Candle under a bushel: communicating environmental performance to improve firm performance
International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
ISSN: 1741-0401
Article publication date: 22 September 2020
Issue publication date: 2 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study answers the question: “does the communication of environmental performance transmit positive overall firm performance?” The authors examine the influence of a company's environmental performance (EP) on its overall firm performance (FP) and the mediating role of integrated marketing communication (IMC) on the EP-FP relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of firms from the extractive, manufacturing and hospitality sectors of an emerging economy was used in testing our hypothesized relationships. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used in analysing the data from 194 firms.
Findings
The study found that EP negatively and significantly influences FP directly. However, the introduction of IMC into the direct relationship changes this effect. IMC was, therefore, found to have a partial and complementary mediation effect on the relationship between EP and FP.
Practical implications
The negative influence of EP on FP found explains the reluctance of companies towards environmental protection. However, if companies can utilize their communication capacity well enough in creating the necessary awareness among their stakeholder audiences, a positive relationship is created between EP and FP.
Originality/value
The benefits of EP to companies and how companies can turn their EP into gains were not clearly established in the literature. The current study has explained one of the boundary conditions that convert EP, which appears to be a cost to the firm, into a positive influence on FP. This study has, therefore, established the mechanism through which EP affects FP.
Keywords
Citation
Nutsugah, F.F., Anning-Dorson, T., Braimah, S.M. and Tweneboah-Koduah, E.Y. (2021), "Candle under a bushel: communicating environmental performance to improve firm performance", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 70 No. 8, pp. 1953-1971. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-12-2019-0578
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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