve? An Examination of the Influence of Overboarded Directors," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 775-798, July.
    38. Aggarwal, Raj & Jindal, Varun & Seth, Rama, 2019. "Board diversity and firm performance: The role of business group affiliation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1-1.
    39. Mark L. Defond & Rebecca N. Hann & Xuesong Hu, 2005. "Does the Market Value Financial Expertise on Audit Committees of Boards of Directors?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, May.
    40. Nguyen, Lily & Vu, Le & Yin, Xiangkang, 2020. "The undesirable effect of audit quality: Evidence from firm innovation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    41. Shan, Yuan George, 2015. "Value relevance, earnings management and corporate governance in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 186-207.
    42. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    43. Bradley W. Benson & Wallace N. Davidson III & Hongxia Wang & Dan L. Worrell, 2011. "Deviations from Expected Stakeholder Management, Firm Value, and Corporate Governance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 39-81, March.
    44. Fikru, Mahelet G., 2016. "Determinants of International Standards in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of institutional pressure from different stakeholders," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 296-307.
    45. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    46. Lars Leszczensky & Tobias Wolbring, 2022. "How to Deal With Reverse Causality Using Panel Data? Recommendations for Researchers Based on a Simulation Study," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 51(2), pages 837-865, May.
    47. Chang, Kai & Ding, Jiehuan & Lou, Qichun & Li, Zesheng & Yang, Jiahui, 2021. "The impact of capital leverage on green firms’ investment: New evidence regarding the size and age effects of Chinese green industries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    48. Katalin Takacs Haynes & Amy Hillman, 2010. "The effect of board capital and CEO power on strategic change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(11), pages 1145-1163, November.
    49. Zhongju Liao & Siying Long, 2018. "CEOs' regulatory focus, slack resources and firms' environmental innovation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 981-990, September.
    50. Amama Shaukat & Yan Qiu & Grzegorz Trojanowski, 2016. "Board Attributes, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and Corporate Environmental and Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 569-585, May.
    51. Nina Baranchuk & Philip H. Dybvig, 2009. "Consensus in Diverse Corporate Boards," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 715-747, February.
    52. Haque, Faizul, 2017. "The effects of board characteristics and sustainable compensation policy on carbon performance of UK firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 347-364.
    53. Pratima Bansal, 2005. "Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 197-218, March.
    54. Zhang, Dayong & Zhang, Zhiwei & Ji, Qiang & Lucey, Brian & Liu, Jia, 2021. "Board characteristics, external governance and the use of renewable energy: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    55. Carl J. Kock & Juan Santaló & Luis Diestre, 2012. "Corporate Governance and the Environment: What Type of Governance Creates Greener Companies?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 492-514, May.
    56. Bernile, Gennaro & Bhagwat, Vineet & Yonker, Scott, 2018. "Board diversity, firm risk, and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(3), pages 588-612.
    57. Yu, Chang, 2023. "Board gender diversity and investment inefficiency," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    58. Arménio Rego & Miguel Pina e Cunha & Daniel Polónia, 2017. "Corporate Sustainability: A View From the Top," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 133-157, June.
    59. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten, 2016. "Corporate governance and green innovation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-72.
    60. Aseem Prakash, 2002. "Green marketing, public policy and managerial strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(5), pages 285-297, September.
    61. Lu, Jing & Wang, Jun, 2021. "Corporate governance, law, culture, environmental performance and CSR disclosure: A global perspective," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    62. Yousaf, Umair Bin & Ullah, Irfan & Jiang, Junchen & Wang, Man, 2022. "The role of board capital in driving green innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    63. Francesco Calza & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2016. "Corporate Ownership and Environmental Proactivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 369-389, September.
    64. Lin, Chen & Lin, Ping & Song, Frank M. & Li, Chuntao, 2011. "Managerial incentives, CEO characteristics and corporate innovation in China's private sector," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 176-190, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Yousaf, Umair Bin & Ullah, Irfan & Jiang, Junchen & Wang, Man, 2022. "The role of board capital in driving green innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    2. Dewan Muktadir‐Al‐Mukit & Firoz Haroon Bhaiyat, 2024. "Impact of corporate governance diversity on carbon emission under environmental policy via the mandatory nonfinancial reporting regulation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1397-1417, February.
    3. James J. Cordeiro & Giorgia Profumo & Ilaria Tutore, 2020. "Board gender diversity and corporate environmental performance: The moderating role of family and dual‐class majority ownership structures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1127-1144, March.
    4. Jonathan Taglialatela & Ivan Miroshnychenko & Roberto Barontini & Francesco Testa, 2024. "Talk or walk? The board of directors and firm environmental strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 2890-2910, May.
    5. Thi H.H. Nguyen & Mohamed H. Elmagrhi & Collins G. Ntim & Yue Wu, 2021. "Environmental performance, sustainability, governance and financial performance: Evidence from heavily polluting industries in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2313-2331, July.
    6. Mustafa K. Yilmaz & Umit Hacioglu & Ekrem Tatoglu & Mine Aksoy & Selman Duran, 2023. "Measuring the impact of board gender and cultural diversity on corporate governance and social performance: evidence from emerging markets," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 2106503-210, December.
    7. María‐Florencia Amorelli & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2021. "Trends in the dynamic evolution of board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 537-554, March.
    8. Isabel-María García-Sánchez & Nicola Raimo & Víctor Amor-Esteban & Filippo Vitolla, 2023. "Board committees and non-financial information assurance services," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 1-42, March.
    9. Lu, Yun & Ntim, Collins G. & Zhang, Qingjing & Li, Pingli, 2022. "Board of directors’ attributes and corporate outcomes: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Ayman Issa & Mohammad A. A. Zaid & Jalal Rajeh Hanaysha, 2022. "Exploring the relationship between female director's profile and sustainability performance: Evidence from the Middle East," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1980-2002, September.
    11. Yu Wang & Yetaotao Qiu & Yi Luo, 2022. "CEO foreign experience and corporate sustainable development: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2036-2051, July.
    12. Tantawy Moussa & Amir Allam & Said Elbanna & Ahmed Bani‐Mustafa, 2020. "Can board environmental orientation improve U.S. firms' carbon performance? The mediating role of carbon strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 72-86, January.
    13. Eduardo Ortas & Igor Álvarez & Eugenio Zubeltzu, 2017. "Firms’ Board Independence and Corporate Social Performance: A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    14. Beloskar, Ved Dilip & Haldar, Arunima & Gupta, Anupama, 2024. "Gender equality and women’s empowerment: A bibliometric review of the literature on SDG 5 through the management lens," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    15. Ardianto Ardianto & Nadia Anridho & Suham Cahyono & Abu Hanifah Md. Noman Alam & Iman Harymawan, 2024. "The role of risk management committee on the relationship between corporate carbon emission disclosure and capital structure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2127-2158, May.
    16. Bambang Tjahjadi & Noorlailie Soewarno & Khairul Anuar Kamarudin & Sazkiya Aldina & Tsanya El Karima & Annisa Ayu Putri Sutarsa, 2023. "Effect of Top Management Team Characteristics and Green Innovation on Firm Performance in Indonesia: Role of Carbon Emission Disclosure," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(5), pages 44-53, September.
    17. Shili Chen & Niels Hermes & Reggy Hooghiemstra, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility and NGO Directors on Boards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 625-649, January.
    18. Ikram, Atif & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Minor, Dylan, 2023. "CSR-contingent executive compensation contracts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    19. Claudio Nuber & Patrick Velte, 2021. "Board gender diversity and carbon emissions: European evidence on curvilinear relationships and critical mass," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1958-1992, May.
    20. Zhang, Dayong & Zhang, Zhiwei & Ji, Qiang & Lucey, Brian & Liu, Jia, 2021. "Board characteristics, external governance and the use of renewable energy: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

    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:33:y:2024:i:4:p:3078-3102. 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.