Intergenerational inheritance and business carbon emissions

The intergenerational succession of family business provides a valuable context for examining how leadership transitions influence corporate social behavior. Based on a sample of Chinese listed family firms, this study finds that intergenerational inheritance intensifies business carbon emissions. This outcome reflects the differing ethical capacities and commitments between founders and their heirs. Government environmental regulation appears to mitigate successors’ limited effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions. In contrast, competitive pressure in product markets, which often imposes performance stress on inexperienced leaders, further weakens their environmental responsibility. Moreover, industry and internal characteristics of family firms such as heavily polluting industries, geographic location, firm age, stability of control right and risk-taking capacity produce heterogeneous effects on firms’ carbon emission decisions. Mechanism analysis reveals that the increase in carbon emissions associated with intergenerational inheritance primarily stems from managerial myopia driven by profit-maximization orientations. Notably, this short-sightedness tends to decrease over time. Furthermore, intergenerational inheritance is found to reduce corporate green innovation, increase exposure to environmental penalties, and fail to enhance firm performance. These key findings remain valid after addressing potential endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness checks. • The effect of Intergenerational inheritance on business carbon emissions is investigated. • Intergenerational inheritance significantly increases carbon emissions. • The exacerbating effect is more pronounced when there is higher market competition, weaker government regulation, low polluting industries, location in the southern region, younger firm age, higher family control right and weaker risk-taking capacity. • Mechanism analysis suggests that managerial myopia, driven by profit-maximization orientation, is a key channel through which intergenerational inheritance influences carbon emissions. • Intergenerational inheritance is found to reduce green innovation, increase exposure to environmental penalties, and fail to enhance firm performance.