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<p>Low-carbon development and energy conservation are core elements of corporate sustainable operations, while strengthening environmental management and addressing pollution challenges are essential requirements for enterprises adapting to sustainable development. Executives’ environmental backgrounds can influence corporate low-carbon innovation strategies by shaping their comprehensive capabilities and value orientations. Using data from 1337 high-pollution listed companies in China during 2012–2021, this study employs a fixed-effects model to systematically investigate the relationship between executives’ environmental backgrounds and corporate carbon performance, along with its boundary mechanisms. Key findings include: (1) High-pollution firms hiring executives with environmental backgrounds significantly improve carbon performance, a result robust to rigorous testing. (2) R&amp;D investment mediates this relationship, such executives tend to increase R&amp;D spending, driving emission-reduction innovation to enhance environmental performance. (3) Digital transformation and public environmental concern positively moderate this relationship, amplifying the carbon performance benefits. (4) Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger positive effects in non-state-owned enterprises, medium-sized firms, and regions with stringent environmental regulations. These findings extend upper echelons theory, offer guidance for high-pollution enterprises to achieve “carbon reduction, pollution mitigation, green expansion, and growth,” and provide new insights for green low-carbon development and ecological conservation in emerging economies.</p>

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The empowerment path of corporate carbon performance by executive environmental background

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月22日

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  • Liping Wang,
  • Shanyu Lin,
  • Qianwen Ma,
  • Chuang Li

摘要

Low-carbon development and energy conservation are core elements of corporate sustainable operations, while strengthening environmental management and addressing pollution challenges are essential requirements for enterprises adapting to sustainable development. Executives’ environmental backgrounds can influence corporate low-carbon innovation strategies by shaping their comprehensive capabilities and value orientations. Using data from 1337 high-pollution listed companies in China during 2012–2021, this study employs a fixed-effects model to systematically investigate the relationship between executives’ environmental backgrounds and corporate carbon performance, along with its boundary mechanisms. Key findings include: (1) High-pollution firms hiring executives with environmental backgrounds significantly improve carbon performance, a result robust to rigorous testing. (2) R&D investment mediates this relationship, such executives tend to increase R&D spending, driving emission-reduction innovation to enhance environmental performance. (3) Digital transformation and public environmental concern positively moderate this relationship, amplifying the carbon performance benefits. (4) Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger positive effects in non-state-owned enterprises, medium-sized firms, and regions with stringent environmental regulations. These findings extend upper echelons theory, offer guidance for high-pollution enterprises to achieve “carbon reduction, pollution mitigation, green expansion, and growth,” and provide new insights for green low-carbon development and ecological conservation in emerging economies.