Impact of carbon productivity on firm performance: moderating role of industry type and firm size

Abstract

Purpose The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of carbon productivity on firms' financial performance. Secondly, the study also examines the moderating effect of industry types and firm size in the relationship between productivity and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The data used for the study includes 66 listed Indian firms over the period from 2015–2016 to 2019–2020. The data used in the study are collected from the published corporate annual reports and sustainability reports. The study uses a random effect model based on the results of the Hausman test and the Breusch-Pagan test to investigate its objectives. Findings Carbon productivity has a favorable impact on firms' financial performance in India, indicating that firms may gain competitive advantages by minimizing carbon emissions and improving carbon productivity. Small and high carbon-intensive firms reap greater benefits from the improvement in carbon productivity compared to their opposite counterparts. However, such differential impact is only observed for the market-based measure but not for the accounting-based measure of financial performance. Practical implications The results suggest that high carbon-intensive firms should focus more on improving carbon productivity. Small firms and firms belonging to high carbon-intensive industries can improve their market performance by improving carbon productivity. Originality/value This study is a noble attempt to investigate the moderating effect of industry type and firm size while examining the impact of carbon productivity on firm performance in the context of an emerging economy.