Factors of Enterprise Carbon Performance: An Empirical Study of Public Shipping Company in Coastal Regions of China

Abstract

Chen, Z.; Chen, H.; Wang, L., and Guo, W., 2020. Factors of enterprise carbon performance: an empirical study of public shipping company in coastal regions of China. In: Qiu, Y.; Zhu, H., and Fang, X. (eds.), Current Advancements in Marine and Coastal Research for Technological and Sociological Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 107, pp. 268-272. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.This paper empirically tested the factors of carbon performance of shipping company in coastal areas of China with legitimacy theory. It is found that the asset-liability ratio, the profitability, the growth, the proportion of independent directors, and marketization degree have significant impacts on carbon performance. The research shows that, in the context of the low overall carbon performance of public shipping companies, the higher the legitimacy pressure represented by corporate characteristics, the lower the carbon performance level. Corporate internal governance does not play an effective role in the legitimacy management of carbon performance. The external governance mechanism characterized by marketization degree can effectively promote the legitimacy management of enterprise carbon performance and the low-carbon transformation of shipping industry in coastal areas.