Disentangling the influence of internationalization on sustainability development: Evidence from the energy sector

Abstract

This paper aims to deepen our understanding of the relationship between firms' internationalization and their sustainability development. We expected firms with a higher level of internationalization to exhibit better environmental management and performance. A sample of 287 publicly traded firms in the energy and energy‐related utilities sector was used to test these relationships. We focused on the energy sector, as energy production and supply have historically accounted for the lion's share of global greenhouse gas emissions. We found that firms' level of internationalization had a positive effect on their environmental management, whereas its effect on environmental performance was not found to be significant. We also tested whether these relationships change when firms' internationalization is oriented towards developing countries. Upon a closer look, the relationship was found to be significant between internationalization towards developing countries and better environmental management, thus contributing to the line of literature that does not support the pollution haven hypothesis.

Environmental, Social and Governance Performance of Chinese Multinationals: A Comparison of State- and Non-State-Owned Enterprises

“…Model 1 indicates that internationalization has a positive (coefficient = 0.0399) and significant (p-value < 1%) effect on the environmental performance of Chinese multinationals (H1a supported). These results accord with the findings of Xu et al [77] and are inconsistent with those of Gómez-Bolaños et al [23]. We did not find any positive and significant coefficient (-0.0103) for social performance.…”

“…Lastly, it is a longitudinal study that highlights the changes that occur in the short-term strategies of companies over time. Although many other studies previously conducted are cross-sectional [19][20][21][22][23][24], the data for this study are longitudinal. To test the hypothesis, the longitudinal data are estimated using the least square dummy variable technique, and the effect of endogeneity is controlled.…”

Stakeholder pressure for eco‐friendly practices, international orientation, and eco‐innovation: A study of small and medium‐sized enterprises in Vietnam

“…Thus, this article seeks to narrow this divide by investigating the potential role of international orientation on the link between environmental commitment and eco-product innovation. Arguably, internationally oriented firms are exposed to institutional pressures in all the countries in which they do business (G omez-Bolaños et al, 2020;Marano & Kostova, 2016). Thus, international orientation allows firms to deploy efforts to gain legitimacy and manage their competitive position through their sustainability efforts.…”

Environmental sustainability practices and offshoring activities of multinational corporations across emerging and developed markets

“…Finally, in contrast to much of the previous sustainability literature (Chakrabarty & Wang, 2012;Gómez-Bolaños, Hurtado-Torres & Delgado-Márquez, 2020), this study explores whether the sustainability-degree of offshoring matters for MNCs that engage in offshore activities in advanced economies relative to those in emerging markets. We show that the adoption of sustainability practices or standards is particularly important for MNCs that intend to sell (or purchase) outputs (or inputs) to (from) customers/clients (suppliers) in advanced markets where environmental and sustainability standards are strict, and the stakeholders are very active.…”