The Economic Impact of Capital Expenditures: Environmental Regulatory Delay as a Source of Competitive Advantage?
研究发现，上市公司自愿进行资本支出时，若项目面临漫长的环境监管审批延迟，市场会给予正面反应，因为延迟可能带来学习效应和先发优势，从而提升项目净现值。
Abstract This study tests the proposal that by undertaking voluntary capital expenditures that are subject to lengthy environmental regulatory delays, listed companies can gain a competitive advantage. The stock market is found to react positively to new capital expenditure announcements when projects are expected to experience long delays in obtaining environmental regulatory approval. Two sources of potential competitive advantage are firm learning and first mover advantages. Lengthy delays in regulatory processes and high compliance costs incurred for environmentally‐sensitive projects may allow firms opportunities to develop specialised capabilities and/or to deter industry competitors and new entrants, resulting in greater expected project NPVs. The findings also underscore the importance of non‐financial environmental information to investors in their assessment of firm value.