The Religion of The Customer's Location and The Supplier's ESG
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/mjz1n845Keywords:
Supply Chain, Religion, ESGAbstract
The supplier's ESG performance directly affects the sustainability of the entire value chain. Religious culture is an important component of informal institutions, influences macroeconomic development and the behavior of microeconomic entities as a social norm. This paper explores the relationship between the religion of customers in their locations and suppliers' Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance from the perspective of the supply chain. The aim is to investigate the impact of customers' religion on suppliers' ESG performance, particularly focusing on the potential impact on ESG evaluations when suppliers' top five sales customers are concentrated in a particular religion. The religion of customers can indirectly affect suppliers' ESG performance by influencing customer values, needs and preferences, and social pressures. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of how customers' religion impact suppliers' ESG performance can help companies better formulate ESG strategies and enhance their level of sustainable development. Additionally, customers from different religious backgrounds may have varying impacts on suppliers' ESG performance. For example, customers may prefer to collaborate with suppliers that align with their religious values, thereby encouraging suppliers to improve their ESG performance. China only required suppliers to disclose information about their top five customers on a policy basis starting in 2009, therefore,this paper selects and processes listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2009 to 2023. we use Python to scrape geographic data of religious sites across the country and calculates geographical distances by calling latitude and longitude data through the A-map API to measure the degree of religious influence based on the number of religious sites within a certain distance from customers' locations. The study investigates customer groups from different religious backgrounds, including Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. The findings provide important theoretical and practical guidance for companies to develop ESG strategies that align with various cultural backgrounds and emphasize the importance of considering religious factors in international operations.
Downloads
References
[1] Stucki T., Woerter M., Arvanitis S., etal. How Different Policy Instruments Affect Green Product Innovation:A Differentiated Perspective [J]. Energy Policy, 2018, 114:245-261.
[2] Xuemei Jie, Ruoyi Wang, Jia-Ge Huo. Green Process Innovation and Firm Performance under Government Financial Incentives: An Empirical Study Based on Content Analysis Method [J]. Management Review, 2020, 32(5): 109-124.
[3] Shaozhou Qi, Shen Lin, Jingbo Cui. Can the environmental rights trading market induce green innovation? - Evidence based on green patent data of listed companies in China [J]. Economic Research Journal, 2018, 53(12): 129-143.
[4] Fengzheng Wang, Fangyuan Chen. Board Governance, Environmental Regulation and Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Test Based on Listed Companies in Heavily Polluting Industries in China [J]. Studies in Science of Science, 2018, 36(2): 361-369.
[5] Junmin Zhang, Xiaoqi Wang. Research on the Impact and Path of Accounting Information Comparability on Green Innovation [J]. Journal of Central University of Finance & Economics, 2020, (12): 52-66.
[6] Amore M.D., Bennedsen M. Corporate Governance and Green Innovation [J]. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2016, 75:54-72.
[7] Xixiong Xu, Wanl Lii. Confucian Tradition and Corporate Innovation: The Power of Culture [J]. Financial Research, 2019, (9): 112-130.
[8] Xixiong Xu, Zhineng Long, Wanli Li. Confucian Culture and Corporate Philanthropic Donation [J]. Foreign Economics and Management, 2020, 42(2): 124-136.
[9] Li X., Wang S. S., Wang X. Trust and Stock Price Crash Risk:Evidence from China [J]. Journal of Banking & Finance, 2017, 76:74-91.
[10] Allen F., Qian J., Qian M. Law, Fince, and Economic Growth in China [J]. Journal of Financial Economics, 2005, 77(1):57-116.
[11] Miller, A. S., Hoffmann, J.P.. Risk and Religion: an Explanation of Gender Difference in Religiosity [J]. Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol.14(1), 63-75, 1995.
[12] Weaver, G.R., Agle B.R.. Religiosity and Ethical Behavior in Organizations: A Symbolic Interaction Perspective [J]. Academy of Management Review, Vol.27(1), 77-97, 2002.
[13] Conroy, S.J., Emerson, T.L.N., “Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as Predicator of Ethical Awareness among Students [J]. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 50(4), 383-396, 2004.
[14] CHENYS. The positive effect of green intellectual capital on competitive advantages of firms [J]. Journal of Business Ethics, 2008, 20(7):271-286.
[15] Omer, T.C. .Do Local Religious Norms affect Auditors Going Concern Decisions [J]. Working Paper, Texas A&M University, 2010.
[16] Du X.Q. Does Religion Mitigate Tunneling? Evidence from Chinese Buddhism [J]. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.125(2), 299-327, 2014.
[17] Jianzhong Xu, Jun Guan, Yan Lin. Institutional Pressure, Top Management Environmental Awareness and Corporate Green Innovation Practices - From the Perspective of New Institutionalism Theory and Upper Echelons Theory [J]. Management Review, 2017, 29(9): 72-83.
[18] Xu Wang, Fei Wang. No Rice to Cook or Insufficient Incentives? Government Subsidies, Corporate Green Innovation, and Executive Incentive Strategy Selection [J]. Science Research Management, 2019, 40(7): 131-139.
[19] Petroni G., Bigliardi B., Galati F. Rethinking the Porter Hypothesis: The Underappreciated Importance of Value Appropriation and Pollution Intensity [J]. Review of Policy Research, 2019, 36(1):121-140.
[20] Pei Wang, Shucheng Yang, Huang Shan. Research on the Impact of Environmental Protection Tax on Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance - Based on the Mediating Effect of Green Technology Innovation [J]. Taxation Research, 2021, 442(11): 50-56.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
