Will Green CSR Enhance Innovation? A Perspective of Public Visibility and Firm Transparency

Abstract

In response to the asking and requiring of stakeholders to be more environmentally responsible, firms must commit to green corporate social responsibility (CSR). Firms being green and responsible always can acquire intangible resources that are important for firm innovation. Given the scarcity of existing research addressing relevant issues in depth, this paper expands our understanding of green CSR by revealing its antecedent effects on firm innovation performance. We also include public visibility and firm transparency as contingency factors to explore the relationship between green CSR and firm innovation performance. Using data collected from publicly listed firms in China, we find that greater innovation performance is associated with an increase in firm green CSR, and the positive relationship between green CSR and innovation performance is moderated by public visibility and firm transparency. Based on the results, theoretical contributions and practical implications are outlined.

Does ethics really matter to the sustainability of new ventures? The relationship between entrepreneurial ethics, firm visibility and entrepreneurial performance

“…At the same time, with higher firm visibility, more benefits would be obtained from CSR practice [49]. Such benefits could be growing digital and representation effects [46], enhancing stakeholder recognition, improving financial performance [15] and gaining more investment for research and development expenditure [50], and promoting more enterprise innovation [51]. Therefore, we can infer that firm visibility is the key institution factor that affects the impact of ethics on performance.…”

Does CSR Influence Firm Performance Indicators? Evidence from Chinese Pharmaceutical Enterprises

“…In addition, pharmaceutical companies would regard the environment as an important aspect of their CSR strategy because their negative impacts on the local environment, such as medical disposals and discharges, may be fined by authorities, resulting in substantial short-term costs [55]. Wu et al [56] argue that environmentally friendly CSR activities promote innovation in Chinese firms through public visibility and firm transparency. Jiang and Akbar [57] reveal that in China's context female executives tend to make a relatively higher amount of environmental protection investments.…”

Top Management, Green Innovations, and the Mediating Effect of Customer Cooperation in Green Supply Chains

“…A green supply chain focuses on minimizing the environmental damage by working closely with supply chain partners that are entirely willing to practice green business practices [4,5]. In this study, we apply green or sustainable supply chains as synonymous, and green supply chain research [4] use them as interchangeable concepts.…”

“…A green supply chain focuses on minimizing the environmental damage by working closely with supply chain partners that are entirely willing to practice green business practices [4,5]. In this study, we apply green or sustainable supply chains as synonymous, and green supply chain research [4] use them as interchangeable concepts. References [6,7] show that when business firms adopt green innovations and practices, it results in economic profitability, better resource utilization and a reduction in environmental degradation costs.…”