Databases containing macro-level data are an underutilized methodological tool for expanding theory in micro research (i.e., individual and team) to the macro (i.e., organizational and higher) level of analysis. We describe how macro archival databases support different theoretical approaches for upwardly expanding micro research and summarize unanswered research questions across micro domains requiring upward expansion. We describe 31 macro archival databases as a resource for testing research questions that upwardly expand theorizing in micro domains and how databases enable methodological best practices (i.e., data collection over time, multiple measures of a construct, multilevel statistical controls, missing data and outlier management) that are often difficult to apply in typical micro research. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of using macro archival databases through an empirical illustration in the workplace diversity domain: positive effects of manager gender diversity and manager industry gender diversity on firm performance (i.e., ROA and ROE).

This paper develops theory suggesting that, relative to purely domestic firms, multinational enterprises (MNE) have greater incentives and strategic and operational means to respond to expanding carbon emissions constraints. We test our resulting hypotheses with data on changes in carbon emissions by over 6,000 industrial plants during Phase 2 (2008–2012) of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme. We find that MNE maintain: (1) consistent carbon reductions across institutional contexts, and (2) an overall carbon performance edge over domestic firms. The carbon performance gap between MNEs and domestic firms narrowed, however, in host countries transitioning towards more stringent market regulatory systems. By demonstrating that the effects of national and international carbon regulations on firm behavior interact in important ways with each other and with firm characteristics, this paper deepens understanding of how institutions are likely to shape the ongoing energy transition towards a low-carbon economy.

This study examines the outcome of collective political strategy across countries, within the context of new greenhouse gas regulations in the European Union. Drawing on the economic theory of regulation, I argue that collective political strategy can result in varied distortions of environmental policies, depending on the ideology of government actors, the electoral cycle and the type of prevalent bureaucratic regulatory system. An interesting finding in this regard is that left-leaning governments react more favorably to political strategies by industries. The study highlights the important role crosscountry heterogeneity of political systems plays in influencing the outcomes of collective political strategies.

With the growing urgency of climate change, governments around the world are increasingly implementing new regulations for greenhouse gases. This trend elevates the importance of examining how firms engage in strategic efforts to influence regulations before they are in place and how they respond once they are in effect (i.e., their ex‐ante and ex‐post strategic behavior). This paper examines the outcomes of such strategic efforts by multinational and domestic oil companies within the European Union emissions trading scheme. An analysis of a panel dataset of oil firms (2008–2012) shows that on average the outcome of ex‐ante strategies did not differ significantly between multinational companies (MNCs) and domestic firms. However, the findings indicate that among those firms that received positive net benefits from the new climate policy, domestic firms were able to maximize these benefits better than MNCs through their ex‐post strategies. In contrast, among the firms that faced net costs due to the policy, MNCs were able to minimize these costs better than domestic firms, ex‐post. This paper advances our understanding of whether and to what extent MNCs differ from domestic firms in their economic outcomes stemming from strategic behavior related to emissions trading. This question is especially pertinent for regulations related to climate change, which is one of humanity's grand challenges and has important consequences for our economic, social, and political systems.

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