Abstract
Innovation vouchers are part of the demand-side innovation policies that support innovation development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by encouraging them to collaborate with universities and organisations offering knowledge-intensive services (KIS). Based on data from 353 high-tech SMEs in China, we explore the impact of innovation vouchers on green innovation efficiency. Our findings show that innovation vouchers can facilitate green innovation by 1) increasing senior managers’ risk-taking propensity, 2) reducing financial risk and 3) increasing knowledge sharing. When local governments pursue sustainable development and firms face regulatory changes, innovation vouchers could help to promote green innovation. Furthermore, our green innovation efficiency indicator shows that innovation vouchers could also increase green innovation efficiency at the enterprise level. Our research extends innovation theory by deepening our understanding of how demand-side policies influence organisations’ innovation activities and provide practical implications for how policymakers can design policies to encourage sustainability.
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