Eco-efficiency and private firms’ relationships with heterogeneous public stakeholders in China

Abstract

Private firms have been struggling to simultaneously achieve both environmental and economic goals. The concept of eco-efficiency captures the extent to which firms gain competitiveness through environmental management. Based on stakeholder salience theory and organizational learning theory, this study proposes that relationship with public stakeholders can hinder or promote private firms’ eco-efficiency. Our findings showed that firm eco-efficiency is reduced by a relationship with the government but is enhanced by relationships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This study also found that the effects on eco-efficiency of a firm’s relationship with public stakeholders are contingent on firm size. The findings of this study shed light on the organizational learning perspective of eco-efficiency and multi-stakeholder management by theoretically and empirically differentiating the effects on firm eco-efficiency of relationships with the government and NGOs.