This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Achieving the dual goal of improved environmental and financial performance has become a universal business concern. Our study distinguishes between firms’ environmental behaviors and their environmental performance, a distinction that has been largely disregarded in previous empirical studies that analyze the association between environmental performance and financial performance. As an improvement in environmental performance itself does not necessarily guarantee positive financial returns, our study pays particular attention to the value-added nature of preemptive environmental activities, investigating the effects of plant-level pollution prevention activities (PPAs) on environmental performance and financial performance in terms of cost competitiveness and market valuation. Drawing on detailed environmental information about 18,743 chemical plants in the U.S. and analyzing a multi-level panel dataset constructed bottom-up from plant-level data to their parent firms’ performance data, we find that more intensive PPAs are associated with both superior environmental performance and improved cost competitiveness but do not necessarily lead to higher market valuation. Our study illuminates the specific environmental activities and conditions linked to environmental and financial performance, thereby offering managers practical guidance in pursuing both sustainable and profitable businesses under increasingly stringent environmental standards.
Soyoung Yoo; Jiyong Eom; Ingoo Han. Too Costly to Disregard: The Cost Competitiveness of Environmental Operating Practices. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5971 .
AMA StyleSoyoung Yoo, Jiyong Eom, Ingoo Han. Too Costly to Disregard: The Cost Competitiveness of Environmental Operating Practices. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (15):5971.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSoyoung Yoo; Jiyong Eom; Ingoo Han. 2020. "Too Costly to Disregard: The Cost Competitiveness of Environmental Operating Practices." Sustainability 12, no. 15: 5971.
The recent rapid transition in energy markets and technological advances in demand-side interventions has renewed attention on consumer behavior. A rich literature on potential factors affecting residential energy use or green technology adoption has highlighted the need to better understand the fundamental causes of consumer heterogeneity in buildings’ energy-related behavior. Unresolved questions such as which consumers are most likely to opt into demand-side management programs and what factors might explain the wide variation in behavioral responses to such programs make it difficult for policy-makers to develop cost-effective energy efficiency or demand response programs for residential buildings. This study extends the literature on involvement theory and energy-related behavior by proposing a holistic construct of household energy involvement (HEI) to represent consumers’ personal level of interest in energy services. Based on a survey of 5487 Korean households, it finds that HEI has a stronger association with consumer values, such as preferences for indoor thermal comfort and automation, than with socioeconomic or housing characteristics and demonstrates HEI’s potential as a reliable, integrated predictor of both energy consumption and energy-efficient purchases. The study illuminates the multifaceted influences that shape energy-related behavior in residential buildings and offers new tools to help utility regulators identify and profile viable market segments, improve the cost-effectiveness of their programs, and eventually promote urban sustainability.
Soyoung Yoo; Jiyong Eom; Ingoo Han. Factors Driving Consumer Involvement in Energy Consumption and Energy-Efficient Purchasing Behavior: Evidence from Korean Residential Buildings. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5573 .
AMA StyleSoyoung Yoo, Jiyong Eom, Ingoo Han. Factors Driving Consumer Involvement in Energy Consumption and Energy-Efficient Purchasing Behavior: Evidence from Korean Residential Buildings. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (14):5573.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSoyoung Yoo; Jiyong Eom; Ingoo Han. 2020. "Factors Driving Consumer Involvement in Energy Consumption and Energy-Efficient Purchasing Behavior: Evidence from Korean Residential Buildings." Sustainability 12, no. 14: 5573.