The Impact of Carbon Neutrality Commitments on the International Competitiveness of Multinational Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis Based on Industry Heterogeneity

The Impact of Carbon Neutrality Commitments on the International Competitiveness of Multinational Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis Based on Industry Heterogeneity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Impact of Carbon Neutrality Commitments on the International Competitiveness of Multinational Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis Based on Industry Heterogeneity Xin Lai This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8437803/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study focuses on the impact of carbon neutrality commitments on the international competitiveness of multinational enterprises, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of industry heterogeneity. Based on panel data analysis of 348 Global 500 multinational enterprises (2018–2024), the research constructs a multi-dimensional international competitiveness evaluation system and carbon neutrality commitment intensity indicators, examining the moderating effects of four industry characteristics: carbon emission intensity, technological innovation capability, degree of internationalization, and institutional pressure. Theoretically, the study develops an integrated framework combining resource-based view and institutional theory, proposing that carbon neutrality commitments create competitive advantages through the synergistic interaction of resource reconfiguration and legitimacy signaling mechanisms, with industry characteristics moderating the strength of each pathway. Empirical results show that carbon neutrality commitments significantly enhance enterprise international competitiveness overall, but exhibit an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship, with the optimal commitment intensity occurring at CNCI = 4.67, beyond which further intensification diminishes competitive advantages due to escalating transformation costs exceeding diminishing legitimacy benefits. Industry characteristics significantly moderate the relationship between carbon neutrality commitments and international competitiveness, with the promotional effect of carbon neutrality commitments on international competitiveness being more significant in industries with high carbon emissions, high technological innovation, high internationalization, and high institutional pressure. These four moderating effects operate through two theoretical pathways: a resource-based pathway encompassing cost-benefit structure optimization (carbon emission intensity) and innovation transformation (technological innovation capability), and an institutional pathway encompassing market access facilitation (internationalization degree) and legitimacy signaling amplification (institutional pressure). The research results remain consistent under various robustness tests and endogeneity treatment methods. Based on empirical findings, this study provides theoretical guidance for multinational enterprises to formulate differentiated carbon neutrality strategies aligned with industry characteristics, and also provides empirical evidence for governments to design policy tools that balance emission reduction effects and industrial competitiveness, helping to promote low-carbon sustainable development of the global economy. Environmental Economics Carbon neutrality commitments International competitiveness Industry heterogeneity Multinational enterprises Moderating effects Environmental strategy Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8437803","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":564955439,"identity":"a369fa62-c482-4b66-8ffb-4d08260edf87","order_by":0,"name":"Xin 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Heterogeneity\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Guangzhou College of Technology and Business","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Carbon neutrality commitments, International competitiveness, Industry heterogeneity, Multinational enterprises, Moderating effects, Environmental strategy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8437803/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8437803/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study focuses on the impact of carbon neutrality commitments on the international competitiveness of multinational enterprises, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of industry heterogeneity. Based on panel data analysis of 348 Global 500 multinational enterprises (2018\u0026ndash;2024), the research constructs a multi-dimensional international competitiveness evaluation system and carbon neutrality commitment intensity indicators, examining the moderating effects of four industry characteristics: carbon emission intensity, technological innovation capability, degree of internationalization, and institutional pressure. Theoretically, the study develops an integrated framework combining resource-based view and institutional theory, proposing that carbon neutrality commitments create competitive advantages through the synergistic interaction of resource reconfiguration and legitimacy signaling mechanisms, with industry characteristics moderating the strength of each pathway. Empirical results show that carbon neutrality commitments significantly enhance enterprise international competitiveness overall, but exhibit an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship, with the optimal commitment intensity occurring at CNCI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4.67, beyond which further intensification diminishes competitive advantages due to escalating transformation costs exceeding diminishing legitimacy benefits. Industry characteristics significantly moderate the relationship between carbon neutrality commitments and international competitiveness, with the promotional effect of carbon neutrality commitments on international competitiveness being more significant in industries with high carbon emissions, high technological innovation, high internationalization, and high institutional pressure. These four moderating effects operate through two theoretical pathways: a resource-based pathway encompassing cost-benefit structure optimization (carbon emission intensity) and innovation transformation (technological innovation capability), and an institutional pathway encompassing market access facilitation (internationalization degree) and legitimacy signaling amplification (institutional pressure). The research results remain consistent under various robustness tests and endogeneity treatment methods. Based on empirical findings, this study provides theoretical guidance for multinational enterprises to formulate differentiated carbon neutrality strategies aligned with industry characteristics, and also provides empirical evidence for governments to design policy tools that balance emission reduction effects and industrial competitiveness, helping to promote low-carbon sustainable development of the global economy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Impact of Carbon Neutrality Commitments on the International Competitiveness of Multinational Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis Based on Industry Heterogeneity","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-30 08:25:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8437803/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5d3b9356-037e-410e-9c55-2664e75147dd","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 30th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":60148823,"name":"Environmental Economics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-30T08:25:21+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-30 08:25:21","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8437803","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8437803","identity":"rs-8437803","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}