Despite a surge of empirical studies examining associations between corporate environmental and financial performance, researchers have been unable to give an integrated account of the mechanisms linking the two, i.e., why and how this linkage operates. The lack of clarity regarding the implications of these studies therefore offers limited guidance as to how corporate managers should prioritize available environmental management options and allocate limited organizational resources to achieve desired environmental and financial outcomes. The first essay entitled “The Impact of Corporate Environmental Practices on Environmental and Financial Returns” highlights the type and scope of environmental practices conducted by U.S. chemical firms, examining how firms’ proactive pollution prevention activities and resulting environmental performance may be related to their financial performance in terms of cost competitiveness and market valuations. Drawing on detailed environmental information about 18,743 chemical plants and financial information about their 455 parent firms, the study finds that more-intensive PPAs are associated with both superior environmental performance and improved cost competitiveness but do not necessarily lead to higher market valuation.
In the energy sector, despite heightened awareness of the importance of the residential sector in the ongoing transition in the energy industry, little is known about the factors that affect households’ energy-use behaviors. Extending the current literature on involvement theory and energy-related behavior, the second essay entitled “The Role of Involvement in Energy Consumption and Purchasing Behavior” proposes an individual-level construct of household energy involvement that links behavioral antecedents (e.g., consumer values and preferences, socioeconomic and housing-specific characteristics) and their manifestations (e.g., energy consumption and energy durables purchase). Based on a survey administered to almost 5,500 Korean households, it finds that the measured level of involvement has a stronger association with consumer values, such as preferences for indoor comfort and automation, than with commonly identified socioeconomic or house-specific characteristics and is a strong predictor of energy use and energy durables purchase behavior. It thereby provides a explanation for the mixed results reported by earlier studies on the sources of energy behavior and suggests a more reliable process for identifying viable market segments and profiling target consumers to eventually improve the cost-effectiveness of investments in demand-side management programs.
최근 환경성과와 재무성과간 연관성에 대한 많은 실증연구에도 불구하고 어떠한 활동 및 경로로 인해 재무성과에 영향을 미치는지에 대한 설명은 모호하며, 이는 두 가지 목표를 동시에 추구해야 하는 기업 의사 결정자에게 전략적인 시사점을 제공하지 못하는 한계를 가진다. 본 학위논문에서는 미국의 화학산업을 대상으로 생산 현장의 유해화학물질 예방활동이 어떻게 기업의 환경성과와 재무성과에 영향을 미치는지 분석함으로써 기업의 환경관리 행태를 자산화시킬 수 있는 범위 내지 경로를 고찰, 실증한다. 또한 에너지 산업의 탈규제화에 따라 소비자에 대한 관심이 증가하고 에너지효율 정책에 있어 가정부문의 중요성이 조명되고 있으나, 소비자의 이질적인 에너지소비 행태에 미치는 영향 요인과 접근방안에 대한 경영 연구는 아직 많이 수행되지 않았다. 본 학위논문에서는 가구의 에너지 사용 결정에 영향을 미치는 다양한 요인과 실제 사용량 및 구매 행태간 간극을 설명하는 개념으로써 에너지사용관여 모델을 제시하고 국내 5,500여 가구 조사를 통해 관여도 측정 및 마케팅 활용방안을 탐색하였다.
