Title: Moving towards sustainable waste management: a critical analysis of corporate governance

Authors: Asif Saeed; Noor Zahid; Rizwan Mushtaq; Ammar Ali Gull

Addresses: Waikato Management School, University of Waikato, Waikato, New Zealand; Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou 310015, China ' FSM, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan ' EDC Paris Business School, OCRE Research Laboratory, Paris, France ' Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d'Angers (ESSCA), Lyon, France; International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract: An increase in the level of greenhouse gases concentration has drawn global attention towards the preservation of the natural ecosystem. In response to stakeholders' pressure, firms are adopting sustainable business practices for reducing their impact on the environment. Among these, firms monitor their waste management practices to reduce the ecological rucksack in their production cycles. We therefore explore the relationship between corporate governance and waste management practices. Based on a panel data set of listed firms from 33 countries during 2002-2017, the results indicate that high corporate governance quality is positively associated with effective waste management practices. Our results remain robust to alternate proxies of waste management and endogeneity concerns. Moreover, the relationship between corporate governance and waste management is eminent in firms with institutional investors, BIG4 auditors, highly intense R&D structure and during the non-crisis period. We interpret our results using stakeholder theory and triple bottom line theory and provide necessary implications.

Keywords: corporate governance; waste management; waste recycled; greenhouse gases; GHG; waste reduction initiatives; WRI.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2024.139641

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2024 Vol.18 No.4/5, pp.554 - 581

Received: 19 Jul 2022
Accepted: 19 Feb 2023
Published online: 05 Jul 2024 *

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