Weathering the Storm: Climate Disasters, Organizational Disruption, and Changes in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity

Drawing on the awareness–motivation–capability (AMC) framework and Durand et al.’s (2019), this paper examines why natural disasters as potential focusing events relate to firms’ decisions to alter their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity after a disaster hit the community where their headquarters are located. Focusing on 854 publicly listed U.S. firms from 2006 to 2020, we find an immediate short-lived increase in GHG emissions intensity following disasters, consistent with temporarily disrupted motivation and degraded capability. However and as expected, we find that firms with higher firm-level motivation and capability to act exhibit lower increase in GHG emissions intensity in the years post disasters. Similarly, firms located in communities with stronger pro-environmental community logics (which enhance motivation to act) and greater social and economic capitals (which increase their capability to act) show lower increase in GHG emissions compared to firms in other communities. Critically, at each level (firm and community), when motivation and capability to respond are both high, the post-disaster increase in GHG emissions intensity is attenuated and even reversed. The study extends research on firm responses to natural disasters, integrates AMC and community logics perspectives, and identifies the conditions under which focusing events can translate into environmental action.