A three-way interaction effect of CEO duality, board size, and stakeholder power on CO2 emission: evidence from Chinese listed firms

Abstract Corporate governance reforms are increasingly central to China's eco-friendly goals, as leadership structures profoundly shape firms' environmental strategies and outcomes. Effective governance structures are essential for translating decarbonization commitments into measurable emission reductions. However, the specific role of leadership configuration in shaping corporate carbon outcomes remains underexplored. To fill this gap, this study investigates whether CEO duality influences corporate carbon emission intensity and whether board size and stakeholder power moderate this relationship. We analyzed panel data from 2010 to 2022 of Chinese listed firms and applied fixed-effects regression, quantile regression, and system GMM to examine this relationship. The findings reveal that CEO duality negatively affects carbon emissions, with board size and stakeholder power significantly moderating this relationship. The results also suggest that the emission-reducing effect is most pronounced when board oversight capacity and ownership discipline jointly align, supporting governance complementarity. Further, subsample analysis based on firm profitability further highlights contextual heterogeneity. By grounding our analysis in China's policy-driven institutional environment, our results offer actionable insights for aligning leadership structures with corporate carbon emission objectives.