Ponce Oliva, RobertoHeredia Heredia, Walter Jonathan2025-04-252025-04-252025https://hdl.handle.net/11447/9984Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Business Economics at Universidad del Desarrollo for the academic degree of Doctor in Business Economics.This doctoral dissertation explores the factors influencing the adoption of Proactive Environmental Strategies (PES) by firms in emerging economies, focusing on the roles of informal competition, family ownership, and environmental policy stringency. While most research on PES has concentrated on developed economies and China, emerging economies present unique challenges due to relatively weak institutional frameworks and high levels of informal competition. Under the theoretical lenses of the Attention-Based View (ABV) and Socioemotional Wealth (SEW), this dissertation investigates both external and internal factors that influence firms’ environmental strategies. The first study examines how informal competition affects the adoption of PES by formal firms,considering the moderating effects of formal competition and CEOs’ managerial experience. Using data from the 2019 World Bank Enterprise Survey covering 7,436 manufacturing firms across 25 emerging economies, the findings indicate that while informal competition fosters PES adoption as a differentiation strategy, its impact diminishes when formal competition is high or when CEOs have extensive industry experience. This study extends the application of ABV to PES research, emphasizing the need for firms to recognize informal competitors and adopt PES to reduce costs and access new markets, thereby offsetting the cost advantages of informal firms. The second study focuses on family firms, assessing the relationship between family ownership and PES adoption through the lens of SEW theory. It investigates the moderating effects of informal competition and environmental policy stringency. Findings based on 6,862 manufacturing firms drawn from the same dataset indicate that family firms are more likely to adopt PES due to their long-term orientation and commitment to preserving non-financial family assets. However, this effect is weakened by high informal competition, which pressures family firms to prioritize short-term survival, and by stringent environmental policies, which may be perceived as threats to family control. Together, these studies contribute to a more nuanced understanding of PES adoption in emerging economies by considering the competitive landscape (both formal and informal), regulatory stringency, family firm ownership, and CEO experience. The dissertation offers theoretical contributions by uncovering the mechanism through which informal competition influences PES adoption under ABV, and by extending the SEW perspective on how family firms respond to PES adoption under contextual factors specifically, informal competition and environmental policy stringency where most research has concentrated on internal contingencies. Additionally, it provides practical implications for managers and policymakers. For managers, PES can serve as a tool for differentiation and long term strength, particularly under competitive and environmental regulatory pressures. On the other hand, policymakers should design targeted interventions to support firms, particularly family firms, in meeting new environmental regulatory requirements without compromising their non-financial assets. This research highlights the need for a contextualized approach to PES adoption in emerging economies, emphasizing the competitive dynamics among formal and informal competition, environmental policy stringency, family ownership, and CEO experience. Future research should explore these external and internal factors in other industries and regions and use longitudinal data to capture the time effects of PES adoption.107 p.enAtribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 Chile (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 CL)040008CInformal competitionEmerging economiesProactive environmental strategiesInstitutionsThesis