How does environmental cooperation with customers affect financial performance? A motivation-opportunity-ability perspective

With the increase in customisation, environmental cooperation with customers (ECC) has become essential for firms to meet the green requirements of customers. Drawing on motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) theory, this study postulates that ECC provides an opportunity to improve financial performance, and the extent to which this opportunity is realized depends on firms' green motivation and information technology competency. Based on data from 136 firms in China, we employ the ordinary least squares regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. The results show that ECC is positively related to financial performance. Further, green motivation strengthens the positive impact of ECC on financial performance. Moreover, information technology competency strengthens the positive influence of green motivation on the relationship between ECC and financial performance. Finally, we discuss the implications for theory and practice.