Abstract
As climate change continues to be a pressing issue affecting businesses, firms are taking proactive measures by integrating carbon considerations into their overall strategic planning for environmental sustainability. Nonetheless, the question of whether it pays to be green remains inconclusively answered. Based on an analysis of the 200 largest public listed firms by market capitalisation in Malaysia, the findings indicated that most of the firms are still reactive in managing their carbon activities; however, corporate carbon strategy does, indeed, lead to better financial performance. The findings reaffirmed that going green pays off, particularly for firms with higher levels of foreign ownership. Interestingly, an inverse relationship was observed among firms with higher levels of government shareholdings. Additionally, the firms have been categorised into six different groups based on their scope and level of corporate carbon strategies, ranging from “wait-and-see” to “all-round explorer” classifications. Taken together, these findings enrich corporate carbon and sustainability literature and offer insights into theoretical and policy implications, along with suggestions for future research.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Say Keat Ooi, Seow Li Wong, and Yusuf Babatunde Adeneye. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Say Keat Ooi and Seow Li Wong, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Not applicable. This research did not involve any human participants and/or animals. The analysis was based on content analysis of published corporate reports.
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Ooi, S.K., Wong, S.L. & Adeneye, Y.B. Green pays off: the impact of corporate carbon strategies on corporate financial performance. Asian J Bus Ethics (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-024-00196-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-024-00196-7