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Social determinants of sustainability: The imprinting effect of social class background on corporate environmental responsibility
Author(s) -
Niu Zhiyong,
Zhou Xiaoyan,
Pei Hongzhou
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
corporate social responsibility and environmental management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.519
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1535-3966
pISSN - 1535-3958
DOI - 10.1002/csr.2007
Subject(s) - imprinting (psychology) , corporate social responsibility , corporate governance , business , sustainability , marketing , public relations , political science , finance , ecology , biochemistry , chemistry , biology , gene
Using a large sample of 10,668 small‐ and medium‐sized private Chinese enterprises over the 2006–2014 period, this study investigates the effect of the social class background of entrepreneurs on firm corporate environmental responsibility (CER) activities. The research question is developed using the concepts of imprinting theory. We measure the social class background of entrepreneurs as the level of occupational prestige held by the individual prior to starting a business. Results show that entrepreneurs drawn from the upper and lower social classes show a preference for the pursuit of environmental governance investment strategies. Moderating influences based on political capital and institutional environment are also explored. The theory and findings highlight that the social class background of entrepreneurs has a lasting and varying impact on the CER activities of a firm. The results are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. The study extends our understanding of how and why enterprise CER behaviour varies, particularly in the context of Chinese private firms, and offers important implications for the task of sustainable development by enterprises.