Managing Physical Impacts of Climate Change: An Attentional Perspective on Corporate Adaptation

Based on a study of the oil and gas industry, this article examines how physical impacts of climate change become events that firms notice and interpret in a way that leads to an active response to adapt to these impacts. Theoretically, the study draws on the attention-based view to highlight the potential biases that might occur as a consequence of firms’ preconceptions as well as organizational structure and context. In the empirical analysis, the article derives a model that explains the influence of the attentional process on how awareness and perceived vulnerability lead firms to adopt either routine or non-routine measures to adapt to climate change. The article also explores the relevant underlying factors of awareness and perceived vulnerability. The findings suggest that how firms channel attention to climate events has a distinctive influence on the measures firms take to cope with physical impacts. The article concludes with implications for research, management practice, and policy makers.