Managerial ability and chemical releases

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of managerial ability on the total amount of chemical releases reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) at the US Environmental Protection Agency.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis is used to examine the association between managerial ability and chemical releases.FindingsA negative relationship was found between managerial ability and TRI’s chemical releases, suggesting that more-able managers better reduce TRI’s chemical releases, relative to less-able managers.Practical implicationsBy providing useful insights into what determines TRI’s chemical releases, this study should interest policy makers and practitioners.Originality/valueThis study contributes to and links two research schools: managerial ability in management literature and corporate social responsibility (i.e. pollution prevention) in the broad business literature. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first empirical study that performs a direct test of the association between managerial ability and TRI’s toxic chemical releases.