Decarbonization types of medium‐sized and mid‐cap firms in the manufacturing sector

Block, Joe n; Lo enzen, Sol ej; S einme z, Holge
A icle — Published Ve sion
Deca boniza ion ypes o medium‐sized and mid‐cap i ms
in he manu ac u ing sec o
Business S a egy and he En i onmen
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John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Block, Joe n; Lo enzen, Sol ej; S einme z, Holge (2024) : Deca boniza ion
ypes o medium‐sized and mid‐cap i ms in he manu ac u ing sec o , Business S a egy and he
En i onmen , ISSN 1099-0836, Wiley Pe iodicals, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, Vol. 33, Iss. 8, pp. 8833-8850,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/bse.3947
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Deca boniza ion ypes o medium-sized and mid-cap i ms in
he manu ac u ing sec o
Joe n Block
1,2,3
| Sol ej Lo enzen
2
| Holge S einme z
1
1
Facul y o Managemen , Uni e si y o T ie ,
T ie , Ge many
2
Uni e si y o Wi en/He decke, Wi en,
Ge many
3
Cen e o Family En ep eneu ship and
Owne ship (CeFEO), Jönköping Uni e si y,
Jönköping, Sweden
Co espondence
Joe n Block, Facul y o Managemen ,
Uni e si y o T ie , Uni e si ae s ing 15a,
54296 T ie , Ge many.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
The deca boniza ion o he manu ac u ing sec o is needed o mee he clima e goals
se by he Pa is ag eemen . Mos esea ch so a has ocused on la ge i ms. Ye ,
medium-sized and mid-cap i ms also ace inc easing p essu es o deca bonize, pa icu-
la ly in hei ole as supplie s o la ge i ms. P io esea ch shows ha hese i ms a e
e y he e ogeneous and ha app oaches o deca bonize a e no adop ed in isola ion
bu wi hin se s o con igu a ions—hence, a de ailed in es iga ion o hese con igu a-
ions is ui ul o unde s and he mul iplici y o esponses o deca boniza ion. Such an
unde s anding allows o de elop an e ec i e deca boniza ion policy o medium-sized
and mid-cap i ms and p o ide meaning ul manage ial ad ice. Using a la en -p o ile
analysis, ou s udy iden i ies i e dis inc deca boniza ion ypes o medium-sized i ms
in he Ge man manu ac u ing sec o ha adop a speci ic con igu a ion o deca boniza-
ion s a egies. These ypes can be desc ibed as deca boniza ion all- ounde s,in e nal
supply chain deca bonize s, o al supply chain deca bonize s,deca boniza ion lagga ds and
deca boniza ion scep ics. A compa ison o hese i e deca boniza ion ypes e eals sig-
ni ican di e ences in s akeholde p essu es, g een capabili ies and g een inno a ion as
well as i m pe o mance and (s uc u al) i m cha ac e is ics.
KEYWORDS
deca boniza ion, en i onmen al sus ainabili y, la en -p o ile analysis, manu ac u ing i ms,
medium-sized and mid-cap i ms
1|INTRODUCTION
The deca boniza ion o he manu ac u ing sec o is needed o mee he
clima e goals se by he Pa is ag eemen . The manu ac u ing sec o
(excluding he ene gy sec o ) accoun s wo ldwide o abou 21% o
CO
2
-emissions.
1
Sus ainabili y egula ions, such as he Co po a e Sus-
ainabili y Repo ing Di ec i e (CSRD)
2
o he EU axonomy,
3
inc ease
he p essu e o i ms o de elop and implemen deca boniza ion
Abb e ia ions: AIC, akaike in o ma ion c i e ion; ANOVA, analysis o a iance; BIC, bayesian
in o ma ion c i e ion; CATI, compu e -assis ed elephone in e iews; CO2, ca bon dioxide;
CSRD, co po a e sus ainabili y epo ing di ec i e; EU, eu opean union; NACE, Nomencla u e
S a is ique des ac i i és économiques dans la Communau é eu opéenne; LPA, la en p o ile
analysis; SME, small and medium-sized en e p ises; STD, S anda d De ia ion.
1
See h ps://d awdown.o g/d awdown- ounda ions (accessed 23 June 2024).
2
The CSRD is a epo ing di ec i e aimed o enhance and s anda dize sus ainabili y epo ing
equi emen s o lis ed i ms ope a ing wi hin he Eu opean Union (Eu opean Commission,
2021,2022).
3
The EU Taxonomy is a amewo k es ablished by he Eu opean Union o classi y economic
ac i i ies based on hei sus ainabili y. I is a key pa o he EU's Sus ainable Finance Ac ion
Plan, aimed a p omo ing sus ainable in es men s and inancing he ansi ion o a g eene
economy (Eu opean Commission, 2020).
Recei ed: 4 Ap il 2024 Re ised: 29 June 2024 Accep ed: 23 Augus 2024
DOI: 10.1002/bse.3947
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s License, which pe mi s use and dis ibu ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, he use is non-comme cial and no modi ica ions o adap a ions a e made.
© 2024 The Au ho (s). Business S a egy and he En i onmen published by ERP En i onmen and John Wiley & Sons L d.
Bus S a En . 2024;33:8833–8850. wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/bse 8833
s a egies. Al hough hese egula ions a e cu en ly ocusing on la ge
and lis ed i ms, hey also a ec medium-sized and mid-cap i ms (he e-
a e only medium-sized i ms o easons o eadabili y) (Eu opean
Commission, 2021,2022; Schü ze & S ede, 2021). Such i ms a e o en
indi ec ly a ec ed in hei ole as supplie s o la ge i ms ( he so-called
‘ ickledown-e ec
4
’). To main ain hei posi ion in he supply chain,
hey need o ul il sus ainabili y epo ing obliga ions and p o ide co e-
sponding p oo o hei sus ainabili y and deca boniza ion pe o mance
(Ahe n, 2023).
To da e, howe e , ou unde s anding o medium-sized i ms' dec-
a boniza ion s a egies in he manu ac u ing sec o is limi ed. This is a
sho coming, gi en he impo an ole and impac o medium-sized
manu ac u ing i ms o many economies. Fo Ge many, using he EU
de ini ion o small and medium-sized en e p ises (SMEs),
5
mo e han
98% o i ms in he manu ac u ing sec o belong o he g oup o SMEs
(mic o: 67.5%, small: 21.8%, medium: 7.9%).
6
The manu ac u ing sec-
o has bo h a s ong economic and ecological impac . EU-wide, i
accoun s o 32.2% o he EU's alue added and abou 20% o CO
2
-
emissions (Ge many: 23%). These numbe s unde line he need o
unde s and be e he deca boniza ion app oaches and ac ions aken
by medium-sized manu ac u ing i ms. P io esea ch shows ha
medium-sized a e e y he e ogeneous and ha app oaches o deca -
bonize a e no adop ed in isola ion bu wi hin se s o con igu a ions—
hence, a de ailed in es iga ion o hese con igu a ions is ui ul o
unde s and he mul iplici y o esponses o deca boniza ion. Such an
unde s anding helps o de elop an e ec i e deca boniza ion policy
o medium-sized and mid-cap i ms and p o ide meaning ul manage-
ial ad ice.
P io s udies ha analysed he con igu a ions o i ms' ca bon
educ ion app oaches and s a egies mainly ocus on he deca boniza-
ion o la ge and lis ed i ms (Dame & Baumga ne , 2018; Fu e
e al., 2012), pa icula ly in high-pollu ing indus ies (Guo e al., 2023;
Viei a e al., 2022). Ye , he knowledge gained om hese s udies can-
no be ans e ed o he g oup o medium-sized i ms as hey di e
om la ge i ms in impo an aspec s ha can ha e an impac on dec-
a boniza ion. Di e ences exis , o example, wi h ega d o sus ain-
abili y esou ces and capabili ies (Dean e al., 1998; Ho mann
e al., 2012), s akeholde ela ionships (Aguile a e al., 2007;
Lähdesmäki e al., 2019) and managemen and owne ship s uc u es
(Gee ae s, 1984; Zah a e al., 2000). Fu he mo e, i can be expec ed
ha —due o di e ences in he capabili ies, compe i ion s a egies,
indus ies and ma ke en i onmen s—medium-sized i ms s ongly di -
e among each o he in he pa e ns o di e en deca boniza ion
s a egies. Fo ins ance, some i ms may adop subs an i e deca boni-
za ion s a egies ocusing on in e nal p ocesses due o speci ic sus-
ainabili y and inno a ion capabili ies while o he s ocus mo e on
symbolic s a egies due o s akeholde p essu e (Block e al., 2023).
Based on his a ionale, we expec he o e all popula ion o medium-
sized i ms o consis o di e en deca boniza ion ypes wi h dis inc
deca boniza ion p o iles. Ou s udy hus aims o answe he ollowing
in e ela ed esea ch ques ions: Which deca boniza ion ypes exis
wi hin he g oup o medium-sized manu ac u ing i ms? Which i m cha -
ac e is ics a e associa ed wi h hese deca boniza ion ypes?
To answe hese esea ch ques ions, we conduc a la en -p o ile
analysis (LPA) using in o ma ion abou he deca boniza ion e o s
and s a egies o a sample o 431 medium-sized Ge man manu ac u -
ing i ms. As p o iling a iables, we employ he impo ance ha i ms
a ach o in e nal and ex e nal CO
2
educ ion as well as CO
2
-
compensa ion (also e e ed o as CO
2
-o se ing). The analyses e eal
i e dis inc deca boniza ion ypes: deca boniza ion all- ounde s (23%
o i ms in ou sample), in e nal supply chain deca bonize s (24%), o al
supply chain deca bonize s (19%), deca boniza ion lagga ds (28% o
i ms) and deca boniza ion scep ics (7%). A compa ison o hese i e
deca boniza ion ypes highligh s signi ican di e ences in s akeholde
p essu es, g een capabili ies and g een inno a ion, as well as i m pe -
o mance and o he (s uc u al) i m cha ac e is ics. The mos ambi-
ious i ms ega ding deca boniza ion a e ound in he g oups o
deca boniza ion all- ounde s and o al supply chain deca bonize s. Fi ms
wi h s ong sus ainabili y capabili ies and expe ience a e o e ep e-
sen ed in he g oups o deca boniza ion all- ounde s and o al supply
chain deca bonize s, whe e also he mo e economically success ul
i ms can be ound. In con as , we did no ind any signi ican di e -
ences ega ding amily owne ship, i m age and i m size.
Ou s udy con ibu es o se e al li e a u e s eams. Fi s , we
en ich he li e a u e on i ms' deca boniza ion s a egies. Whe eas
p e ious s udies on he con igu a ion o deca boniza ion s a egies
mainly ocus on la ge and lis ed i ms (Viei a e al., 2022; Weinho e &
Ho mann, 2010), he deca boniza ion o medium-sized i ms is clea ly
unde - esea ched. Howe e , by cons i u ing a subs an ial po ion o
he economy, hei combined economic in luence is subs an ial, mak-
ing hem impo an as playe s in he ans o ma ion owa ds a ne -
ze o economy (Koi al, 2019). A i s glance, esea ch shows only small
di e ences be ween la ge- and medium-sized i ms wi h ega d o
hei deca boniza ion s a egies (e.g., Fu e e al., 2012; Kolk &
Pinkse, 2005; Weinho e & Ho mann, 2010). Howe e , when analys-
ing he p edic o s o medium-sized i ms' deca boniza ion s a egies,
di e ences eme ge. P e ious s udies on la ge i ms ound i ms' own-
e ship s uc u es (Jeswani e al., 2008) and i m size (Dame &
Baumga ne , 2018; Lee, 2012) being impo an p edic o s o deca -
boniza ion app oaches. We canno con i m his inding o ou sample
o medium-sized i ms. In u n, we ind ha in e nal s akeholde p es-
su e ma e s and is an impo an p edic o o deca boniza ion
app oaches o medium-sized i ms. This inding is somewha in con-
as o p io li e a u e on he deca boniza ion o la ge i ms, which
inds only li le in luence o in e nal s akeholde p essu e (Sp engel &
Busch, 2011) o only in speci ic a eas (Jeswani e al., 2008).
Ou second con ibu ion ela es o a be e unde s anding o he
he e ogenei y ha exis s ega ding en i onmen al sus ainabili y wi hin
he g oup o medium-sized manu ac u ing i ms. By analysing di e -
en p edic o s o deca boniza ion ypes, we enhance he li e a u e on
4
In his con ex , he ‘ ickledown-e ec ’desc ibes he si ua ion ha la ge i ms and banks
pass on hei epo ing obliga ions o hei supplie s being o en small- and medium-sized
i ms.
5
The EU de ines SMEs as i ms wi h ewe han 250 employees and less han 50 million in
sales (o 43 million in balance shee o al).
6
See h ps://www.i m-bonn.o g/s a is iken/mi els and-im-einzelnen/un e nehmensbes and
(accessed 23 June 2024).
8834 BLOCK ET AL.
medium-sized i ms' en i onmen al sus ainabili y app oaches (Bakos
e al., 2020). Ou indings highligh he deg ee and ype o he e oge-
nei y ha exis s wi hin he g oup o medium-sized i ms. Sus ainabili y
and inno a ion capabili ies and s akeholde p essu e pu medium-
sized i ms on a mo e ambi ious deca boniza ion pa h, whe eas o he
ac o s such as amily owne ship, i m age and i m size ha e li le o
no e ec . The eby, ou s udy adds o p e ious esea ch on he in lu-
ence o i m owne ship ega ding en i onmen al sus ainabili y (E ns
e al., 2022; Ka iyappe uma & Collins, 2021; Lo enzen e al., 2024).
Ou s udy suppo s he indings o p e ious s udies showing ha he
in luence o amily owne ship on en i onmen al sus ainabili y should
no be o e es ima ed (Lo enzen e al., 2024) and can po en ially be
explained by di e ences in (sus ainabili y) capabili ies, expe ience and
s akeholde in luence (Dal Maso e al., 2020; Ka iyappe uma &
Collins, 2021; Williams & Schae e , 2013). By displaying he highe
impo ance o in e nal e sus ex e nal s akeholde p essu e ega ding
deca boniza ion, we u he ex end esea ch on s akeholde p oximi y
and i s ole in he en i onmen al sus ainabili y o medium-sized i ms
(Block e al., 2023; E ns e al., 2022).
Finally, ou indings also con ibu e o he discussion abou sym-
bolic and subs an i e sus ainabili y s a egies (Combs e al., 2023).
By showing ha a signi ican g oup o medium-sized i ms pu sue a
s a egy o subs an i e deca boniza ion, we canno suppo he
claims o Quin ás and Ma ínez-Sen a (2024) ha medium-sized
i ms p ima ily seek symbolic legi imacy when engaging in
deca boniza ion.
2|LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 |En i onmen al sus ainabili y beha iou o
medium-sized i ms
By cons i u ing a subs an ial po ion o he economy, medium-sized
i ms a e impo an d i e s o sus ainable p ac ices. They collec i ely
accoun o a la ge sha e o CO
2
-emissions wo ldwide (Koi al, 2019),
highligh ing he need o unde s and hei deca boniza ion s a egies
in de ail (Isensee e al., 2020; Seidel e al., 2008). The g oup o
medium-sized i ms is highly he e ogenous and so a e hei
app oaches owa ds en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Bakos e al., 2020).
P io esea ch shows ha hei en i onmen al sus ainabili y beha iou
a ies depending on hei esou ces and capabili ies (Ga cía-Que edo
e al., 2020), owne ship s uc u e (Chu, 2011; Zhou, 2001) and s ake-
holde in luence (Theyel & Ho mann, 2012). The speci ic cha ac e is-
ics o medium-sized i ms can be bo h a ba ie and a acili a o o
en i onmen al sus ainabili y.
P io esea ch shows ha medium-sized i ms ace speci ic inan-
cial and human esou ce cons ain s es ic ing hem in hei choice o
en i onmen al sus ainabili y s a egies (Ga engo e al., 2005;
La o e & Tann, 2006; Woschke e al., 2017). The implemen a ion o
en i onmen al s a egies o en in ol es high cos s, isks and speci ic
knowledge esou ces, which is why medium-sized i ms a e o en
mo e scep ical and slowe compa ed o la ge i ms o adap hei
p ocesses owa ds en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Rao & D azin, 2002;
an Bu g e al., 2012).
On he posi i e side, p io esea ch sugges s ha ce ain ac o s
such as esponsible and isible owne ship (Villalonga, 2018), and close
ela ionships wi h in e nal s akeholde s (Block e al., 2023; Hya &
Be en e, 2017), in pa icula employees, cons i u e ac o s ha acili-
a e posi i e en i onmen al sus ainabili y beha iou . Low hie a chies
oge he wi h a s ong alignmen o managemen and owne ship
in e es s (Villalonga, 2018) can lead medium-sized i ms o be e y
e ec i e in hei sus ainabili y e o s. Mo eo e , he owne s and
manage s o medium-sized i ms a e o en closely connec ed o hei
s akeholde s and isible in hei local egional communi y, which can
inc ease he s akeholde p essu e on sus ainabili y e o s. Th ough
hei embeddedness in he local communi y, medium-sized i ms a e
shown o ha e a close connec ion o egional s akeholde s
(Lähdesmäki e al., 2019), which inc eases he e ec o s akeholde
p essu e o implemen subs an ial en i onmen al sus ainabili y s a e-
gies (E ns e al., 2022). Mo eo e , medium-sized i ms o en ha e a
good access o speci ic esou ces om hei ne wo k, which acili a es
s a egy implemen a ion. Family-owned i ms, which is an impo an
sub-g oup o medium-sized i ms, ha e been shown o adop en i on-
men al sus ainabili y p ac ices based on hei emo ional a achmen o
he i m (Nikolakis e al., 2022), hei aim o build and main ain a posi-
i e epu a ion, and hei long- e m and in ense s akeholde ela ion-
ships (Le B e on-Mille & Mille , 2006). P io s udies also show ha
manage s' commi men o en i onmen al sus ainabili y (Bakos
e al., 2020), hei goals and alues (Jansson e al., 2017) and hei
educa ion and expe ience (Kha ak e al., 2023) a e impo an d i e s
o he implemen a ion o en i onmen al sus ainabili y ini ia i es.
These manage ial e ec s a e a guably la ge o medium-sized han
o la ge i ms.
2.2 |Co po a e deca boniza ion s a egies
Deca boniza ion is de ined as he p ocess by which coun ies, indi id-
uals o o he en i ies aim o educe hei CO
2
-emissions by changing
he c ea ion o use o ene gy as well as ans o ming he (ene gy-
and/o pollu ion-in ensi e) indus y and anspo sec o s
(IPCC, 2018). Co po a e deca boniza ion s a egies can be unde s ood
as hose s a egies ha i ms apply o educe o elimina e hei CO
2
-
emissions o achie e ne -ze o emissions. Pa icipa ing in deca boniza-
ion e o s has become a s a egic equi emen o i ms. Ye , along
wi h comba ing clima e change and helping o sa egua d he en i on-
men , deca boniza ion also en ails business oppo uni ies, such as he
c ea ion o g een p oduc inno a ions, and helps i ms s aying com-
pe i i e in a shi ing global ma ke .
Co po a e deca boniza ion s a egies encompass a collec ion o
ac ions designed o diminish o educe he CO
2
-emissions p oduced
by a i m. Acco ding o Johnson e al. (2023), he spec um o con-
c e e deca boniza ion ac ions is b oad, comp ising adminis a i e
ac ions (e.g., a ge se ing and adop ion o en i onmen al manage-
men sys ems), applica i e ac ions (e.g., p ocess imp o emen , o
BLOCK ET AL.8835
p oduc inno a ion o low-ca bon p oduc s and ene gy e iciency),
communica i e ac ions (e.g., epo ing o public ela ions) o collabo a-
i e ac ions (e.g., supply chain coo dina ion, ca bon ading, o ca bon
o se ing). Di e en d i e s on a ious ins i u ional, o ganiza ional
and indi idual le els exis (Johnson e al., 2023).
P io s udies ha e ound ha deca boniza ion ac ions o medium-
sized i ms a e a he he e ogeneous and a y in hei scale and scope
(e.g., Boi al, 2006; Lude e e al., 2019; Weinho e &
Ho mann, 2010). Examples include ca bon managemen ac i i ies
such as emission educ ion commi men o p ocess and supply
imp o emen (Dame & Baumga ne , 2018; Lee, 2012), he ac ual
educ ion o g eenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Sp engel &
Busch, 2011), CO
2
-emission managemen s a egies such as CO
2
-
compensa ion o CO
2
- educ ion (Weinho e & Ho mann, 2010)o
clima e change s a egies such as p ocess imp o emen o p oduc
de elopmen (Kolk & Pinkse, 2005).
2.3 |P io esea ch on deca boniza ion o
medium-sized i ms
To da e, only ew s udies ha e ocused on he opic o deca boniza-
ion o medium-sized i ms as well as hei speci ic deca boniza ion
s a egies. Gomes and Pinho (2023), o example, examine he o e all
con ibu ion o SMEs o CO
2
-neu ali y and hei ole in achie ing he
global sus ainabili y a ge s. They demons a e ha he implemen a-
ion o esou ce-e icien ac ions a he mic o le el, such as op imizing
ene gy use in p oduc ion p ocesses and educing was e h ough ecy-
cling, has a posi i e in luence on he adop ion o deca boniza ion
measu es on he mac o-le el (in his case: he le el o he i m). This
e ec was ound o be enhanced by business in es men ac i i ies.
Ne e heless, hei esul s also indica e ha he e is s ill a signi ican
amoun o p og ess o be made by SMEs in o de o achie e global
sus ainabili y a ge s. In pa icula , ex e nal egula ions and inancial
equi emen s could ac as a ba ie o he implemen a ion o he nec-
essa y CO
2
- educ ion p ac ices. O he s udies ocused on he speci ic
d i e s o deca boniza ion in SMEs. Block e al. (2023), o example,
ound ha he pe cei ed s akeholde p essu e shapes medium-sized
i ms' deca boniza ion a emp s. Whe eas in e nal s akeholde p es-
su es lead o inc eased eliance on subs an i e deca boniza ion s a e-
gies, he p essu e om ex e nal s akeholde s is associa ed wi h he
implemen a ion o bo h, subs an i e and symbolic deca boniza ion
s a egies. Addi ionally, he ype o i m owne ship seems o play a
ole, wi h di e ences obse ed be ween amily- and non-
amily-owned i ms. The au ho s could show ha amily owne ship
weakens he impac o ex e nal s akeholde p essu e on symbolic dec-
a boniza ion s a egies. Zhou and Zhao (2016) and Shaik e al. (2024)
highligh he ole o s a egic and echnological d i e s in educing
CO
2
-emissions in SMEs. Speci ically, ocusing on coal consump ion
and coal p oduc ion CO
2
-emissions, he s udy o Zhou and Zhao
(2016) indica es ha echnological inno a ions help SMEs in educing
pollu an emissions and hus a e a key ac o in SME's en i onmen al
imp o emen . Shaik e al. (2024) es ed he e ec o a i icial
in elligence (AI) in c ea ing sus ainable business models. The au ho s
demons a e ha he use o echnological enable s, such as AI-d i en
business models, allows SMEs o op imize hei ope a ions and align
esou ce managemen wi h sus ainable p ac ices, which d i es hei
sus ainable ans o ma ion owa ds low-ca bon businesses. The s udy
o Jiang e al. (2023) ocused on he ole o in eg a ing CO
2
- educ ion
objec i es in SMEs in China. Emphasizing he signi icance o e alua -
ing and selec ing app op ia e s a egies o in eg a ing en i onmen al,
social and go e nance (ESG) p ac ices and na u al esou ce manage-
men in SMEs, hey iden i ied key s a egies o achie ing hese a -
ge s. These s a egies include eco- iendly packaging, sus ainable
anspo a ion p ac ices and he es ablishmen o ca bon educ ion
a ge s. In eg a ing hese ca bon educ ion objec i es could enable
SMEs o con ibu e o en i onmen al sus ainabili y and acili a e he
de elopmen o a esilien and sus ainable economy. Focussing on
CO
2
-o se ing, T iana and O a (2024) in es iga ed he p e e ences
o o es ca bon c edi o se s o SMEs in Japan. They ind ha SMEs
held a neu al s ance ega ding o se ing and we e s ill in he ea ly
s ages o engagemen wi h ca bon o se ing. Ye , hey we e willing
o pay a highe p ice o ca bon c edi s om local e sus o e seas
p ojec s.
2.4 |P e ious esea ch on deca boniza ion ypes
P io s udies ha e analysed he con igu a ions o i ms' speci ic deca -
boniza ion s a egies. Ye , he majo i y o hese s udies ha e ocused
on la ge- o mixed- i m samples in a a ie y o indus y sec o s. Wein-
ho e and Ho mann (2010) analysed i ms' con igu a ions o CO
2
-
emission managemen s a egies in he elec onics sec o . The au ho s
p oposed i e dis inc clus e s and analysed di e ences be ween
hose clus e s in hei egional a ilia ion, i m size and absolu e e sus
ela i e CO
2
-emissions. Thei esul s show ha he majo i y o i ms
ocused on long- e m emission managemen s a egies and ha hei
CO
2
-s a egies a e mainly in luenced by i m size, egional di e ences
and hei o al emissions p oduced. Dame and Baumga ne (2018)
used a simila app oach bu widened hei sample o (au omo i e)
i ms in Japan and Sou h Ko ea, he EU, he Uni ed S a es and
Canada. Based on a sample o 116 i ms su eyed o he Ca bon Dis-
closu e P ojec (CDP) and a con en analysis o company documen s,
hey clus e ed i ms' ca bon educ ion app oaches acco ding o ou
s a egic in en s. Di e ences be ween he clus e s ha e been ana-
lysed based on addi ional ac o s, such as he i m's supply chain posi-
ion, i m size, i m pe o mance and he ins i u ional en i onmen .
Nex o a posi i e in luence o i m size on i ms' ca bon educ ion
a emp s, he au ho s also show signi ican di e ences in clima e
change s a egies based on i ms' posi ion in he p oduc ion p ocess.
Fu e e al. (2012) add o hese indings by analysing he clima e
change ac i i ies o i ms in he banking sec o . Di e en ia ing
be ween symbolic and subs an i e clima e change ac i i ies, hey
could show ha ew o he i ms implemen solely symbolic deca bo-
niza ion s a egies, bu ha he majo i y o i ms engage in bo h sym-
bolic and (long- e m) subs an i e s a egies.
8836 BLOCK ET AL.

O he s udies applied a c oss-indus y analysis, ei he using sam-
ples o single o mixed coun ies, o a wo ldwide analysis. Sp engel
and Busch (2011), o example, assessed how he selec ion o an en i-
onmen al s a egy is in luenced by a ious ex e nal ac o s. Based on
su ey da a o i ms om eigh GHG-in ensi e indus ies, hey ana-
lysed i ms' s a egies applied o educe hei GHG emissions. They
show ha he le el o pollu ion had he highes in luence on i ms'
en i onmen al s a egy whe eas hey could no ind any in luence o
speci ic s akeholde g oups. Lee (2012) ocused his analysis on
ene gy-in ensi e, gene al se ice/manu ac u ing, and specialized sec-
o s in Ko ea. He g ouped i ms' ca bon managemen ac i i ies, such
as Emission Reduc ion Commi men o P ocess & Supply Imp o e-
men . Analysing di e en d i e s o i ms' deca boniza ion s a egy,
his indings indica e a signi ican in luence o indus ial sec o and
i m size.
Table S1 summa izes p e ious esea ch on deca boniza ion ypes
and con igu a ions.
3|DATA AND METHOD
3.1 |Da ase and su ey
Ou sample was collec ed in wo s eps. The ini ial sample was col-
lec ed based on he O bis da abase om Bu eau an Dijk ha p o-
ided da a on i m cha ac e is ics, such as owne ship da a o
pe o mance measu es. To be included in he ini ial sample, a i m
needed o mee he ollowing c i e ia: (1) The i m was ac i e in
Sep embe 2020; (2) he i m was loca ed in Ge many; (3) i s p ima y
nomencla u e s a is ique des ac i i és économiques dans la Commu-
nau é eu opéenne (NACE) code was be ween NACE 20 and NACE
30; (4) he numbe o employees was be ween 50 and 2999; (5) i was
a leas 10 yea s old; and (6) i was no a subsidia y, a o eign i m, a
non-p o i i m o a lis ed i m. This sampling scheme allowed us o
cap u e a b oad spec um o emission-in ensi e manu ac u ing indus-
ies and exclude s a -ups and young i ms. We decided o exclude
s a -ups and young i ms as p e ious esea ch sugges s ha hey di -
e om es ablished medium-sized en e p ises in impo an aspec s
ha a e ele an o ou esea ch goals (K ishnan e al., 2020). Mos
impo an ly, hey may no be ma u e enough and may no ha e es ab-
lished business models wi h clea ly de ined p oduc s and cus ome s.
In such a si ua ion, deca boniza ion is no needed in he i s place.
Hence, ou ocus is on es ablished, medium-sized i ms. Applying
hese s eps lea es us wi h an ini ial sample o 10,765 medium-sized
and mid-cap manu ac u ing i ms.
In a second s ep, we con ac ed 1959 i ms andomly chosen om
ou ini ial sample o pa icipa e in a su ey. The su ey was conduc ed
by a Ge man empi ical social esea ch ins i u e be ween Janua y and
Ap il 2022 in he o m o compu e -assis ed elephone in e iews
(CATI), add essing esponden s om he i s o second managemen
le el o he espec i e i m. These pe sons we e iden i ied by a
esea ch associa e o ou eam o ensu e alid esponses based on
solid insigh s in o he co po a e and sus ainabili y s a egy o he i m.
P io o he main su ey, we conduc ed ex ensi e p e- es s wi h
indus y expe s o secu e he comp ehensibili y o he su ey ques-
ions. As a esul , he su ey ques ions we e o mula ed in a simple
and unde s andable way. The esul was a de ailed sc ip o he in e -
iewe s ha included he p o ision o explana o y ex s, ead ou by
he in e iewe s in case o u he inqui y. Incen i es we e p o ided
o he in e iewees o encou age accu a e and de ailed esponses,
including a cus omized managemen summa y o he i m and an in i-
a ion o a wo kshop on he su ey esul s designed exclusi ely o
he su ey pa icipan s. Addi ionally, esponden s we e in o med ha
hei da a would be p ocessed anonymously and o scien i ic pu -
poses only. The su ey ques ions we e p esen ed in a manne ha
would no allow o a di ec iden i ica ion o a ela ionship be ween
he cons uc s. Social desi abili y bias, in pa icula , was add essed by
including a commi men measu e in he su ey and applying a linea
eg ession analysis using he commi men measu e as dependen
a iable.
F om 1959 i ms con ac ed, 444 esponded and ook pa in he
su ey, esul ing in a esponse a e o 22.66%. Fu he checks o con-
ol and educe po en ial sample biases we e conduc ed. These checks
include a check o non- esponse bias
7
as well as la e esponse bias.
8
A e comple ion o he su ey, he da a we e p ocessed and me ged
wi h i m-le el da a om he O bis da abase. Cleaning he da a and
emo ing missing alues led o a inal sample o 431 i ms.
3.2 |Measu es
3.2.1 | Deca boniza ion s a egies
The su ey ques ions we e de eloped based on he sus ainabili y
li e a u e and expe in e iews. The ques ionnai e included single-
choice, mul iple-choice and anking ques ions, ocusing on deca boni-
za ion, en i onmen al and quali y managemen , EU axonomy, amily
business, i m cha ac e is ics and human capi al o he esponden .
The su ey measu es o deca boniza ion s a egies we e based on a
gene ic pe spec i e and di e en ia ed be ween in e nal and ex e nal
CO
2
- educ ion and CO
2
-compensa ion s a egies (Cadez e al., 2019).
This di e en ia ion allows us o dis inguish be ween di e en s a e-
gic p io i ies o he i m (Cadez e al., 2019).
Wi h in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies, i ms pu hei ocus on
he in e nal educ ion o CO
2
emissions. Pa icipan s we e he e o e
asked o indica e he impo ance o in e nal CO
2
- educ ion s a egies
o hei i m on a 5-poin a ing scale anging om 1 (no impo an )
o 5 ( e y impo an ). In e nal deca boniza ion s a egies ocus on he
educ ion o he i m's Scope 1 emissions (Cadez e al., 2019).
7
To con ol o non- esponse bias, he cha ac e is ics o he 1959 i ms ha we e con ac ed
o he su ey and he 443 ha ook pa we e compa ed. The esponden s we e
signi ican ly la ge in e ms o numbe o employees compa ed o he non- esponden s.
Howe e , he wo g oups did no di e in e ms o indus y sec o and loca ion.
8
Due o he sampling in he ime o he Russian wa agains Uk aine, s a ing in he beginning
o 2023, he sample was di ided in o wo g oups o ea ly and la e esponden s. We
compa ed he dis ibu ion o he h ee dependen a iables, bu no di e ences in he
dependen a iables can be obse ed be ween he wo g oups.
BLOCK ET AL.8837
Rele an examples include he educ ion o i ms' p ocess emissions
in he p oduc ion. Wi hin p e ious li e a u e, in e nal deca boniza ion
s a egies e e o s a egies such as CO
2
educ ion (Weinho e &
Ho mann, 2010)o CO
2
-mi iga ion (Viei a e al., 2022) and include
ca bon managemen ac i i ies such as p ocess imp o emen (Kolk &
Pinske, 2005), in e nal clima e change ac i i ies (Jeswani e al., 2008),
p oduc imp o emen (Lee, 2012), combus ion emissions educ ion,
p ocess emissions educ ion o lowe ing p oduc ou pu (Cadez
e al., 2019).
Ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies a e linked o he educ ion o
i ms' o al supply chain emissions. Pa icipan s we e hus asked o
indica e he impo ance o ex e nal CO
2
- educ ion s a egies o hei
i m on a 5-poin a ing scale anging om 1 (no impo an ) o5( e y
impo an ). Ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies ocus on he educ ion
o bo h Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and comp ise i ms' ac i i ies
o educe CO
2
-emissions along he en i e supply chain (Cadez
e al., 2019). P io li e a u e e e s o ex e nal deca boniza ion s a e-
gies as he s a egy o CO
2
-independence (Viei a e al., 2022;
Weinho e & Ho mann, 2010) and includes clima e change manage-
men ac i i ies such as p ocess and supply imp o emen , new ma ke
and business de elopmen (Lee, 2012) o supply chain emission
educ ion (Cadez e al., 2019).
CO
2
-compensa ion s a egies a e measu ed as he p io i y ha
i ms place on acqui ing olun a y CO
2
-ce i ica es o o se o balance
hei nega i e en i onmen al oo p in (Cadez e al., 2019). Pa ici-
pan s we e asked o indica e he impo ance o CO
2
-compensa ion
s a egies in hei i m on a 5-poin a ing scale anging om 1 (no
impo an ) o5( e y impo an ). Wi hin p e ious li e a u e, his s a -
egy ela es o CO
2
-compensa ion (Weinho e & Ho mann, 2010) and
includes s a egic ac i i ies such as acquisi ion o emission c edi s
(Kolk & Pinske, 2005) o emission ading (Cadez e al., 2019).
In line wi h p e ious s udies, in e nal and ex e nal deca boniza-
ion s a egies can be ega ded as subs an i e en i onmen al s a e-
gies, as hey a e long- e m o ien ed, ocus on ac ual CO
2
educ ion
and assign a high p io i y o en i onmen al c i e ia in a i m's decision-
making (Hya & Be en e, 2017). CO
2
-compensa ion s a egies, in
u n, can be conside ed symbolic, as hey do no necessa ily enhance
i ms' en i onmen al pe o mance bu a he aim o p o ec a i ms'
epu a ion (e.g., Hya & Be en e, 2017; Rod igue e al., 2013).
3.2.2 | P edic o s o deca boniza ion ypes
To analyse di e ences wi hin he g oup o medium-sized i ms, we
classi y po en ial p edic o s o i ms' deca boniza ion s a egies in o
ou o e a ching g oups o p edic o s: (1) s akeholde p essu e and
s akeholde legi imacy, (2) g een capabili ies and g een inno a ion,
(3) deca boniza ion ambi ions and (4) s uc u al i m and indus y
cha ac e is ics. We chose hese p edic o s based on hei impo ance
displayed in p e ious esea ch as we explain below.
S akeholde p essu e and s akeholde legi imacy e alua e s ake-
holde s' abili y o in luence i ms' o ganiza ional decisions and he
(own) pe cep ion o i ms o ope a e in an ecologically esponsible
manne (Fassin, 2009; Helmig e al., 2016; Kassini & Va eas, 2006).
We di e en ia e be ween in e nal and ex e nal s akeholde p essu e
and whe he i ms aim o a g een image o g een epu a ion.
G een capabili ies and g een inno a ion e e o he speci ic capa-
bili ies and esou ces ha enable a i m o ope a e in an en i onmen-
ally sus ainable way. Mo e speci ically, we measu e he
implemen a ion o en i onmen al managemen sys ems, he imple-
men a ion o emission educ ion measu es and he use o g een ce i-
ica ions. We also summa ize all hese measu es in an en i onmen al
p o essionalism index. Finally, we also accoun o he capabili y o
he i m o p oduce g een inno a ions and he eby dis inguish
be ween di e en objec s o inno a ion (e.g., p oduc inno a ion,
business model inno a ion and se ice inno a ion).
Deca boniza ion ambi ions e e o i ms' deca boniza ion goals
and miles ones o educe hei CO
2
-emissions. These include
medium-sized i ms' p io i ies o educe hei CO
2
-emissions and he
ac ual CO
2
- educ ions achie ed. To measu e i ms' deca boniza ion
ambi ions, we ask pa icipan s o indica e hei i ms' p io i y o CO
2
educ ion, hei i ms' p io i y o CO
2
- educ ion along he en i e sup-
ply chain and hei i ms' ac ual CO
2
- educ ion o e he las 5 yea s.
S uc u al i m and indus y cha ac e is ics con ain a di e se se o
i m, indus y and ma ke ac o s ha dis inguish one i m om
ano he . S uc u al i m cha ac e is ics comp ise he numbe o
employees o he i m, i m age, amily owne ship and whe he he
i m ope a es in a B2B o B2C ma ke . We u he accoun o i m
pe o mance and s a egy a iables as p edic o s. These a iables
comp ise g ow h ambi ion, p o i abili y, sales g ow h, niche e sus
b oad ma ke co e age, he speci ic compe i ion s a egy employed
(cos ocus, quali y ocus and inno a ion ocus) and he le el o p o-
duc ion dep h. Rega ding indus y cha ac e is ics, we accoun o di -
e en NACE 2 sec o s, ha is, chemicals and chemical p oduc s,
pha maceu ical p oduc s, ubbe and plas ic p oduc s, non-me allic
mine al p oduc s, basic me als, ab ica ed me al p oduc s, compu e ,
elec onic and op ical p oduc s, elec ical equipmen , machine y and
equipmen , mo o ehicles, aile s and semi- aile s and o he ans-
po equipmen sec o s.
Table S2 gi es a de ailed o e iew o he a iables and hei
espec i e measu emen .
3.3 |Analy ical p ocedu e
We apply a la en p o ile analysis (LPA) o iden i y la en classes o
i ms wi h simila deca boniza ion s a egies. A LPA is a s a is ical
me hod o iden i ying ela ed cases om mul i a ia e con inuous
da a (Baue & Cu an, 2004; Lanza & Coope , 2016). Unlike adi ional
clus e analysis ha is oo ed in iden i ying simila p o iles o obse ed
a iables, a LPA applies a la en a iable amewo k and a emp s o
iden i y a la en ca ego ical a iable wi h each le el e e ing o unob-
se ed la en popula ions. In doing so, a LPA is simila o he la en
class analysis wi h he di e ence ha he class indica o s (i.e., he
obse ed a iables ha e lec class membe ship) a e con inuous
whe eas a la en class analysis uses bina y indica o s. Bo h
8838 BLOCK ET AL.
app oaches belong o he o e all class o ini e mix u e models
(McLachlan & Peel, 2000), whose basic p emise is ha he da a
(i.e., he mul i a ia e p obabili y dis ibu ion o he obse ed indica-
o s) we e gene a ed by a mix u e o unde lying dis inc
subpopula ions.
We an a se ies o LPA models di e ing in he numbe o la en
classes anging om 3 o 8. Inspec ed e alua ion c i e ia we e he
Akaike in o ma ion c i e ion (AIC), co ec ed AIC (CAIC), Bayesian
In o ma ion C i e ion (BIC), en opy (Celeux & So omenho, 1996),
which e lec s he (un)ce ain y when assigning cases o he e e ing
class, and he minimal and maximum a e age pos e io p obabili y o
he class assignmen (P (class =cjindi idual =i)). A easonable
model should ha e he lowes AIC, CAIC and BIC alues among com-
pa able models wi h di e en numbe s o classes and he highes
en opy and pos e io p obabili y alues. Mo e impo an ly, howe e ,
is he heo e ical app op ia eness and in e p e abili y o he classes'
meaning. The analysis was conduc ed wi h he idyLPA package om
R (Rosenbe g e al., 2018). O he used R-packages we e dply o da a
w angling p ocedu es and ggplo 2 o isualiza ion (Wickham
e al., 2022).
4|RESULTS
4.1 |Desc ip i e s a is ics
The i ms in ou sample ha e a mean o 49 yea s (median: 39 yea s)
and 302 employees (median: 167 employees). The oldes i m in ou
sample is 208 yea s old; he younges i m has an age o 12 yea s.
The majo i y o i ms in ou sample ope a e in he machine y indus-
y (25%), ollowed by he me al indus y (21%) and he ubbe and
plas ic indus y (13%). Se en y pe cen o i ms ope a e in he B2B
sec o , 49% o he i ms a e amily i ms. Eigh y-six pe cen o he
i ms in ou sample ha e be ween 50 and 499 employees; 14%
ha e be ween 500 and 2999 employees (so-called mid-caps,
Röhl, 2018).
Fi ms in ou sample conside in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies
as he mos impo an deca boniza ion s a egy (mean =4.15, s d.
de . =0.94), ollowed by ex e nal CO
2
- educ ion (mean =3.46,
s d. de . =0.99) and CO
2
-compensa ion (mean =2.57, s d. de .
=1.29). These esul s indica e ha i ms in ou sample apply mo e
subs an i e a he han symbolic deca boniza ion a emp s and ocus
on a long- e m o ien ed deca boniza ion o hei supply chain a he
han o se ing hei CO
2
-emissions by ( olun a y) CO
2
-ce i ica es
o e he sho e m. S ill, he e exis s a la ge a iance in he deca bo-
niza ion s a egies employed, which is wha ou s udy aims o explo e.
Wi h ega d o he o e all business s a egy, i ms in ou sample
ha e high g ow h ambi ions (mean =3.49, s d. de . =1.08) and
mainly ollow a quali y ocus s a egy (mean =4.20, s d. de . =0.75)
a he han a cos ocus s a egy (mean =3.23, s d. de . =0.98).
Rega ding g een image, i ms conside hei g een c edibili y o be an
impo an ac o . Many i ms ha e an en i onmen al managemen sys-
em (73%). They also implemen g een inno a ion (mean =1.80, s d.
de . =0.44) wi h a ocus on g een p oduc ion and p ocess inno a-
ions (mean =2.13, s d. de . =0.62) and less on g een p oduc inno-
a ions (mean =1.87, s d. de . =0.71).
4.2 |Resul s o he LPA
The in o ma ion c i e ia (AIC, BIC and CAIC) suppo an eigh -class
solu ion o he LPA. In con as , he en opy measu e and es ima es o
he minimal and maximal p obabili y clea ly indica e a solu ion wi h
i e g oups. This solu ion also deemed he mos in e p e able one. To
in e p e he cha ac e is ics o he g oups, we ocus on he mean
alues o he h ee deca boniza ion s a egies, ha is, in e nal CO
2
-
educ ion, ex e nal CO
2
- educ ion and CO
2
-compensa ion. The
esul s o he LPA and he esul ing i e deca boniza ion ypes a e
p esen ed in Table 1. In a nex s ep, hese deca boniza ion ypes
a e p o iled acco ding o deca boniza ion ambi ions, s akeholde p es-
su es and legi imacy, g een capabili ies and g een inno a ion, (s uc-
u al) i m cha ac e is ics and i m pe o mance and s a egy. Such a
p o iling allows us o iden i y how he deca boniza ion ypes di e
om each o he . We display he mean alues o he p o iling a iables
in each g oup and apply s a is ical mean and p opo ion compa isons
o es whe he he deca boniza ion ypes di e along he p o iling
a iables.
4.3 |Desc ip ion o iden i ied
deca boniza ion ypes
4.3.1 | Deca boniza ion all- ounde s
Deca boniza ion all- ounde s conside he complexi y o deca boniza-
ion and sco e high on each speci ic deca boniza ion s a egy. We
ound ha 99 i ms (23%) in ou sample belong o his g oup. Fi ms in
his g oup place high impo ance on CO
2
- educ ion h ough in e nal
(mean =5.0) and ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies (mean =4.05)
and also engage in CO
2
-compensa ion (mean =3.79). Deca boniza ion
all- ounde s esemble he ‘all- ounde s’(Weinho e &
Ho mann, 2010), ‘all- ound-enhance s’(Dame &
Baumga ne , 2018; Lee, 2012) and ‘emission a oide s’(Sp engel &
Busch, 2011) iden i ied in p io s udies.
4.3.2 | In e nal supply chain deca bonize s
Fi ms in he g oup o in e nal supply chain deca bonize s ocus on he
deca boniza ion o hei in e nal supply chain. They place a high
impo ance on in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies (mean =3.74)
a he han on ex e nal deca boniza ion (mean =3.0) and CO
2
-
compensa ion (mean =1.39). This deca boniza ion ype has been
desc ibed in p io esea ch as ‘in e nal explo e ’(Kolk &
Pinkse, 2005). One hund ed i e i ms (24%) o ou sample belong o
his g oup.
BLOCK ET AL.8839
4.3.3 | To al supply chain deca bonize s
To al supply chain deca bonize s ocus on he deca boniza ion o he
o e all supply chain and a oid CO
2
-compensa ion. Hence, o al supply
chain deca bonize s conside in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies
(mean =5.0) and ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies (mean =3.50)
as he mos impo an deca boniza ion s a egies and place less
impo ance on CO
2
-compensa ion (mean =1.50). This deca boniza-
ion ype esembles ‘ e ical explo e s’(Kolk & Pinkse, 2005) and
educe s (Lee, 2012) iden i ied in p io esea ch. Eigh y i ms (19%) o
ou sample belong o his g oup.
4.3.4 | Deca boniza ion lagga ds
Deca boniza ion lagga ds ha e no clea deca boniza ion s a egy. They
a e s uck in he middle be ween in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies
(mean =3.85), ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies (mean =3.56) and
CO
2
-compensa ion (mean =3.55). Wi h 119 i ms (28%), his g oup
ep esen s he la ges g oup in ou sample and is simila o he s a -
egy ypes ‘cau ious educe ’(Lee, 2012)o ‘beginne ’(Jeswani
e al., 2008) iden i ied in p e ious esea ch.
4.3.5 | Deca boniza ion scep ics
Deca boniza ion scep ics do no place impo ance on any o he deca -
boniza ion s a egies, nei he on in e nal deca boniza ion s a egies
(mean =1.64), ex e nal deca boniza ion s a egies (mean =2.71) no
on CO
2
-compensa ion (mean =1.79). Wi h 28 i ms (7% o he sam-
ple), he numbe o i ms in his g oup is ela i ely low. Fi ms in his
g oup esemble he ypes o ‘wai and see obse e ’(Lee, 2012),
‘p ese e ’(Weinho e & Ho mann, 2010)o ‘cau ious planne ’
(Kolk & Pinkse, 2005) iden i ied in p io esea ch.
4.4 |P edic o s o deca boniza ion ypes
Di e ences ac oss he i e iden i ied deca boniza ion ypes a e dis-
played in Tables 2–4. Fo he co espondence analysis be ween dec-
a boniza ion p o iles and he p edic o s, di e en s a is ical es s
we e ca ied ou . We applied an ANOVA o es whe he he di e -
ences in con inuous a iables a e s a is ically signi ican ac oss he di -
e en deca boniza ion ypes. Fo bina y and o dinal ca ego ical
a iables, we used a χ
2
- es o examine di e ences be ween he
g oups.
4.4.1 | S akeholde p essu e and s akeholde
legi imacy
S akeholde p essu e is abo e a e age in he g oup o deca boniza ion
all- ounde s (mean =2.78) and o al supply chain deca bonize s
(mean =2.44), and below a e age in he o he g oups, such as in he
g oup o in e nal supply chain deca bonize s (mean =2.13) and deca -
boniza ion scep ics (mean =2.00). Dis inguishing be ween in e nal and
ex e nal s akeholde p essu e, ou esul s show ha he di e ences
ega ding in e nal s akeholde p essu e a e mo e p o ound. In e nal
s akeholde p essu e is abo e a e age in he g oups o deca boniza ion
all- ounde s (mean =3.07) and o al supply chain deca bonize s
(mean =2.92), whe eas ex e nal s akeholde p essu e is only abo e
a e age in he g oup o deca boniza ion all- ounde s (mean =2.51),
bu below a e age in all he o he g oups.
TABLE 1 Deca boniza ion ypes as a esul o he la en -p o ile analysis.
Deca boniza ion
s a egy
Name and desc ip ion o deca boniza ion ype
Deca boniza ion
all- ounde s
(implemen a ion
o all
deca boniza ion
s a egies)
In e nal supply
chain
deca bonize s
( ocus on
in e nal
deca boniza ion)
To al supply chain
deca bonize s ( ocus on
bo h in e nal and
ex e nal
deca boniza ion; no
CO
2
-compensa ion)
Deca boniza ion
lagga ds (s uck
in he middle)
Deca boniza ion
scep ics (li le
deca boniza ion
e o s ac oss all
h ee s a egies)
χ
2
-K uskal–
Wallis es (p-
alue)
In e nal
deca boniza ion
s a egy
5.00 3.74 5.00 3.85 1.64 339.22 (p=.000)
Ex e nal
deca boniza ion
s a egy
4.05 3.00 3.50 3.56 2.71 66.40 (p=.000)
CO
2
-
compensa ion
s a egy
3.79 1.37 1.50 3.55 1.79 310.27 (p=.000)
N99 105 80 119 28
Pe cen age o
i ms (%)
23.0 24.4 18.6 27.6 6.5
8840 BLOCK ET AL.
bundle sus ainabili y knowledge, esou ces and capabili ies. Ou ind-
ings demons a e ha he e is s ill some way o go o encou age i ms
o become mo e p oac i e in hei deca boniza ion e o s. As shown
by ou esul s, almos a qua e o i ms a e s ill a he passi e and
employ a wai -and-see app oach owa ds deca boniza ion. This can
be a isky s a egy in iew o he many sus ainabili y equi emen s
ha i ms will ha e o deal wi h in he no so a u u e. To suppo
hese i ms in hei deca boniza ion a emp s, policymake s should
communica e clea guidelines and amewo k condi ions ega ding
deca boniza ion. This would help i ms o be e s uc u e and imple-
men hei deca boniza ion a emp s and assign he necessa y
esou ces needed o change.
5.4 |Limi a ions and u u e esea ch
Ou s udy is no ee o limi a ions. Fi s , we d aw on a sample o
i ms in he manu ac u ing indus y. E en hough we con ol o di -
e ences wi hin he manu ac u ing indus y, di e ences in medium-
sized i ms' deca boniza ion s a egies could exis be ween indus ies.
As he manu ac u ing indus y has a signi ican con ibu ion o he
global CO
2
-emission le els, a po en ial selec ion bias could exis
ega ding he deca boniza ion s a egies pu sued. Fu u e esea ch
should y o ake his in o accoun and accoun o a b oade ange
o indus ies o become mo e ep esen a i e o he en i e spec um
o he economy. I would also be a good idea o ex end he sample o
he g oup o small and mic o i ms ollowing Gomes and Pinho (2023).
Ano he limi a ion o ou s udy conce ns he ocus on a single coun-
y. Focusing on a sample o Ge man manu ac u ing i ms p e en s us
om compa ing he con igu a ion o medium-sized i ms' deca boni-
za ion s a egies ac oss a b oade se o geog aphical and cul u al
egions ha di e in ype and ex en o en i onmen al egula ions.
Fu u e esea ch could ake his in o accoun . Besides ha , ou s udy
inds ha di e ences exis ega ding deca boniza ion s a egies wi hin
he g oup o medium-sized i ms. We ind ha he deca boniza ion
app oach aken is in luenced by a la ge numbe o in e nal and ex e -
nal ac o s, such as inno a ion capabili ies, compe i i e s a egies and
s akeholde p essu es. To de elop a ulle pic u e abou he en i e
spec um o p edic o s, one could ocus on ac o s ha ou s udy was
no able o co e such as o ganiza ional cul u e o hie a chical s uc-
u e. I would also be in e es ing o del e deepe in o indi idual-le el
ac o s such as CEO pe sonali y and/o educa ion. Las ly, u u e
esea ch could go deepe in o he mo i es and goals o deca boniza-
ion s a egies in medium-sized i ms. This would enhance ou unde -
s anding o he unde lying psychological, economic and s a egic
ac o s in luencing a i m's commi men o CO
2
-emission educ ion
and help policymake s in designing mo e e ec i e mac o-le el s a e-
gies ha esona e wi h di e en ypes o i ms, ul ima ely leading o
mo e widesp ead and e ec i e deca boniza ion e o s ac oss indus-
ies and sec o s.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Open Access unding enabled and o ganized by P ojek DEAL.
ORCID
Joe n Block h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-4564-0346
Sol ej Lo enzen h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-3549-9270
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Addi ional suppo ing in o ma ion can be ound online in he Suppo -
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