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Does religious diversity play roles in corporate environmental decisions?

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  • Alabbad, Amal
  • Al Saleem, Jafar
  • Kabir Hassan, M.

Abstract

We examine whether religious diversity influences management decisions concerning the environment. Using a large U.S. sample, we document that the corporate environmental initiatives are positively associated with the religious diversity present in the counties within which that company’s headquarters resides. This positive association persists even after we control for firm characteristics and region demographic factors and after using a variety of robustness checks. In further analysis, we also show that companies in religiously diverse regions tend to support more initiatives that benefit the environment and attempt to resolve their negative impact on the environment. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the extent to which the characteristics of society shape firms’ environmental initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Alabbad, Amal & Al Saleem, Jafar & Kabir Hassan, M., 2022. "Does religious diversity play roles in corporate environmental decisions?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 489-504.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:148:y:2022:i:c:p:489-504
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.058
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Religious diversity; Corporate behaviors; Environment initiatives; Stewardship theory; Dominion theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies

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