Corporate environmental commitment and financial performance: Moderating effects of marketing and operations capabilities

Previous studies linking corporate environmental initiatives with financial performance primarily have focused on main effects and generated inconsistent findings, offering an incomplete understanding of this relationship and potential contingency factors. This study examines whether marketing and operations capabilities enhance the financial effects of corporate environmental commitment (CEC). Analyses of a large panel data sample reveal that CEC can improve both near-term profitability and forward-looking value for firms with strong marketing capability. In contrast, operations capability only moderates the impact of CEC on firm value. In addition, this study reveals a bidirectional relationship between CEC and firm performance and finds that a firm's slack resource (short-term profitability) and marketing capability serve as antecedents of CEC. These findings suggest unique implications for marketing managers, chief executives, investors, and policy makers.