Corporate Green Innovation Research Articles

Bank-firm common ownership, green credit and enterprise green technology innovation: Evidence from Chinese credit markets

Bank-firm common ownership can tackle the innovation dilemma of bank loans on firms' green development. This paper constructs indicators of common ownership and green technological innovation and then investigates the impact of bank-firm common ownership on corporates' green technological innovation using Chinese A-share listed enterprises samples from 2004 to 2021. Our conducted experiments reveal that bank-firm common ownership shareholders not only make banks and lending firms have the same goal, promote the total level, quantity, and quality of technological innovation for the green development of lending firms, and profit from the firms' short- and long-term market responses. Our findings are prominent in private enterprises, small-capitalization enterprises, and bull market cycles. In addition, we discover that shareholder reduction restrictions and policies restricting corporate shareholding in financial institutions enhance bank-firm common ownership shareholders on corporate green technological innovation development. Common ownership shareholders reduce information asymmetry between banks and lending enterprises and provide green loans to support enterprise green technology innovations. Furthermore, alleviating financing constraints and strengthening the supervisory role are important influence mechanisms. In this regard, carried PSE analysis indicates the direct effect of bank-firm common ownership shareholders to promote enterprise green development of technological innovation accounts for about 14 % of the total effect, the intermediary effect of “financing mechanism” and “supervision mechanism” account for about 82 % and 4 %, and the “financing mechanism” is more important than the “supervision mechanism.” The findings of this paper can optimize the credit market to serve the green and high-quality development of Chinese enterprises better.

Environmental, Social and Governance Performance on Brand Value in the Context of “Dual Carbon”: The Mediating Effect of R&D Innovation

As an important asset of an enterprise, brand value reflects its competitive position in the market. With the proposed goal of “carbon peak” and “carbon neutrality”, the development of enterprises is paying more and more attention to ESG performance (that is, the performance of enterprises in environmental, social and governance aspects), and the attention of brand management is slowly shifting away from traditional products and markets into being green and sustainable. In order to verify the relationship between ESG performance and brand value, this study takes Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2012 to 2021 as research samples to reveal the mechanism of ESG performance’s impact on brand value. The results show that ESG performance can significantly improve brand value, indicating that the investment in ESG will ultimately affect brand value. The mediation mechanism analysis shows that R&D innovation plays a mediating role in the relationship between the two. A heterogeneity analysis shows that the ESG performance of state-owned enterprises and large enterprises has a stronger promoting effect on brand value, while small enterprises do not show heterogeneity. The research results provide new evidence to reveal the impact of ESG performance on brand management, and have reference significance for ESG construction, brand marketing innovation, and corporate green innovation.

Does local green governance promote corporate green innovation? A new perspective from green officials

Does local green governance promote corporate green innovation? A new perspective from green officials

Environmental Regulation, Government-Business Relations, and Corporate Green Innovation: Evidence from Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy

Environmental Regulation, Government-Business Relations, and Corporate Green Innovation: Evidence from Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy

Do green investments impact corporate green innovation?empirical evidence from Chinese-listed companies

The rapid expansion of the global economy has exacerbated environmental concerns, thereby prompting a shift in resource allocation from polluting industries to green sectors. This transition is pivotal for sustainable development, with capital playing a central role in mobilizing resources to foster green innovation. This study examines data from Chinese-listed companies between 2012 and 2022 to evaluate the impact of green investment on corporate green innovation. The analysis incorporates a comprehensive review of financial records and innovation metrics to establish a correlation between investment and innovation outcomes. The findings reveal a positive correlation between increased green investment and enhanced green innovation, with a more pronounced effect observed in private enterprises and industries characterized by high competition. Green investment primarily stimulates innovation by alleviating financial constraints. These results emphasize the crucial role of green investment in promoting sustainable corporate practices. Furthermore, they provide valuable insights for policymakers in formulating effective green investment strategies, which are essential for China’s transition toward a green economy.

Are Good Deeds Rewarded?—The Impact of Traditional Morality and Modern Responsibility on Green Innovation

The essence of intergenerational sustainability emphasizes the necessity of incorporating altruistic thinking and culture. While prior studies primarily examined corporate innovation strategies from a self-interested lens, this paper aims to investigate the drivers of corporate green innovation from an altruistic perspective. Analyzing a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2019, we employ both the OLS model and the mediation effect model to explore how traditional morality and modern responsibility impact corporate green innovation, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Our findings reveal that both traditional morality and modern responsibility significantly enhance corporate green management innovation, with social trust serving as a key mediating factor. Furthermore, traditional morality and modern responsibility play distinctive roles depending on the stage of economic development: traditional morality primarily influences green innovation in the early stages of economic development, whereas modern responsibility becomes more influential as development progresses. This study provides meaningful insights for research and practice in corporate sustainability, business ethics, and innovation strategy.

State‐owned equity participation and corporate green innovation: evidence from Chinese private enterprises

This study examines the influence of state‐owned equity participation on green innovation in private enterprises. Using the data of China's A‐share private listed companies between 2009 and 2021, the paper finds that state‐owned equity participation has a positive impact on corporate green innovation and this finding remains consistent and dependable after conducting a series of robustness tests. In addition, this paper also uncovers that the impact of state‐owned equity participation on corporate green innovation differed across regions, industries, and external corporate governance. The results show that the incentive impact of state‐owned equity participation on green innovation is more pronounced in private enterprises with higher levels of intellectual property protection in the region where they are located, belonging to high‐tech industries and with higher media attention. Further mechanism analysis reveals that state‐owned equity participation enhances corporate green innovation by improving the fulfilment of corporate environmental responsibility and alleviating corporate financing constraints. Overall, this study enriches the research of green innovation influencing factors from the perspective of minority state‐owned equity and can help to inspire governments to make full use of state‐owned equity to promote the green transformation of private enterprises, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the global economy.

Can urban digital intelligence transformation promote corporate green innovation? Evidence from China

Can urban digital intelligence transformation (DIT) facilitate corporate green innovation (CGI)? This research uses the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach to study how urban DIT, represented by the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Development Pilot Zones (AIIDPZs), affects CGI. Regression results indicate that urban DIT promotes both the quantity and quality of CGI. Mechanisms analysis reveals that urban DIT promotes CGI by facilitating digital transformation, increasing firms’ investment in R&D, and facilitating information sharing. Heterogeneity analysis shows that urban DIT has a more significant effect on promoting green innovation in non-SOEs, industries with lower pollution levels, and enterprises in regions with high intellectual property protection (IPP). This study offers new perspectives on the role of urn promoting green development and provides empirical support for policy-making.

Can audit committees’ environmental background promote corporate green innovation? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Identifying potential driving factors for corporate green innovation is vital in promoting global green development. This study aims to examine whether the environmental background of the audit committee promotes corporate green innovation and the mechanisms involved. Based on this perspective, we empirically test a research sample of Chinese A-share market-listed companies from 2007 to 2022. The results reveal that, first, the audit committee’s environmental background can significantly promote green corporate innovation. Second, the audit committee promotes green innovation by enhancing the environmental awareness of the management, increasing substantial environmental investments, and fostering environmental compliance; this effect is more pronounced in companies characterized by significant media attention and considerable involvement of the audit committee in governance. Third, green innovation can significantly enhance economic and environmental performance, although it delays its impact on short-term economic performance. The conclusions of this study provide new empirical evidence for corporate governance optimization and green innovation, and offer decision-making insights for enterprises to implement green innovation strategies for sustainable development.

Stakeholder attention and ambidextrous green innovation: Evidence from China

AbstractBased on stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory, and institutional theory, this study focuses on exploring how primary and secondary stakeholder attention differentially influences corporate green innovation. Specifically, it distinguishes between exploratory and exploitative green innovation and further analyzes how formal institutional pressures (environmental regulations, ERs) and informal institutional pressures (public environmental concern, PEC) moderate the relationship between stakeholder attention and green innovation. By analyzing empirical data from A‐share listed companies in China from 2011 to 2021, the study finds that primary stakeholder attention often suppresses green innovation, while secondary stakeholder attention has a positive driving effect. Notably, the negative impact of primary stakeholder attention is mainly confined to exploitative innovation, whereas the positive influence of secondary stakeholder attention promotes both exploratory and exploitative green innovation. Moreover, the research confirms that ERs and PEC, as key factors of the institutional environment, play crucial roles in reinforcing these differential impacts. They intensify the negative effects of primary stakeholder attention on green innovation and amplify the positive impact of secondary stakeholder attention. This study enriches the field of stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory, and institutional theory, offering theoretical support and practical guidance for firms' sustainable development and green transformation.

The Impact of National Big Data Pilot Zones on the Persistence of Green Innovation: A Moderating Perspective Based on Green Finance

Enhancing the persistence of corporate green innovation is crucial for promoting sustainable societal development. As big data technologies and related policies advance, digitalization emerges as an effective enabler of green innovation in enterprises. This study, grounded in resource-based theory and corporate ecology theory, examines the impact of national-level big data pilot zone reforms on the persistence of corporate green innovation, utilizing data from China’s A-share-listed companies from 2011 to 2021. It also explores the moderating effect of green finance development. Empirical results indicate that (1) the implementation of national-level big data pilot zones positively influences the persistence of green innovation, with robustness and endogeneity tests confirming these findings. (2) The development of regional green finance positively moderates this relationship. (3) A mediation analysis reveals that national-level big data policies enhance innovation persistence by alleviating financing constraints, promoting talent aggregation, and facilitating industrial upgrading. (4) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of these reforms is more pronounced in non-state-owned, non-heavy polluting firms, those receiving high subsidies, and in regions with stringent environmental regulations. This study offers a novel theoretical perspective on and empirical evidence for digital transformation from the angle of national policy, supporting societal green development and contributing to policy enhancement aimed at achieving sustainable growth.

The effect of ESG ratings on corporate green innovation strategies: evidence from China

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approaches have gained popularity in academia and are typically linked to corporate green innovation. Although some scholars argue that corporate green innovation is merely greenwashing carried out in reaction to market pressure from ESG ratings, most research conducted thus far has shown that ESG exerts a beneficial influence on increasing corporate green innovation outputs overall. This study's analysis of panel data from Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2010 to 2019 demonstrates that, while ESG ratings increase the likelihood of incremental green innovation in areas of current knowledge, they diminish the percentage of exploratory green patents. The managerial myopia brought about by ESG ratings is a key mechanism leading to this result. Extensive study indicates that analysts and managers who pay greater attention to environmental issues may be able to alleviate the negative effects of ESG scores on managerial myopia and company’s incremental green innovation practices.

How does green industrial policy affect corporate green innovation? Evidence from the green factory identification in China

How does green industrial policy affect corporate green innovation? Evidence from the green factory identification in China

The masking effect of green innovation: A study based on carbon market shocks

Previous empirical evidence indicates that the carbon market exerts a positive influence on the performance of corporate green innovation. In light of the proposition that there are differences in the green innovation capabilities of firms, we propose a masking effect hypothesis which suggests that the carbon market does, in fact, improve firms' green innovation performance at the overall level. However, separately, this improvement effect is only observed for high-capability firms, and not for ordinary firms. We test the hypothesis and explore the potential mechanism. The results show that, firstly, the outstanding green innovation performance of high-capability firms leads to a masking effect, which is robust to different estimation methods and variable settings. Secondly, the high innovation capability increases the positive effect of the carbon market on green innovation, irrespective of whether the capability is brown or green, which means a weak version of the masking effect. Finally, the different propensities towards co-innovation lead to the masking effect.

Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Corporate Green Innovation Capability

Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Corporate Green Innovation Capability

How Fintech mitigates credit mismatches to promote green innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed enterprises

The intersection of financial technology (fintech) and sustainable development has gained increasing attention, particularly regarding how fintech can support corporate green innovation. However, the role of fintech in mitigating credit mismatches—a key barrier for enterprises pursuing green initiatives—remains underexplored, especially within the context of Chinese listed enterprises. Addressing this gap, our study utilizes a panel dataset from 2010 to 2021 to investigate the influence of fintech on green innovation and the mediating role of credit mismatches. Through a series of baseline regressions, endogeneity tests, and heterogeneity analyses, we find a significant positive relationship between fintech adoption and green innovation, with credit mismatches serving as a crucial mediator. Moreover, the effects of fintech are most pronounced in eastern China and in industries with lower pollution levels. These findings provide new insights into how fintech can bridge financing gaps, foster green innovation, and promote the transition to a more sustainable economy. Our results carry important implications for policymakers aiming to leverage fintech as a tool for both financial inclusion and environmental sustainability.

The government's environmental attention and corporate green innovation: A threshold analysis and quantile regression approach.

Based on an analysis of 643 listed firms in clean technology sectors, this study explores the nonlinear impact of the government's environmental attention (GEA) on firms' green innovation by exploiting threshold and quantile regression techniques on Stata 17. We show that a double threshold exists when the level of the GEA is 51 or 104, above which the positive impact of the GEA on green innovation in cleantech firms significantly diminishes. The results from the quantile regression further indicate that cleantech firms receive almost no benefits from the GEA at lower levels of green innovation. Thus, policy-makers designing environmental policies should consider that the marginal benefit of environmental attention on green innovation wanes beyond certain levels, especially for firms that lack sufficient enthusiasm for innovation.

The impact of government green subsidies on corporate green innovation

This paper empirically examines the impact mechanism of government green subsidies on corporate green innovation using panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022. Government green subsidies have a significant positive impact on corporate green innovation, and increasing government green subsidies helps promote corporate green innovation. The mechanism study finds that the mechanism of corporate social responsibility and digital transformation is significant, and government green subsidies can help promote corporate social responsibility and digital transformation to enhance green innovation.

Big data development and enterprise green innovation: Text analysis of listed companies’ annual reports

This study used a sample of data from 3314 firms listed in the manufacturing industry from 2011 to 2022. We analyzed these companies’ annual reports using panel regression analysis to explore the relationship between big data utilization and corporate green innovation. Findings reveal that green innovation is driven by big data development. Research and development (R&D) investment has emerged as a key mediator in the relationship between big data and green innovation among firms. Furthermore, this study identifies disparities in the effect of big data development on green innovation between profit-making and loss-making entities. Moreover, it emphasizes the differences in the effects of environmental innovation between state owned and non–state-owned enterprises. This study offers tangible evidence that companies should use big data to promote environmental innovation, which is a crucial strategy for achieving sustainable growth.

CIO leadership, employee digital ability, and corporate green innovation performance–moderating effect of organizational agility and environmental culture

CIO leadership, employee digital ability, and corporate green innovation performance–moderating effect of organizational agility and environmental culture