[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i5p2794-d760094.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relationship between the Degree of Internationalization and Greenwashing of Environmental Responsibilities in China-Based on the Legitimacy Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Kesen Zhang

    (Business School, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China)

  • Zhen Pan

    (Business School, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China)

  • Mukund Janardhanan

    (School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE17RH, UK)

Abstract
Based on the legitimacy theory, A-share-listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2007 to 2018 are taken as the research sample. This paper explores the internal mechanism of how internationalization degree affects the greenwashing behavior of Chinese multinational enterprises, and tests the moderating mechanism of legitimacy pressures from the home country. The findings are as follows: First, under the background of internationalization, enterprises are more inclined to greenwash, and this tendency is more obvious with the increase in internationalization degree. Second, in the full sample analysis, the moderating effects of environmental regulation, public pressure, and industry pressure are not statistically significant. Third, the moderating effect of legitimacy pressures varies due to the heterogeneity of regions and property rights of the enterprises. The statistical significance of the moderating effect is affected by the diversity of environmental regulation measures, but it can be roughly concluded that the eastern and western regions show a negative moderating effect, and the central region shows a positive moderating effect. The current moderating effect of public pressure is much stronger than the lagging moderating effect, and it shows obvious regional and property rights differences. The moderating effect of industry pressure also shows obvious regional and property rights differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Kesen Zhang & Zhen Pan & Mukund Janardhanan, 2022. "Relationship between the Degree of Internationalization and Greenwashing of Environmental Responsibilities in China-Based on the Legitimacy Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2794-:d:760094
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2794/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2794/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charl de Villiers & Leonardo Rinaldi & Jeffrey Unerman, 2014. "Integrated Reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(7), pages 1042-1067, August.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    3. Andong Liu & Xuesong Gu, 2020. "Environmental Regulation, Technological Progress and Corporate Profit: Empirical Research Based on the Threshold Panel Regression," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Piperopoulos, Panagiotis & Wu, Jie & Wang, Chengqi, 2018. "Outward FDI, location choices and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 232-240.
    5. Rui Guo & Lan Tao & Caroline Bingxin Li & Tao Wang, 2017. "A Path Analysis of Greenwashing in a Trust Crisis Among Chinese Energy Companies: The Role of Brand Legitimacy and Brand Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 523-536, February.
    6. Randy Becker & Vernon Henderson, 2000. "Effects of Air Quality Regulations on Polluting Industries," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(2), pages 379-421, April.
    7. Cristina Jude & Gregory Levieuge, 2017. "Growth Effect of Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Economies: The Role of Institutional Quality," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 715-742, April.
    8. Fangrong Li & Daniel Z. Ding, 2013. "The effect of institutional isomorphic pressure on the internationalization of firms in an emerging economy: evidence from China," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 506-525, October.
    9. Sudipta Bose & Habib Zaman Khan & Reza M. Monem, 2021. "Does green banking performance pay off? Evidence from a unique regulatory setting in Bangladesh," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 162-187, March.
    10. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    11. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Fabio Iraldo, 2018. "Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 287-307, January.
    12. Morck, Randall & Yeung, Bernard, 1991. "Why Investors Value Multinationality," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(2), pages 165-187, April.
    13. Wang, Chunhua & Wu, JunJie & Zhang, Bing, 2018. "Environmental regulation, emissions and productivity: Evidence from Chinese COD-emitting manufacturers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 54-73.
    14. Albrizio, Silvia & Kozluk, Tomasz & Zipperer, Vera, 2017. "Environmental policies and productivity growth: Evidence across industries and firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 209-226.
    15. Xiao, Chengyong & Wang, Qian & van Donk, Dirk Pieter & van der Vaart, Taco, 2018. "When are stakeholder pressures effective? An extension of slack resources theory," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 138-149.
    16. Javier Delgado-Ceballos & Juan Aragón-Correa & Natalia Ortiz-de-Mandojana & Antonio Rueda-Manzanares, 2012. "The Effect of Internal Barriers on the Connection Between Stakeholder Integration and Proactive Environmental Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 281-293, May.
    17. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    18. Liao, Xianchun & Shi, Xunpeng (Roc), 2018. "Public appeal, environmental regulation and green investment: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 554-562.
    19. Mohamed Chelli & Sylvain Durocher & Jacques Richard, 2014. "France's new economic regulations: insights from institutional legitimacy theory," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(2), pages 283-316, February.
    20. Krista Bondy & Jeremy Moon & Dirk Matten, 2012. "An Institution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Multi-National Corporations (MNCs): Form and Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 281-299, December.
    21. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2016. "Firm Internationalization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 171-197, March.
    22. Josefina L. Murillo‐Luna & Concepción Garcés‐Ayerbe & Pilar Rivera‐Torres, 2008. "Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholders' pressure approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(11), pages 1225-1240, November.
    23. Peter Tashman & Valentina Marano & Tatiana Kostova, 2019. "Walking the walk or talking the talk? Corporate social responsibility decoupling in emerging market multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 153-171, March.
    24. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13026 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Olivier Boiral & Nicolas Raineri & David Talbot, 2018. "Managers’ Citizenship Behaviors for the Environment: A Developmental Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 395-409, May.
    26. repec:fth:michin:282 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Christian Schwens & Julia Eiche & Ruediger Kabst, 2011. "The Moderating Impact of Informal Institutional Distance and Formal Institutional Risk on SME Entry Mode Choice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 330-351, March.
    28. Min Du & Agyenim Boateng & David Newton, 2016. "The impact of state ownership, formal institutions and resource seeking on acquirers’ returns of Chinese M&A," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 159-178, July.
    29. Mohamed Chelli & Sylvain Durocher & Jacques Richard, 2014. "France's new economic regulations: insights from institutional legitimacy theory," Post-Print hal-01651207, HAL.
    30. Theodore Groves & Yongmiao Hong & John McMillan & Barry Naughton, 1994. "Autonomy and Incentives in Chinese State Enterprises," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 183-209.
    31. Dam, Lammertjan & Scholtens, Bert, 2012. "The curse of the haven: The impact of multinational enterprise on environmental regulation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 148-156.
    32. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    33. Shenggang Ren & Duojun He & Tao Zhang & Xiaohong Chen, 2019. "Symbolic reactions or substantive pro‐environmental behaviour? An empirical study of corporate environmental performance under the government's environmental subsidy scheme," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1148-1165, September.
    34. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    35. Cozza, C. & Rabellotti, R. & Sanfilippo, M., 2015. "The impact of outward FDI on the performance of Chinese firms," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 42-57.
    36. Kathleen R. Conner & C. K. Prahalad, 1996. "A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 477-501, October.
    37. Campbell, T. Colin & Gallmeyer, Michael & Johnson, Shane A. & Rutherford, Jessica & Stanley, Brooke W., 2011. "CEO optimism and forced turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 695-712, September.
    38. Brown, William O. & Helland, Eric & Smith, Janet Kiholm, 2006. "Corporate philanthropic practices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 855-877, December.
    39. Yuquing Xing & Charles Kolstad, 2002. "Do Lax Environmental Regulations Attract Foreign Investment?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(1), pages 1-22, January.
    40. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Leonidou, Constantinos N. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Zeriti, Athina, 2013. "Resources and capabilities as drivers of hotel environmental marketing strategy: Implications for competitive advantage and performance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 94-110.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agata Pierscieniak & Izabela Krawczyk-Sokolowska & Wieslawa Caputa, 2023. "Micro-foundations of environmental entrepreneurship resistance in SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 71-95, March.

    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. Kesen Zhang & Zhen Pan & Mukund Janardhanan & Imran Patel, 2023. "Relationship analysis between greenwashing and environmental performance," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 7927-7957, August.
    2. Yiqiang Zhou & Lianghua Chen & Yan Zhang & Wan Li, 2024. "“Environmental disclosure greenwashing” and corporate value: The premium effect and premium devalue of environmental information," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2424-2438, May.
    3. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    4. Rong Ma & Rakesh B. Sambharya, 2024. "International diversification and corporate social responsibility disclosure quality: Employee versus environmental dimensions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4248-4264, September.
    5. Vera Ferrón‐Vílchez & Jesus Valero‐Gil & Inés Suárez‐Perales, 2021. "How does greenwashing influence managers' decision‐making? An experimental approach under stakeholder view," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 860-880, March.
    6. Silvia Romero & Silvia Ruiz & Belen Fernandez‐Feijoo, 2019. "Sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement in Spain: Different instruments, different quality," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 221-232, January.
    7. Yongjun Tang & Jun Zhu & Wenchao Ma & Mengxue Zhao, 2022. "A Study on the Impact of Institutional Pressure on Carbon Information Disclosure: The Mediating Effect of Enterprise Peer Influence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-23, March.
    8. Wei Li & Weining Li & Veikko Seppänen & Timo Koivumäki, 2023. "Effects of greenwashing on financial performance: Moderation through local environmental regulation and media coverage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 820-841, January.
    9. Javier Amores‐salvadó & Gregorio Martin‐de Castro & Elisabeth Albertini, 2022. "Walking the talk, but above all, talking the walk: Looking green for market stakeholder engagement," Post-Print halshs-03760088, HAL.
    10. Shan Xue & Yuehua Xu & Honghui Chen, 2024. "Corporate social performance feedback and corporate social responsibility decoupling in China: The salience of legitimacy and/or efficiency," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3164-3180, July.
    11. Gangqiang Yang & Ziyu Ding & Haisen Wang & Lingli Zou, 2023. "Can environmental regulation improve firm total factor productivity? The mediating effects of credit resource allocation," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6799-6827, July.
    12. Patrick Velte, 2023. "Determinants and consequences of corporate social responsibility decoupling—Status quo and limitations of recent empirical quantitative research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2695-2717, November.
    13. Ma Zhong & Weiqi Zhao & Yasir Shahab, 2022. "The philanthropic response of substantive and symbolic corporate social responsibility strategies to COVID‐19 crisis: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 339-355, March.
    14. Roszkowska-Menkes, Maria & Aluchna, Maria & Kamiński, Bogumił, 2024. "True transparency or mere decoupling? The study of selective disclosure in sustainability reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    15. Gu, Lulu & Yang, Guohua & Zuo, Rui, 2022. "Dual liability and the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility–Evidence from Belt&Road investment of Chinese firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    16. Pengyu Chen & Abd Alwahed Dagestani, 2023. "Greenwashing behavior and firm value – From the perspective of board characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2330-2343, September.
    17. Dong, Ciwei & Huang, Qianzhi & Pan, Yuqing & Ng, Chi To & Liu, Renjun, 2023. "Logistics outsourcing: Effects of greenwashing and blockchain technology," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    18. Zhang, Yijun & Li, Xiaoping & Song, Yi & Jiang, Feitao, 2021. "Can green industrial policy improve total factor productivity? Firm-level evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 51-62.
    19. Na Yang & Jue Wang & Xiaming Liu & Lingyun Huang, 2022. "Home-country institutions and corporate social responsibility of emerging economy multinational enterprises: The belt and road initiative as an example," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 927-965, September.
    20. 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.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2794-:d:760094. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.