Green Innovation, Environmental Certification, and the Sustainable Development of Enterprises in China

Abstract

Purpose - Achieving sustainable development has always been the most important issue for enterprises. Owing to global warming and environmental deterioration, environmental management is increasingly becoming a major concern for enterprises and the external world, especially stakeholder behavior. This study explores whether enterprise environmental management can contribute to its sustainable development, and how stakeholder behaviors can influence this relationship.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - This study uses a fixed effects regression model to empirically test the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2020, and investigates the impact of corporate environmental behavior (i.e. green innovation and environmental certification) on the sustainable development of enterprises. It also explores the moderating role of government support and analyst attention in the impact of environmental management on corporate sustainability.
 Findings - The research results showed that enterprise environmental management, namely, green innovation and environmental protection certification, can promote sustainable development capabilities. Simultaneously, government support and proper attention from analysts can have a positive moderating effect on green environmental management and improve sustainable development.
 Research Implications - This study enriches relevant theories on enterprise environmental management and sustainable development, proposes the importance of government support and external institutional supervision, and provides a reference for sustainably developing enterprises from the perspective of stakeholder behaviors.