MNE responses to carbon pricing regulations: Theory and evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nippa, Michael; Patnaik, Sanjay; Taussig, Markus
• 署名单位: Free University of Bozen-Bolzano; Brookings Institution; Rutgers University System; Rutgers University New Brunswick; Rutgers University Newark
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2506
• DOI: 10.1057/s41267-021-00403-8
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 904-929
• 关键词: energy; multinational corporations (MNCs) and enterprises (MNEs); International business theory; climate change; sustainability

摘要

This paper develops theory suggesting that, relative to purely domestic firms, multinational enterprises (MNE) have greater incentives and strategic and operational means to respond to expanding carbon emissions constraints. We test our resulting hypotheses with data on changes in carbon emissions by over 6,000 industrial plants during Phase 2 (2008-2012) of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme. We find that MNE maintain: (1) consistent carbon reductions across institutional contexts, and (2) an overall carbon performance edge over domestic firms. The carbon performance gap between MNEs and domestic firms narrowed, however, in host countries transitioning towards more stringent market regulatory systems. By demonstrating that the effects of national and international carbon regulations on firm behavior interact in important ways with each other and with firm characteristics, this paper deepens understanding of how institutions are likely to shape the ongoing energy transition towards a low-carbon economy.