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The Influence of Corporate Governance and Operating Characteristics on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from China

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  • Defeng Yang

    (Department of Marketing, School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

  • Zhanqing Wang

    (Department of Marketing, School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

  • Fangmin Lu

    (Department of Marketing, School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China)

Abstract

This study mainly explores the relationship between company governance, company operation characteristics, management connection and corporate environmental investment. Based on the theory of stakeholders and principal-agent, it expounds the factors affecting the environmental behavior of companies, and empirically tests the relationship of the involved variables. This study takes the non-financial listed companies of Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2011 as a sample, and conducts empirical research on corporate governance, business operation characteristics, management connection and corporate environmental protection investment. The results show that under the same circumstances, if the CEO is also the chairman of the board of directors, it will lead to opportunistic situation of the controlling shareholder, and the degree of willingness to invest in environmental preservation is low, which is negatively related to environmental protection investment. The more redundant resources or the higher the production efficiency exist, the higher the willingness of enterprises to invest in environmental protection will be stimulated.

Suggested Citation

  • Defeng Yang & Zhanqing Wang & Fangmin Lu, 2019. "The Influence of Corporate Governance and Operating Characteristics on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2737-:d:230877
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    2. Hail Jung & Seyeong Song & Chang-Keun Song, 2021. "Carbon Emission Regulation, Green Boards, and Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Yingxin Chen & Jing Zhang & Pandu R. Tadikamalla & Xutong Gao, 2019. "The Relationship among Government, Enterprise, and Public in Environmental Governance from the Perspective of Multi-Player Evolutionary Game," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Yuan Wang & Junrui Zhang, 2023. "Corporate Governance, Media Coverage, and Corporate Environmental Protection Investment: Empirical Evidence from Listed Companies in China’s High-Pollution Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-24, May.
    5. Conghua Hong & Youliang Yan & Xinxin Zhang, 2022. "Does Entrepreneurs’ Military Experience Promote Corporate Environmental Investment? Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Jie Zhou & Shanyue Jin, 2023. "Corporate Environmental Protection Behavior and Sustainable Development: The Moderating Role of Green Investors and Green Executive Cognition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, February.

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