Does national culture matter for environmental innovation? A study of emerging economies

Do environmental scores become multinational corporations' strategic “greenwashing” tool for window‐dressing carbon reduction? A cross‐cultural analysis

“…Therefore, corporate ethical decision‐making may be weakened by high‐power distance, especially in environment‐related issues. Previous evidence has also demonstrated that high‐power distance negatively affects corporate social performance (Ringov & Zollo, 2007), CSR engagement (Peng et al, 2012), and environmental innovation (Ullah et al, 2022), and companies from high‐power distance contexts normally present higher carbon emission intensity (Luo & Tang, 2022).…”

“…This is because stakeholders' concerns about corporate irresponsibility are emerging (Siano et al, 2017), directly affecting their perception of business scandals (e.g., greenwashing) and threatening corporate legitimacy (Torelli et al, 2020). Meanwhile, under the influence of high masculinity, managers exhibit a passion for ambition and competitiveness in seeking success (Ullah et al, 2022), which causes them to consider fewer unethical practices, show higher moral values (Okpara, 2014), and focus more on stakeholders' needs for long‐term business success. Okpara (2014) found that masculinity is positively related to managers' moral values, Ullah et al (2022) verified that masculinity positively affects corporate environmental innovation, and Ho and Taylor (2007) reported that companies' triple bottom‐line disclosure in a high‐masculinity country (e.g., Japan) is better than in a lower‐masculinity country (e.g., the United States).…”

“…In such societies, managers are normally more concerned about corporate reputation and relationships with outsiders (Hofstede et al, 2010) to maintain long‐term planning (Luo & Tang, 2022), which may enhance companies' awareness of stakeholder pressure for business success. Studies have demonstrated that companies from long‐term‐oriented societies are more willing to share corporate carbon information with stakeholders (Luo & Tang, 2016), promote green products and clean energy projects (Luo & Tang, 2022), and invest in environmental innovations (Ullah et al, 2022), thus promoting ethical corporate decision‐making in climate change. Existing evidence indirectly supports these arguments: Ullah et al (2022) reported that long‐term orientation positively affects corporate environmental innovation, and Luo and Tang (2022) indicated a positive relationship between long‐term orientation and corporate carbon performance.…”

“…Studies have demonstrated that companies from long‐term‐oriented societies are more willing to share corporate carbon information with stakeholders (Luo & Tang, 2016), promote green products and clean energy projects (Luo & Tang, 2022), and invest in environmental innovations (Ullah et al, 2022), thus promoting ethical corporate decision‐making in climate change. Existing evidence indirectly supports these arguments: Ullah et al (2022) reported that long‐term orientation positively affects corporate environmental innovation, and Luo and Tang (2022) indicated a positive relationship between long‐term orientation and corporate carbon performance. Other studies also found that long‐term orientation can positively impact environmental investment (Ullah et al, 2022) and CSR‐related practices (Gallen & Peraita, 2018; García‐Sánchez et al, 2016).…”

“…Furthermore, the importance of national culture in companies' environmental responsibility has emerged recently (Luo & Tang, 2022; Peng et al, 2022, 2023; Peng & Zhang, 2022; Ullah et al, 2022) and needs to be considered in greenwashing research. Hofstede et al (2010) posited that individual moral cognition and social values are determined by national culture worldwide, which directly leads to diverse political, economic, and social norms between regions and forms different institutional pressures.…”