ABSTRACT This study provides empirical evidence on how firms’ access to non-local green consumption demand causally affects their green innovation. We construct a city-level Green Market Access (GMA) indicator by combining provincial Baidu search intensity for eight categories of green products (e.g. new energy vehicles and energy-saving appliances), weighted by population or GDP, and adjusting for transportation costs based on intercity travel time derived from China’s national highway network. Using panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2019, we find that GMA significantly increases green invention patent applications. This finding remains robust to alternative innovation measures, parameter sensitivity checks, and instrumental variable estimation. Mechanism tests indicate that GMA enhances corporate financial performance (by lowering selling expenses and raising cash flows) and strengthens environmental responsibility. The effect is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, firms in lightly polluting industries, and those in developed regions. Overall, integrating geographically dispersed green consumption demand can stimulate corporate green innovation via improved financial performance and heightened environmental responsibility.

The impact of monetary policy uncertainty on corporate innovation investment: A dual-channel analysis based on financing constraints and risk-taking

Determinants of corporate innovation disclosure: UK evidence

ABSTRACT Climate risk has become a major challenge for the world. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this study finds that climate risk significantly promotes corporate innovation. Both physical risk and transition risk have positive effects on product and process innovation, but their positive impact is stronger on process innovation. Specifically, physical risk is more conducive to process innovation, while transition risk is more beneficial to product innovation. Institutional pressure further strengthens this facilitating effect. Mechanistic analyses suggest that climate risk promotes corporate innovation through channels such as enhancing long-term development orientation, improving innovation efficiency, and facilitating green technology development. The findings remain robust after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests.

Employing textual analysis of the “short-term vision” vocabulary in annual reports, we investigate the impact of managerial myopia on firm innovation and performance. Our results indicate that managerial myopia hampers innovation, and this result remains robust across a battery of robustness checks. Managerial myopia also weakens the positive impact of innovation on firm growth, and value in the long run. We find that state ownership and good corporate governance mitigate the negative impact of managerial myopia. The evidence supports the upper echelon theory and time orientation theoretical framework. This paper enriches the research on the influencing factors of corporate innovation, by providing evidence that people’s perception of time affects decision making and provides support for government ownership and strong corporate governance practices in alleviating the negative consequences of managerial myopia.

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence investment holds significant importance for enterprises achieving high-quality development. Existing research predominantly focuses on AI's impact on corporate innovation and production. This paper examines how AI investment influences corporate capital structure from a financing perspective. Employing text analysis, we examined annual reports of Chinese manufacturing listed companies from 2008 to 2023 to construct an AI investment indicator. The results of the study show that AI investment significantly improves the gearing ratio of enterprises. This conclusion still holds after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests. Regarding the underlying mechanism, AI investment enhances corporate indebtedness by optimizing credit resource allocation and reducing debt financing costs. Moderation effects indicate that regional business environment quality positively moderates the impact of AI investment on capital structure, while equity concentration negatively moderates this effect. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this effect is more pronounced for enterprises located in central and eastern regions, operating in competitive industries, or classified as non-heavily polluting enterprises. This study deepens the understanding of the role AI investment plays in debt financing at the micro-firm level and provides guidance for corporate managers selecting financing methods when investing in emerging technologies.

Hostile takeovers have long been a controversial topic in the field of corporate governance, reflecting the tension between shareholder wealth maximization and long-term corporate health. With the global integration of capital markets, hostile takeovers have become an important mechanism for restructuring corporate ownership and optimizing resource allocation, but they also trigger fierce debates about their economic effects and legal regulation. This paper systematically explores the legal and economic dimensions of hostile takeovers, focusing on the trade-off between short-term shareholder wealth gains and the sustainability of corporate long-term development. Through analyzing the economic motivation behind hostile takeovers, the impact on shareholder interests and corporate long-term value, as well as the legal regulatory frameworks in different countries, the research finds that hostile takeovers have a dual nature: they can restrain managerial inefficiency and improve resource allocation efficiency, but they may also induce short-termism, damage corporate innovation capacity, and undermine stakeholder interests. Finally, the paper puts forward suggestions for constructing a balanced legal and regulatory system that promotes market efficiency while safeguarding long-term corporate health, so as to realize the coordinated development of shareholder wealth and corporate sustainability.

Employee satisfaction, as a critical form of organisational social capital, represents a significant interdisciplinary topic in management and finance. A key question is whether it can be transformed into sustainable innovation momentum for corporates amid extreme crisis shocks. This study examines Chinese A-share listed corporates, utilising large-scale anonymous employee evaluation data from the Chinese employer review platform ‘KanZhun.com’, to construct corporate-level employee satisfaction indicators. Through econometric modelling, it investigates the impact of employee satisfaction on corporate innovation output during major crises and its underlying mechanisms. Findings reveal that during crises, employee satisfaction significantly enhances overall corporate innovation levels, with a particularly pronounced effect on green innovation. Mechanism analysis indicates that high employee satisfaction primarily drives innovation, especially green innovation, through two channels. These channels include reducing internal governance costs and alleviating external financing constraints. Heterogeneity tests further reveal that this effect is particularly pronounced in high-tech industries, technology-intensive sectors, non-state-owned corporates, and corporates under strong external institutional constraints or with relatively weak innovation capabilities. This study expands the theoretical boundaries of employee satisfaction’s economic value from an innovation perspective. It further provides Chinese empirical evidence for corporates seeking to enhance innovation resilience in complex environments via employee feedback and quality labour relations.

Firms' indigenous innovation capability constitutes the fundamental driving force and a decisive determinant of national scientific and technological progress, and fiscal R&D subsidies play a pivotal role in incentivizing corporate technological innovation. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed firms over the period 2010–2020, this study systematically examines the impact of fiscal subsidy intensity on firms' innovation quality, the underlying transmission mechanisms, and the relevant policy boundary conditions. To address potential endogeneity concerns, this study employs a Bartik instrumental variable (IV) approach. The empirical results indicate that fiscal subsidies exert a significantly positive effect on firms' innovation output. Mechanism analyses reveal that fiscal subsidies promote corporate innovation by alleviating non-productive rent-seeking activities, enhancing firms' market competitiveness, and improving market valuation, thereby strengthening the role of capital market confidence in stimulating R&D investment. Heterogeneity analyses further show that the innovation-enhancing effects of fiscal subsidies are more pronounced among local state-owned enterprises, firms in technology-intensive industries, and small firms facing external financing constraints. These findings suggest that future policy design should further optimize the structure of fiscal subsidies by directing resources toward high-technology firms and financially constrained small enterprises, while simultaneously strengthening regulatory and supervisory mechanisms.

Natural resource wealth and corporate innovation: Governance, managerial discipline, and environmental management implications.

Equity Incentives and Corporate Innovation: A Case Study of Joyoung Co., Ltd.

Tax burden, corporate innovation and supply chain resistance

Judicial fairness perception and corporate innovation: Evidence from entrepreneur survey in China

Integrating sustainable development and business innovation: Analyzing the role of precision agriculture in promoting environmental stewardship and economic viability.

Data asset disclosure and corporate innovation: Evidence from China

Digital transformation of Chinese logistics enterprises: Impact on corporate innovation from the perspective of Fintech

Artificial intelligence and corporate innovation: A perspective based on supply chain resilience

Can employee directors promote corporate innovation: From the perspective of employee rights protection

Fintech, resource misallocation, and the diffusion of corporate innovation

Establishment of intellectual property courts, incentive effects of corporate innovation, and development of multinational financial supply chains