From Macro to Meso

Abstract

According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), over 25% of the global greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 are attributed to 9,000 corporations. Clearly, corporations contribute disproportionately to the climate crisis, but the factors influencing these emissions have been understudied. In this dissertation, I examine the relationship between the “macro-level” of the nation-state and the “meso-level” of the corporation to identify national characteristics that impact corporate carbon emissions. I draw from several macro-sociological theories: first, the Varieties of Capitalism theory proposes that corporate outcomes depend on the form and extent of national government and corporate coordination. Second, I draw from World Society and World-Systems theories, which propose that national emissions are dependent on integration into global civil society and position in the global political-economic hierarchy, respectively. By testing how well these theories explain variation in corporate emissions, this dissertation extends our understanding of the macro-level factors influencing corporate environmental outcomes, especially those contributing to the climate crisis.The first series of analyses focuses on national characteristics and institutions. The Varieties of Capitalism theory suggests that Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs), where the government has greater control over and connections to corporations, will be more successful in mitigating emissions. To test this hypothesis, I estimate a multilevel model using a decade of longitudinal corporate emissions data from the CDP. I find that overall, corporations in CMEs have lower emissions than corporations in non-CMEs—especially those in critical industries such as fossil fuels, infrastructure, materials, and apparel. However, CMEs are not successful across the board. Large corporations in CMEs have higher emissions than similarly sized corporations in non-CMEs, suggesting that tight coupling between powerful corporations and the state contributes to increasing emissions. Recognizing the limitations of governments’ ability to control corporations, the second series of analyses focuses on non-state actors and the intersection of civil society and economic hierarchy. When taken together, World Society and World-Systems theories suggest that nations highly integrated into international civil society will be most successful in mitigating emissions, but that the economic position of those nations can temper or strengthen the association. To test this hypothesis, I estimate a multi-level model and include three measures of civil society integration. I find that the relationship between civil society pressure and corporate emissions varies by a nation’s position in the world-system. Non-core nations experience increased emissions according to two measures, while core nations experience decreased emissions according to one measure. I argue that reducing corporate emissions requires accounting for increasingly complicated macro-sociological contexts, as corporations are pressured by and incorporated into the world society and constrained by the world-system's structure. Overall, this dissertation examines which nation-level conditions mitigate corporate emissions and which exacerbate them. My results suggest that while civil society pressure and close coordination between corporations and governments are associated with decreased emissions in some contexts, emissions increase when corporations are powerful and nations are weak. I build upon the World Society, World-Systems, and Varieties of Capitalism theories to show that these macro-level contexts matter for corporate environmental outcomes.