Research Briefs

Both regulatory mandates and competition have significant effects on a firm’s decision to invest in renewable energy. While both competitors’ actions and policy reduce uncertainty with respect to the perceived value of a resource, firms’ pay greater attention to a regulatory mandate than competition when deciding whether to invest in renewable energy, and what source to choose.

Firms can achieve a sustainable, competitive advantage by improving corporate citizenship performance—which leads over time to improved corporate reputation.

The degree of ?t between a ?rm and cause has been shown to positively impact the effectiveness of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns. While degree of fit typically looks at attributes such as brand image and positioning, visual attributes such as color can also contribute to perceptions of fit.

Banks consider firms with strong corporate citizenship performance to be better at risk management and stakeholder engagement, both of which offer financial benefits. Firms that are exceptional corporate citizens—and engage in activities that benefit the communities they serve and society at large—are offered lower interest rates on bank loans, even when it’s a long-term loan, or the firm has high levels of debt.

Service companies, such as hotels and restaurants, that want to get customers to help reduce environmental impacts in their businesses and ensure customer satisfaction should incentivize optional environmental initiatives with a mix of customer-benefiting (such as cash discounts, merchandise, or loyalty program points) and charitable rewards to achieve the highest possible customer satisfaction.

Toxic releases have fallen dramatically since 1987, when the median facility released 19,300 pounds of toxic chemicals per year. By 2007, median releases were below 3,300 pounds— a roughly 83 percent reduction.

Consumers are more likely to recycle everyday products—such as paper and cups—when the products are linked to consumers’ identities through attributes such as first name or nationality. Firms can increase a consumer’s connection to a product—and thus the likelihood a consumer will recycle the product—through packaging and marketing campaigns.

The degree to which firms disclose carbon emissions is affected by both operational performance and outside influences. Firms that that emit less are more likely to disclose their carbon emissions, as are those that are more engaged with nonfinancial stakeholders, including the government, general public, the media, employees, and customers.

Gender diversity in top management teams offers benefits to the firm in the form of increased innovation. Firms with greater numbers of female leaders launch a greater number of new products and services more successfully than their peers, especially when they lead organizations with a higher concentration of male employees.