IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v167y2015icp1-11.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impacts of carbon (CO2) emissions and environmental research and development (R&D) investment on firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Ki-Hoon
  • Min, Byung
  • Yook, Keun-Hyo

Abstract

While the rate of climate change appears to have risen substantially in recent years, relatively little is known regarding ‘how’ firms alter the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Recent research into the relationship between CEP and CFP proposes a variety of contextual and firm factors which can create a more robust link. However, few of these studies explore the role of environmental research and development (R&D) investment. Using micro-level data, this paper investigates how environmental R&D affects the CEP–CFP relationship from the perspective of global climate change and an international environmental agreement. We develop a fixed effect model for estimation, analyzing a panel dataset of 362 firms from 2003 to 2010. We find that carbon emissions persistently decrease firm value. We also find that the market ‘penalizes’ firms׳ negative environmental performance more consistently than its positive performance. Further analysis indicates that corporate efforts to comply with international environmental agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol are not a binding constraint on firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Ki-Hoon & Min, Byung & Yook, Keun-Hyo, 2015. "The impacts of carbon (CO2) emissions and environmental research and development (R&D) investment on firm performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:167:y:2015:i:c:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.05.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092552731500170X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.05.018?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. Shameek Konar & Mark A. Cohen, 2001. "Does The Market Value Environmental Performance?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(2), pages 281-289, May.
    2. Paul Lanoie & Jérémy Laurent‐Lucchetti & Nick Johnstone & Stefan Ambec, 2011. "Environmental Policy, Innovation and Performance: New Insights on the Porter Hypothesis," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 803-842, September.
    3. Iwata, Hiroki & Okada, Keisuke, 2011. "How does environmental performance affect financial performance? Evidence from Japanese manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1691-1700, July.
    4. Demsetz, Harold & Lehn, Kenneth, 1985. "The Structure of Corporate Ownership: Causes and Consequences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(6), pages 1155-1177, December.
    5. Sanjay Sharma & Irene Henriques, 2005. "Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 159-180, February.
    6. Su‐Yol Lee, 2012. "Corporate Carbon Strategies in Responding to Climate Change," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 33-48, January.
    7. Kimitaka Nishitani & Katsuhiko Kokubu, 2012. "Why Does the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Enhance Firm Value? The Case of Japanese Manufacturing Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(8), pages 517-529, December.
    8. Hsu, Audrey Wen-hsin & Wang, Tawei, 2013. "Does the market value corporate response to climate change?," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 195-206.
    9. 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.
    10. Andrew King & Michael Lenox, 2002. "Exploring the Locus of Profitable Pollution Reduction," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 289-299, February.
    11. Hidemichi Fujii & Kazuyuki Iwata & Shinji Kaneko & Shunsuke Managi, 2013. "Corporate Environmental and Economic Performance of Japanese Manufacturing Firms: Empirical Study for Sustainable Development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 187-201, March.
    12. Stephen Brammer & Andrew Millington, 2008. "Does it pay to be different? An analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(12), pages 1325-1343, December.
    13. Al-Tuwaijri, Sulaiman A. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Hughes, K. II, 2004. "The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: a simultaneous equations approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(5-6), pages 447-471.
    14. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    15. Sarkis, Joseph & Cordeiro, James J., 2001. "An empirical evaluation of environmental efficiencies and firm performance: Pollution prevention versus end-of-pipe practice," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 102-113, November.
    16. Ans Kolk & David Levy & Jonatan Pinkse, 2008. "Corporate Responses in an Emerging Climate Regime: The Institutionalization and Commensuration of Carbon Disclosure," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 719-745.
    17. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    18. Dylan Rassier & Dietrich Earnhart, 2010. "Does the Porter Hypothesis Explain Expected Future Financial Performance? The Effect of Clean Water Regulation on Chemical Manufacturing Firms," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 45(3), pages 353-377, March.
    19. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    20. Georg Weinhofer & Volker H. Hoffmann, 2010. "Mitigating climate change – how do corporate strategies differ?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(2), pages 77-89, February.
    21. Andrew A. King & Michael J. Lenox, 2001. "Does It Really Pay to Be Green? An Empirical Study of Firm Environmental and Financial Performance: An Empirical Study of Firm Environmental and Financial Performance," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 5(1), pages 105-116, January.
    22. Heather Dixon-Fowler & Daniel Slater & Jonathan Johnson & Alan Ellstrand & Andrea Romi, 2013. "Beyond “Does it Pay to be Green?” A Meta-Analysis of Moderators of the CEP–CFP Relationship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 353-366, January.
    23. Natalia Semenova & Lars G. Hassel, 2008. "Financial outcomes of environmental risk and opportunity for US companies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 195-212.
    24. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    25. Mirrlees, James A, 1997. "Information and Incentives: The Economics of Carrots and Sticks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(444), pages 1311-1329, September.
    26. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Goto, Mika, 2009. "Can environmental investment and expenditure enhance financial performance of US electric utility firms under the clean air act amendment of 1990?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4819-4826, November.
    27. Chin Hee Hahn & Sang-Hyop Lee & Kyoung-Soo Yoon (ed.), 2012. "Responding to Climate Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14709.
    28. 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.
    29. Daniel C. Esty & Michael E. Porter, 1998. "Industrial Ecology and Competitiveness: Strategic Implications for the Firm," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 2(1), pages 35-43, January.
    30. Lee, Ki-Hoon & Wu, Yong, 2014. "Integrating sustainability performance measurement into logistics and supply networks: A multi-methodological approach," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 361-378.
    31. Zhi Tang & Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2012. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Strategy Moderates the CSR–Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1274-1303, November.
    32. Seema Arora & Timothy N. Cason, 1996. "Why Do Firms Volunteer to Exceed Environmental Regulations? Understanding Participation in EPA's 33/50 Program," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(4), pages 413-432.
    33. Glen Dowell & Stuart Hart & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Do Corporate Global Environmental Standards Create or Destroy Market Value?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(8), pages 1059-1074, August.
    34. Michael E. Porter & Claas van der Linde, 1995. "Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 97-118, Fall.
    35. Robert D. Klassen & Curtis P. McLaughlin, 1996. "The Impact of Environmental Management on Firm Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(8), pages 1199-1214, August.
    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. 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.
    2. Mohammed Bouaddi & Mohamed A. K. Basuony & Neveen Noureldin, 2023. "The Heterogenous Effects of Carbon Emissions and Board Gender Diversity on a Firm’s Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Francesca Di Pillo & Massimo Gastaldi & Nathan Levialdi & Michela Miliacca, 2017. "Environmental Performance Versus Economic-financial Performance: Evidence from Italian Firms," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(2), pages 98-108.
    4. G Capece & F Di Pillo & M Gastaldi & N Levialdi & M Miliacca, 2017. "Examining the effect of managing GHG emissions on business performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1041-1060, December.
    5. Markus Hang & Jerome Geyer‐Klingeberg & Andreas Rathgeber & Stefan Stöckl, 2018. "Economic Development Matters: A Meta‐Regression Analysis on the Relation between Environmental Management and Financial Performance," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(4), pages 720-744, August.
    6. Siddique, Md Abubakar & Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Rashid, Afzalur & Hammami, Helmi, 2021. "Carbon disclosure, carbon performance and financial performance: International evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Christoph Trumpp & Thomas Guenther, 2017. "Too Little or too much? Exploring U‐shaped Relationships between Corporate Environmental Performance and Corporate Financial Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 49-68, January.
    10. Stefan Lewandowski, 2017. "Corporate Carbon and Financial Performance: The Role of Emission Reductions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1196-1211, December.
    11. Stefan Ambec & Paul Lanoie, 2007. "When and Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-20, CIRANO.
    12. Suhong Li & Thomas Ngniatedema & Fang Chen, 2017. "Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 776-790, September.
    13. Garcés-Ayerbe, Concepción & Cañón-de-Francia, Joaquín, 2017. "The Relevance of Complementarities in the Study of the Economic Consequences of Environmental Proactivity: Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Innovation Efforts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 21-30.
    14. Vastola, Vincenzo & Russo, Angeloantonio & Vurro, Clodia, 2017. "Dealing with Cultural Differences in Environmental Management: Exploring the CEP-CFP Relationship," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 267-275.
    15. Kimitaka Nishitani & M.B. Haider & Katsuhiko Kokubu, 2014. "Corporate Environmental Initiatives and Shareholder Value: Focusing on the Role of Environmental Information and Its Credibility," Discussion Paper Series DP2014-13, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    16. Ben Lahouel, Béchir & Ben Zaied, Younes & Managi, Shunsuke & Taleb, Lotfi, 2022. "Re-thinking about U: The relevance of regime-switching model in the relationship between environmental corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 498-519.
    17. Hulshof, Daan & Mulder, Machiel, 2020. "The impact of renewable energy use on firm profit," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    18. Wolfgang Schultze & Ramona Trommer, 2012. "The concept of environmental performance and its measurement in empirical studies," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 375-412, January.
    19. Yann Truong & Brian G. Nagy, 2021. "Nascent ventures’ green initiatives and angel investor judgments of legitimacy and funding," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1801-1818, December.
    20. Misani, Nicola & Pogutz, Stefano, 2015. "Unraveling the effects of environmental outcomes and processes on financial performance: A non-linear approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 150-160.

    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:proeco:v:167:y:2015:i:c:p:1-11. 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: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    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.