Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies

The adoption of sustainable palm oil standards remains voluntary. It is unclear whether early adopters achieve better financial performance than those who lag in adopting. This study examines how the profitability, in terms of the return on invested capital (ROIC) of plantation companies is impacted...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tey, Yeong Sheng, Brindal, Mark, Darham, Suryani, Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi, Djama, Marcel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
_version_ 1848860642176401408
author Tey, Yeong Sheng
Brindal, Mark
Darham, Suryani
Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi
Djama, Marcel
author_facet Tey, Yeong Sheng
Brindal, Mark
Darham, Suryani
Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi
Djama, Marcel
author_sort Tey, Yeong Sheng
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The adoption of sustainable palm oil standards remains voluntary. It is unclear whether early adopters achieve better financial performance than those who lag in adopting. This study examines how the profitability, in terms of the return on invested capital (ROIC) of plantation companies is impacted by the entry order of the adoption of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sustainability standard. Based on the 2000–2016 panel data of the 39 plantation companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, this study has demonstrated profitability as being influenced by the timing of entry (adoption), related resource allocation, business efficiency, and the price of crude palm oil. Since early adopters (plantation companies) realised a positive relationship with ROIC, the presence of an early mover advantage can be hypothesised. This positional advantage is likely to yield both operating and capital efficiencies, such as those predicated in the good management practices of the RSPO standard. This finding is useful as a motivational strategy to augment the acceptance of international palm oil standards among plantation companies, which are often a nucleus to smallholders. The implications for firms adopting other sustainability standards are also discussed.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T12:48:28Z
format Article
id upm-88545
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T12:48:28Z
publishDate 2020
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-885452022-11-24T01:34:58Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/ Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies Tey, Yeong Sheng Brindal, Mark Darham, Suryani Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi Djama, Marcel The adoption of sustainable palm oil standards remains voluntary. It is unclear whether early adopters achieve better financial performance than those who lag in adopting. This study examines how the profitability, in terms of the return on invested capital (ROIC) of plantation companies is impacted by the entry order of the adoption of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sustainability standard. Based on the 2000–2016 panel data of the 39 plantation companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, this study has demonstrated profitability as being influenced by the timing of entry (adoption), related resource allocation, business efficiency, and the price of crude palm oil. Since early adopters (plantation companies) realised a positive relationship with ROIC, the presence of an early mover advantage can be hypothesised. This positional advantage is likely to yield both operating and capital efficiencies, such as those predicated in the good management practices of the RSPO standard. This finding is useful as a motivational strategy to augment the acceptance of international palm oil standards among plantation companies, which are often a nucleus to smallholders. The implications for firms adopting other sustainability standards are also discussed. Elsevier 2020 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/1/ABSTRACT.pdf Tey, Yeong Sheng and Brindal, Mark and Darham, Suryani and Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi and Djama, Marcel (2020) Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252. art. no. 119775. pp. 1-9. ISSN 0959-6526; ESSN: 1879-1786 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619346451 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119775
spellingShingle Tey, Yeong Sheng
Brindal, Mark
Darham, Suryani
Sidique, Shaufique Fahmi
Djama, Marcel
Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title_full Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title_fullStr Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title_full_unstemmed Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title_short Early mover advantage in Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
title_sort early mover advantage in roundtable on sustainable palm oil certification: a panel evidence of plantation companies
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/88545/1/ABSTRACT.pdf