Corporate business strategy, CEO's managerial ability, and environmental disclosure: The perspective of stakeholder theory

Abstract

The adoption of business strategies at the corporate level is often associated with the resource‐based view theory. However, many scholars have not definitively determined whether aligning business strategies with the principles of the resource‐based view theory is consistent with the perspective presented by stakeholder theory. This study examines the relationship between corporate business strategies and environmental disclosure. Specifically, we investigate whether CEO's managerial ability may strengthen the association by emphasizing stakeholder theory to address this inquiry. Using a sample of 1243 publicly traded companies registered with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) from 2015 to 2021, our findings indicate that a firm's chosen business strategy significantly influences its environmental disclosure practices. In particular, we observe that firms pursuing an innovation‐oriented business strategy (prospectors) are less inclined to disclose, initiate, or increase their environmental disclosures compared with those following a cost‐efficient business strategy (defenders). To address endogeneity and ensure robustness, we conduct a battery of tests, including the entropy balancing approach, two‐step generalized method of the moment using Arellano‐Bond estimation, Heckman two‐stage regression, and coarsened exact matching. This study offers valuable insights into the determinants of firms' environmental disclosure practices, with significant implications for policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders interested in promoting sustainability and corporate responsibility.