INSTITUTIONAL PRESSURE AND OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE: COMPETITIVE MEDIATION OF BROWNWASHING AND DUAL ROLE OF CSR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.7857Keywords:
Dual Institutional Pressure, Brownwashing, Operational Performance, Corporate Social ResponsibilityAbstract
Institutional pressure drives environmental compliance and performance improvement; yet its potential to induce brownwashing—the strategic concealment of environmental achievements—and to erode regulatory dividends remains underexplored. Drawing on institutional and stakeholder theories, this study surveys 366 executives of high-pollution, high-energy-consumption, and high-technology A-share listed firms in China through purposive sampling and employs PLS-SEM for robust hypothesis testing. Findings indicate that both regulatory and normative pressures enhance operational performance whilst significantly triggering brownwashing. Brownwashing serves as a competitive mediator between institutional pressure and performance: its negative indirect effect offsets 35-39% of positive regulatory gains. Corporate social responsibility exerts a dual moderating effect, curbing pressure-induced brownwashing whilst amplifying pressure-driven performance gains. This study is the first to embed brownwashing within the institutional-pressure transmission mechanism, uncovering the micro-logic of regulatory efficacy erosion. The findings offer empirical guidance for policymakers on disclosure regulation and urge managers to abandon short-term evasion strategies, leveraging CSR as a strategic asset to convert compliance pressure into sustainable operational gains.
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