Sustainability practices of family and nonfamily firms: A worldwide study

Abstract

As sustainability is pivotal in combating the global warming and climate change crisis, we examine whether family firms differ from their nonfamily counterparts in the sustainability practices they adopt. Using a large sample of listed firms from 45 countries over an 8-year period, we show that family firms on average engage less in pollution prevention, green supply chain management, and green product development practices than nonfamily firms. Our results remain consistent after correcting for the endogeneity of family ownership, using alternative model specifications and variable definitions. Our findings hold important implications for both theory and practice.