IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juipol/v89y2024ics0957178724000584.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public ownership and ESG policies: implications for firm productivity in local transportation

Author

Listed:
  • Coluccia, Benedetta
  • Barbieri, Roberta
  • Palmi, Pamela
  • Natale, Francesco

Abstract

Adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies can lead local transport firms to strengthen their reputation progressively, with benefits to their productivity. Ownership structures, especially public ownership prevalent in the transport sector, can also shape company productivity. This study delves into the effects of public ownership on the productivity of a sample of Italian transportation firms, with particular emphasis on their adherence (or lack thereof) to ESG principles. A weighted least squares (WLS) estimation was adopted to assess public ownership's impact on productivity, and a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine the combined effect of ESG commitment and ownership structures. Productivity is determined through the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) function. The results highlight a distinct differential in productivity boosts between ESG-compliant and non-ESG-compliant entities. Notably, non-ESG-compliant entities derive more pronounced benefits from public ownership than their compliant counterparts. These findings imply that public ownership is pivotal, especially for firms not adhering to ESG standards. The empirical evidence underscores the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the interplay between public ownership and ESG compliance in shaping firm productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Coluccia, Benedetta & Barbieri, Roberta & Palmi, Pamela & Natale, Francesco, 2024. "Public ownership and ESG policies: implications for firm productivity in local transportation," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:89:y:2024:i:c:s0957178724000584
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2024.101765
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178724000584
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jup.2024.101765?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ester Clementino & Richard Perkins, 2021. "How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 379-397, June.
    2. Mario La Torre & Sabrina Leo & Ida Claudia Panetta, 2021. "Banks and environmental, social and governance drivers: Follow the market or the authorities?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1620-1634, November.
    3. Andrea Boitani & Marcella Nicolini & Carlo Scarpa, 2013. "Do competition and ownership matter? Evidence from local public transport in Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1419-1434, April.
    4. Mark Anthony Camilleri, 2022. "Strategic attributions of corporate social responsibility and environmental management: The business case for doing well by doing good!," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 409-422, June.
    5. Bel, Germà, 2020. "Public versus private water delivery, remunicipalization and water tariffs," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Laura Corazza & Elisa Truant & Simone Domenico Scagnelli & Chiara Mio, 2020. "Sustainability reporting after the Costa Concordia disaster: a multi-theory study on legitimacy, impression management and image restoration," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(8), pages 1909-1941, July.
    7. Capece, Guendalina & Costa, Roberta & Di Pillo, Francesca, 2021. "Benchmarking the efficiency of natural gas distribution utilities in Italy considering size, ownership, and maturity," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Massimo Filippini & Paola Prioni, 2003. "The influence of ownership on the cost of bus service provision in Switzerland - an empirical illustration," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(6), pages 683-690.
    9. Germà Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2009. "Factors explaining local privatization: a meta-regression analysis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 105-119, April.
    10. Germa Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2008. "Reforming the local public sector: economics and politics in privatization of water and solid waste," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 45-65.
    11. David A. Hensher & Anne Yvrande‐Billon & Rosário Macário & John Preston & Peter White & Bill Tyson & D. M. Van de Velde & Bert van Wee & Joaquim José Guilherme de Aragão & Enilson Medeiros dos Santos , 2007. "Delivering Value for Money to Government through Efficient and Effective Public Transit Service Continuity: Some Thoughts," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 411-448, July.
    12. Marina Brogi & Valentina Lagasio, 2019. "Environmental, social, and governance and company profitability: Are financial intermediaries different?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 576-587, May.
    13. Doll, Claus & Wietschel, Martin, 2008. "Externalities of the transport sector and the role of hydrogen in a sustainable transport vision," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4069-4078, November.
    14. Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma, 2021. "Urban public transport in Italy: past, present and future," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 615, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    15. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil, 2017. "European Banks' Reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(1), pages 1-14, January.
    16. Bart Voorn & Marieke L. van Genugten & Sandra van Thiel, 2017. "The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: a systematic review," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 820-841, September.
    17. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    18. Lisa Bagnoli & Salvador Bertomeu-Sanchez & Antonio Estache & Maria Vagliasindi, 2023. "Does the ownership of utilities matter for social outcomes? A survey of the evidence for developing countries," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 24-43, January.
    19. Fabio Monteduro, 2014. "Public–private versus public ownership and economic performance: evidence from Italian local utilities," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(1), pages 29-49, February.
    20. Karaman, Abdullah S. & Orazalin, Nurlan & Uyar, Ali & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2021. "CSR achievement, reporting, and assurance in the energy sector: Does economic development matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    21. Kim Shima & Scott Fung, 2019. "Voluntary disclosure of environmental performance after regulatory change," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(2), pages 287-324, April.
    22. Nguyet Thi Minh Phi & Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary & Chuc Anh Tu & Naoyuki Yoshino & Chul Ju Kim, 2021. "Performance Differential between Private and State-owned Enterprises: An Analysis of Profitability and Solvency," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(14), pages 3913-3928, November.
    23. Ligorio, Lorenzo & Venturelli, Andrea & Caputo, Fabio, 2022. "Tracing the boundaries between sustainable cities and cities for sustainable development. An LDA analysis of management studies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    24. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-05-2018-3488 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Alberto Cavaliere & Simona Scabrosetti, 2008. "Privatization And Efficiency: From Principals And Agents To Political Economy," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 685-710, September.
    26. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    27. Simone Pizzi & Salvatore Principale & Roberta Fasiello & Francesca Imperiale, 2023. "The institutionalisation of social and environmental accounting practices in Europe," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(5), pages 816-838, February.
    28. Bel, Germà & Warner, Mildred, 2008. "Does privatization of solid waste and water services reduce costs? A review of empirical studies," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 52(12), pages 1337-1348.
    29. Deng, Xiang & Li, Weihao & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "More sustainable, more productive: Evidence from ESG ratings and total factor productivity among listed Chinese firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    30. de la Higuera-Molina, Emilio José & Campos-Alba, Cristina María & López-Pérez, Germán & Zafra-Gómez, José Luis, 2023. "Efficiency of water service management alternatives in Spain considering environmental factors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    31. Katharina Kaupke & Dodo zu Knyphausen‐Aufseß, 2023. "Sustainability and firm value in the oil and gas industry—A vicious circle?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1129-1144, May.
    32. Daniel A. Ackerberg & Kevin Caves & Garth Frazer, 2015. "Identification Properties of Recent Production Function Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2411-2451, November.
    33. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Li, Cheng, 2021. "State ownership and internationalization: The advantage and disadvantage of stateness," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    34. Ian R. Hodgkinson & Paul Hughes & Mat Hughes & Russ Glennon, 2017. "Does ownership matter for service delivery value? an examination of citizens’ service satisfaction," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 1206-1220, September.
    35. Simone Pizzi & Fabio Caputo & Elbano de Nuccio, 2024. "Do sustainability reporting standards affect analysts’ forecast accuracy?," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(2), pages 330-354, January.
    36. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    37. Schneider, Robert J., 2013. "Theory of routine mode choice decisions: An operational framework to increase sustainable transportation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 128-137.
    38. Nan Zhou & Heli Wang, 2020. "Foreign subsidiary CSR as a buffer against parent firm reputation risk," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(8), pages 1256-1282, October.
    39. James Odeck & Abdulrahim Alkadi, 2001. "Evaluating efficiency in the Norwegian bus industry using data envelopment analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 211-232, August.
    40. Antonio D'Amato & Camilla Falivena, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and firm value: Do firm size and age matter? Empirical evidence from European listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 909-924, March.
    41. Gunnar Friede & Timo Busch & Alexander Bassen, 2015. "ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(4), pages 210-233, October.
    42. Nicolo, Giuseppe & Zampone, Giovanni & Sannino, Giuseppe & Tiron-Tudor, Adriana, 2023. "Worldwide evidence of corporate governance influence on ESG disclosure in the utilities sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    43. Tong, Charles, 2006. "Refinement strategies for stratified sampling methods," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 91(10), pages 1257-1265.
    44. Felicetta Iovino & Guido Migliaccio, 2019. "Financial dynamics of energy companies during global economic crisis," International Journal of Business and Globalisation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 22(4), pages 541-554.
    45. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel, 2021. "Politicians, bureaucrats and the public–private choice in public service delivery: anybody there pushing for remunicipalization?," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 361-379, July.
    46. Campos-Alba, Cristina M. & Prior, Diego & Pérez-López, Gemma & Zafra-Gómez, Jose L., 2020. "Long-term cost efficiency of alternative management forms for urban public transport from the public sector perspective," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-23.
    47. Annesi, Nora & Battaglia, Massimo & Frey, Marco, 2021. "Stakeholder engagement by an Italian water utility company: Insight from participant observation of dialogism," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    48. William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2007. "Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 41(2), pages 257-282, May.
    49. Mildred E. Warner & Austin M. Aldag, 2021. "Re-municipalization in the US: a pragmatic response to contracting," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 319-332, July.
    50. Theodore Tsekeris & Klimis Vogiatzoglou, 2014. "Public infrastructure investments and regional specialization: empirical evidence from Greece," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 265-289, August.
    51. Bresnihan, Patrick, 2016. "The bio-financialization of Irish Water: New advances in the neoliberalization of vital services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 115-124.
    52. Romano, Giulia & Molinos-Senante, María & Guerrini, Andrea, 2017. "Water utility efficiency assessment in Italy by accounting for service quality: An empirical investigation," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 97-108.
    53. Germà Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2017. "What have we learned from the last three decades of empirical studies on factors driving local privatisation?," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 503-511, July.
    54. Elisabetta Ottoz & Graziella Fornengo & Marina Di Giacomo, 2009. "The impact of ownership on the cost of bus service provision: an example from Italy," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 337-349.
    55. Dongwei Su & Xingxing He, 2012. "Ownership structure, corporate governance and productive efficiency in China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 303-318, December.
    56. repec:eme:mfppss:mf-12-2021-0593 is not listed on IDEAS
    57. Veltri, Stefania & Bruni, Maria Elena & Iazzolino, Gianpaolo & Morea, Donato & Baldissarro, Giovanni, 2023. "Do ESG factors improve utilities corporate efficiency and reduce the risk perceived by credit lending institutions? An empirical analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    58. Tirachini, Alejandro & Antoniou, Constantinos, 2020. "The economics of automated public transport: Effects on operator cost, travel time, fare and subsidy," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    59. Homsy, George C. & Warner, Mildred E., 2020. "Does public ownership of utilities matter for local government water policies?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    60. Giordano, Thierry, 2012. "Adaptive planning for climate resilient long-lived infrastructures," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 80-89.
    61. Valenza, Giuseppe & Damiano, Rodolfo, 2023. "Sustainability reporting and public value: Evidence from port authorities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    62. Eliwa, Yasser & Aboud, Ahmed & Saleh, Ahmed, 2021. "ESG practices and the cost of debt: Evidence from EU countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    63. Francesco Badia & Enrico Bracci & Mouhcine Tallaki, 2020. "Quality and Diffusion of Social and Sustainability Reporting in Italian Public Utility Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    64. Viton, Philip A., 1997. "Technical efficiency in multi-mode bus transit: A production frontier analysis," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 23-39, February.
    65. D'Amore, Gabriella & Landriani, Loris & Lepore, Luigi, 2021. "Ownership and sustainability of Italian water utilities: The stakeholder role," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    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. Veltri, Stefania & Bruni, Maria Elena & Iazzolino, Gianpaolo & Morea, Donato & Baldissarro, Giovanni, 2023. "Do ESG factors improve utilities corporate efficiency and reduce the risk perceived by credit lending institutions? An empirical analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. D'Amore, Gabriella & Landriani, Loris & Lepore, Luigi, 2021. "Ownership and sustainability of Italian water utilities: The stakeholder role," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Andrea Boitani & Marcella Nicolini & Carlo Scarpa, 2013. "Do competition and ownership matter? Evidence from local public transport in Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1419-1434, April.
    4. Cinzia Daraio & Marco Diana & Flavia Di Costa & Claudio Leporelli & Giorgio Matteucci & Alberto Nastasi, 2014. "Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: a critical review with directions for future research," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-14, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    5. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel & Francisco González-Gómez & José C. Hernández-Gutiérrez & Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo, 2023. "Remunicipalization of Local Public Services: Policy Drivers and Changing Prices," IREA Working Papers 202319, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2023.
    6. Zhang, Chunqin & Xiao, Guangnian & Liu, Yong & Yu, Feng, 2018. "The relationship between organizational forms and the comprehensive effectiveness for public transport services in China?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 783-802.
    7. Nicolo, Giuseppe & Zampone, Giovanni & Sannino, Giuseppe & Tiron-Tudor, Adriana, 2023. "Worldwide evidence of corporate governance influence on ESG disclosure in the utilities sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Imperiale, Francesca & Pizzi, Simone & Lippolis, Stella, 2023. "Sustainability reporting and ESG performance in the utilities sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    9. Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Does green finance really inhibit extreme hypocritical ESG risk? A greenwashing perspective exploration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    10. Germà Bel & Jordi Rosell, 2016. "Public and Private Production in a Mixed Delivery System: Regulation, Competition and Costs," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(3), pages 533-558, June.
    11. Filippini, M. & Koller, M. & Masiero, G., 2015. "Competitive tendering versus performance-based negotiation in Swiss public transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 158-168.
    12. Francesco, Gastaldi & Lucia, Quaglino & Carlo, Stagnaro, 2012. "Il trasporto pubblico locale e la concorrenza. Cambiare paradigma per salvare il servizio: il caso ligure [Local Public Transportation and Competition. Changing Paradigm to Save the Service: The Ca," MPRA Paper 49464, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Rosell, Jordi, 2017. "Urban bus contractual regimes in small- and medium-sized municipalities: Competitive tendering or negotiation?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 54-62.
    14. Pestana Barros, Carlos & Peypoch, Nicolas, 2010. "Productivity changes in Portuguese bus companies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 295-302, September.
    15. Juri Demuth & Hans W. Friederiszick & Steffen Reinhold, 2022. "Reverse Privatization as a Reaction to the Competitive Environment: Evidence from Solid Waste Collection in Germany," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 60(2), pages 217-261, March.
    16. Di Yao & Liqun Xu & Jinpei Li, 2019. "Evaluating the Performance of Public Transit Systems: A Case Study of Eleven Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-21, June.
    17. Vitolla, Filippo & Raimo, Nicola & Campobasso, Francesco & Giakoumelou, Anastasia, 2023. "Risk disclosure in sustainability reports: Empirical evidence from the energy sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel & Francisco González-Gómez & José C. Hernández-Gutiérrez & Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo, 2024. "Changing prices after the reform of local public services: remunicipalization versus privatization," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 1-26, June.
    19. Chunya Ren & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Wen‐Min Lu & Qian Long Kweh, 2022. "Nonlinear effects of ESG on energy‐adjusted firm efficiency: Evidence from the stakeholder engagement of apple incorporated," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1231-1246, September.
    20. Remo-Diez, Nieves & Mendaña-Cuervo, Cristina & Arenas-Parra, Mar, 2023. "Exploring the asymmetric impact of sustainability reporting on financial performance in the utilities sector: A longitudinal comparative analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

    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:eee:juipol:v:89:y:2024:i:c:s0957178724000584. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/utilities-policy .

    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.