This study investigates whether gender diversity on the board of directors in the United States is associated with firms' environmental performance. Under the theoretical framework of resource dependence theory, we argue that gender diversity brings a greater variety of skills to the board. Diversity allows for a healthy mix of knowledge and experience to improve the decision‐making process of the board. Using propensity score matching and controlling for endogeneity, this study uses a more rigorous statistical model than previous work. It also uses content analysis of directors' biographies to provide evidence of the role that gender diversity plays. We find gender diversity is positively associated with firms' environmental performance scores primarily in the more environmentally impacting industries. Therefore, our research provides valuable direction for those firms working to improve both their boards' gender diversity and their environmental performance. Our findings also offer insight into the mixed results of previous studies.

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Using resource dependence theory, we analyze board interlocks, their industry origin, and their relationship to firms' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Interlocks create connections by having board members from one firm sit on other firms' boards, providing an avenue for sharing information and resources to aid in knowledge transfer and capability development. As firms face challenges for improved GHG emissions performance, they may look to their board members' connections to other firms to acquire needed resources. Using a sample of US Standard & Poor's (S&P) 1500 firms for years 2009 to 2018, we find that firms with a greater number of board interlocks achieve lower GHG emissions intensity. We also find that boards for the best performing companies have interlocks in the same industry, in other industries, and with firms leading in GHG emissions intensity, especially for firms in higher environmentally impacting industries, as they face greater emissions challenges.

This paper investigates the relationship between sustainability and financial performance using a sample of G7 firms from 2004 to 2020. We find a positive bidirectional relationship that firms with better sustainability performance are more profitable in the future and firms with better financial performance have higher subsequent sustainability performance. In addition, we test how two major crises (the financial crisis and the COVID‐19 pandemic) affect the sustainability‐financial performance relationship. Firms with better sustainability performance are hit harder on their financial performance, but the benefits of financial performance on sustainability are strengthened during the financial crisis. During the ongoing COVID‐19 crisis, firms with strong sustainability performance have been more resilient, and their financial performance has dropped less than firms with poor sustainability performance. However, the benefits of profitability on sustainability are weakened. Our results suggest that sustainability provides “insurance”‐like protection against economic downturns during COVID‐19 and mature sustainability offers economic benefits but not early‐stage sustainability. It expands the contingency perspective of sustainability–financial performance relationship to crisis management.

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This research investigates the multinational corporate powerhouses in the tourism industries to determine the extent to which they are providing sustainability information to their stakeholders and are accountable for their activities. As well, case studies of the emerging economies of both China and India are included due to their large populations, growing middle classes and the resultant potential future impacts. Our findings show that sustainability reporting in the tourism industries lags behind other industries in all three of our samples. The most accountable sectors overall are Air, Other Transportation, and Accommodations. As well, Casinos frequently provide information on their websites but do not provide full reports. Our research indicates a need for a) tourism sector specific global reporting standards that integrate contextual nuances, b) effective monitoring, and c) partnership building and benchmarking through research.