Does TMT composition matter to environmental policy and firm performance? The role of organizational slack

Abstract This study examines the relationship between the heterogeneity of top management team (TMT) composition and firm performance by focusing on the mediating role of environmental policy: a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission strategy. Organizational slack is viewed as a moderating variable that influences the above mediated relationship. Based on data from Taiwanese public firms with CSR reports, it is found that TMT educational background heterogeneity and tenure heterogeneity negatively influence firm performance, and the GHG emission strategy mediates this relationship. Moreover, this study finds that unabsorbed slack significantly strengthens the influence of TMT educational background heterogeneity on the GHG emission strategy, and unabsorbed slack also moderates the mediation effect of the GHG emission strategy on the relationship between TMT educational background heterogeneity and firm performance. The theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed in the discussion section and conclusions of the study.