Leviathan Inc. and Corporate Environmental Engagement

Po-Hsuan Hsu, Hao Liang () and Pedro Matos ()
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Hao Liang: Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University, Singapore 178899, Singapore; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), The Royal Academies of Belgium, Palace of the Academies, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Pedro Matos: European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), The Royal Academies of Belgium, Palace of the Academies, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903

Management Science, 2023, vol. 69, issue 12, 7719-7758

Abstract: In a 2010 special report, The Economist magazine termed the resurgence of state-owned, publicly listed enterprises “Leviathan Inc.” and criticized the poor governance and low efficiency of these firms. We compile a new comprehensive data set of state ownership of publicly listed firms in 44 countries over the period of 2004–2017 and show that state-owned enterprises are more responsive to environmental issues. The effect is more pronounced in economies lacking energy security and strong environmental regulation, and among firms with more local operations and higher domestic government ownership. We find a similar effect on corporate social engagement but not on governance quality. These results suggest a different role for “Leviathan Inc.,” especially in dealing with environmental externalities.

Keywords: state ownership; environmental engagement; sustainability; ownership structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:69:y:2023:i:12:p:7719-7758

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