Corporate industrial brand equity and firm creditworthiness: The role of climate change commercial risks and opportunities recognition

Abstract

Whilst a multitude of studies explored the financial implications of corporate brand equity in a B2C context, little is known as to the financial impact of B2B brand equity. Furthermore, no study, to our knowledge, has examined how climate change-related corporate practices affect the nexus between B2B brand equity and financial aspects (i.e., creditworthiness) of B2B firms. Drawing propositions from the resource dependence theory (RDT) and the natural resource-based view of the firm (NRBV), this study develops a parsimonious conceptual model to investigate the relationship between B2B brand equity and a firm's long-term creditworthiness. Given B2B firms' increasing engagement in pro-environmental initiatives, the model also incorporates a firm's ability to recognize climate change-related commercial risks and opportunities as a moderator. Drawing samples from USA-based B2B firms, the conceptual model is tested through robust econometric modelling techniques. The results demonstrate that higher B2B brand equity leads to higher long-term creditworthiness of a firm. Further, the positive association between B2B brand equity and creditworthiness is accentuated by climate change commercial risks and opportunities recognition (CCCROR). That is, a firm's capacity to identify challenges and opportunities emanating from the inexorable global climate change further bolsters the positive link between industrial brand equity and long-term creditworthiness. These findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses, including multi-level mixed effect and endogeneity-robust modelling techniques.