Open Access Journal Article

Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?

by Xiaoli Hao a,b orcid ,  Wenqian Fu c orcid  and  Khaldoon Albitar d,* orcid
a
School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
b
Center for Innovation Management Research, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China
c
China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
d
Faculty of Business and Law, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
JEA  2023, 31; 2(3), 31; https://doi.org/10.58567/jea02030002
Received: 12 February 2023 / Accepted: 6 March 2023 / Published Online: 7 May 2023
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Abstract

Green innovation, driven by China's new development concept, plays a crucial role in high-quality economic development. In line with the green development trend, businesses increasingly prioritize whether their corporate environmental responsibilities (CER) can effectively enhance corporate green innovation (CGI) levels. This paper examines the influence and mechanism of CER on CGI using a dynamic perspective, drawing from 1,640 manually-collected panel data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2017. The primary findings indicate that the impact of CER on CGI possesses phase-specific characteristics and a dual effect of "crowding in" and "crowding out." The current phase of CER negatively affects green innovation, while the lag phase has a positive effect. CER's impact on various CGI types is heterogeneous: specifically, it follows an "inverted-N" trajectory (inhibition-promotion-inhibition) for "strategic green innovation" and has a promotional effect on "substantive green innovation," which is stronger and has a longer time lag. The mechanism analysis reveals that financing constraints play a critical mediating role. A heterogeneity analysis based on multiple dimensions (ownership, industry, and location) suggests that CER has a more significant driving force for CGI among state-owned firms, high-polluting industries, and enterprises in inland areas. Finally, the paper presents corresponding suggestions for government and corporate entities.

Keywords: Corporate environmental responsibility; Corporate green innovation; the Inverted N-shaped curve; Mediating effect; Heterogeneity analysis;
Copyright: © 2023 by Hao, Fu and Albitar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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ACS Style
Hao, X.; Fu, W.; Albitar, K. Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?. Journal of Economic Analysis, 2023, 2, 31. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea02030002
AMA Style
Hao X, Fu W, Albitar K. Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?. Journal of Economic Analysis; 2023, 2(3):31. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea02030002
Chicago/Turabian Style
Hao, Xiaoli; Fu, Wenqian; Albitar, Khaldoon 2023. "Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?" Journal of Economic Analysis 2, no.3:31. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea02030002
APA style
Hao, X., Fu, W., & Albitar, K. (2023). Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?. Journal of Economic Analysis, 2(3), 31. https://doi.org/10.58567/jea02030002

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