Empirical analysis of sustainable fisheries and the relation to economic performance enhancement: The case of the Spanish fishing industry

• We analyze if the MSC chain of custody certification has implications for companies׳ value creation process.
• We analyzed data from 561 Spanish firms and deployed a multivariate quantitative analysis.
• The ANOVA test highlighted significant differences between firms with MSC certification and those without.
• We try to confirm the results by developing a multivariate qualitative analysis include the use of dummy variables and different regression analysis.
• In the analysis of the sample, we showed that size is the differentiating factor.

Sustainability and fishery must be a linked concept when considering the future of the natural resources. The environmental impacts of global seafood production and the effects of the intensive exploitation of our seas and oceans are indeed an issue under study and regulation. To minimize the negative effects of the fishing activity over the environment a growing number of companies are joining the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. The MSC is a leading wild-capture fisheries certification program that involves the fishing chain of custody. The increase in the number of certifications confirms that the seafood processing industry suggest their consideration of the environmental orientation as a key element of their strategies. In this paper the MSC certification and its implications for companies׳ value creation process are analyzed. To do so, data from 561 Spanish firms is retrieved and a multivariate quantitative analysis is deployed. Results show that that there is a difference in the economic performance of businesses that were MSC-certified over those that were not and the moderating role of size.