The Heterogenous Effects of Carbon Emissions and Board Gender Diversity on a Firm’s Performance
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I have carefully read your manuscript "The Heterogeneous Effect of Carbon Emission and Female on Board on Firm's Performance".
I think the manuscript is discreetly written and structured, addressing an interesting and important topic.
However, I believe that to accept the paper, the authors still need to focus on several significant changes and justify the research choices:
1. the abstract could be integrated with minimal data on the sample and on the period analyzed (2008-2021);
2. the introduction could be redefined trying to reduce redundant elements;
3. part of the introduction could be used in the literature review section;
4. the formulation process of hypotheses H2.a and H2.b should be more structured and articulated;
5. you should describe in clear terms why the sample of companies used was chosen;
6. you should explain the sampling process in more detail;
7. you should describe in clearer terms why the examined time frame was chosen, 2008-2021;
8. the literature review should be extensive and up-to-date; in fact, only 8 citations relating to the publication of the period 2014-2022 compared to a total of 82 citations;
9. the discussion of the results should be strengthened with the possible reduction/rearrangement of the tables;
10. you should explain better why the results of this research are not compared with those of previous research related to other national contexts;
11. institutional and managerial implications should be explicit;
12. the limits of the research should be made explicit;
13. possible future research areas on the topic should be explained;
14. you should be careful in drafting the bibliography and numbering the pages of the article.
I wish you the best! And good luck with your research
Author Response
The authors are grateful for the reviewers' time spent reading the work and providing positive remarks. We appreciate your valuable feedback. The authors appreciate the reviewers’ supportive remarks and smart thoughts. The details are available in the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper needs to provide theory as to why financial performance is negatively impacted by carbon emissions. Also, why does size mitigate this effect and why does female board membership impact this effect.
See my comments enclosed.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
See my comments
Author Response
The authors are grateful for the reviewers' time spent reading the work and providing positive remarks. We appreciate your valuable feedback. The authors appreciate the reviewers’ supportive remarks and smart thoughts. The details are available in the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
1. Abstract is better but still needs to be redone. First, it is cumbersome. For example, the first sentence should be divided into two sentences. More importantly, a statement of the research question should be provided. It seems you have two research questions. How do carbon emissions impact firm performance as measured by XXX? As a corollary, how does the impact vary by size of company. Secondly, how does female board membership impact this relationship. You should de-emphasize the method and emphasize the question (s) and briefly, the rationale behind the question.
2. You should mention in the introduction stakeholder theory as to why carbon emissions have a negative effect on firm performance? Also, There are lots of companies in the 11 industries covered. How are they impacted by carbon emissions - provide some thought in a few of the industries covered.
3. I find the rationale for female board membership playing a role in how carbon emissions impacts firm performance to be problematic. You state, "Women are more ethically sensitive to environmental challenges and better handle the interests of many stakeholders." I think you need another explanation. Perhaps, women are more likely to be on boards in certain industries, who are more impacted by carbon emissions.
4. Still unclear why sustainability provides a competitive advantage. Perhaps, companies overall are making pledges to reduce emissions, and therefore any investment or project that reduces emissions improves the image that will improve long run profitability.
5. Explain in the first page what you mean by high and lower performing companies.
6. Also, explain why as size increases, the impact of carbon emissions on firm performance is lessoned.
Author Response
Please check the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 3
Reviewer 2 Report
I am fine now with the changes made
