实施环境管理体系认证对企业成本粘性的影响

Impact of Implementing Environmental Management System Certification on Enterprise Cost Stickiness

环境管理体系认证对提高企业资源配置效率,促进中国经济高质量发展具有重要意义。本文使用2008—2020年A股上市公司数据,研究环境管理体系认证对企业成本粘性的影响及其作用机制。实证分析结果表明,实施环境管理体系认证可以有效降低企业的成本粘性。机制检验结果表明,环境管理体系认证通过提高企业内部控制质量和促进企业绿色创新降低企业的成本粘性。异质性分析结果表明,国有企业和非重污染行业的企业实施环境管理体系认证对其成本粘性的影响效果更明显。本文的研究证实了环境管理体系认证的积极作用,将这一重要因素纳入成本粘性动因的分析框架,能够助力企业实现环境治理与成本管理的协同效应。

The high-quality development of enterprises necessitates the optimization of internal resource allocation,enhancement of resource allocation efficiency,and attainment of cost reduction and efficiency increase.The traditional cost theory suggests that the cost of a company should be consistent with the increase or decrease in business volume.However,some scholars have found cost asymmetry,namely cost stickiness,in actual production.When the allocation of resources is inappropriate and the operating efficiency is low,enterprises face the challenge of high cost stickiness due to their inability to promptly adjust costs in response to declining income.Therefore,investigating the sources and drivers of cost stickiness is of great significance for evaluating enterprise risk control and production and operation efficiency.After obtaining the environmental management system certification(EMSC),enterprises will change their cost structure and cost behavior due to the introduction of a series of environmental management and sustainable development systems.For example,the EMSC requires enterprises to pay more attention to environmental issues,guide green innovation,and reduce energy costs and waste treatment and other related expenses.Can this series of changes affect the cost stickiness of enterprises?What are the underlying mechanisms?There is still a research gap in the existing research.Thus,this paper aims to explore the impact of EMSC on cost stickiness through theoretical analysis and empirical testing.This paper uses A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2020 as samples to examine the impact of EMSC on cost stickiness and its underlying mechanisms.It demonstrates that the adoption of EMSC leads to a notable decrease in cost stickiness.This reduction is facilitated by enhancements in green innovation and internal control quality.Moreover,the impact is particularly prominent among state-owned enterprises and those operating in less heavily polluting industries.The findings contribute to understanding the economic implications associated with EMSC,affirming the beneficial impact of such systems.Incorporating this important factor into the analysis framework of cost stickiness drivers can help enterprises achieve a synergy between environmental governance and cost management,and help them more accurately evaluate the impact of EMSC on cost adjustment behavior.Regarding EMSC,the following suggestions are proposed.The government should strengthen the publicity and supervision of EMSC institutions and formulate appropriate and specific incentive policies.The certification association should continuously improve its professional standards,enhance the quality and professional level of auditors,and strengthen industry self-discipline.Enterprises should continuously optimize their production processes,improve internal control systems,and strengthen innovation efforts.