IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v125y2023ics0140988323002542.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can digital finance empowerment reduce extreme ESG hypocrisy resistance to improve green innovation?

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Dongyang

Abstract

The efficiency of sustainable growth has recently become a challenge attracting controversy. This paper provides a new investigation on the effect of digital finance on green innovation by solving the extreme corporate environment, social, and governance (ESG) hypocrisy resistance in firm behaviors. By constructing a unique panel of data spanning from 2013 to 2019, we draw several findings. First, our fundamental result shows that digital finance empowerment can significantly increase green innovation performance. It reveals that digital finance empowerment works efficiently by decreasing the extreme ESG hypocrisy resistance measured by greenwashing. Second, considering the heterogeneous analysis, our results indicate that digital finance empowerment better solves greenwashing issues to improve green innovation for non-state-owned firms, heavily polluting firms, and highly competitive firms. Third, concerning the mechanism's explorations, digital finance empowerment reduces extreme ESG hypocrisy resistance by alleviating financial constraints and compressing management and financial cost. Our findings suggest that regulators can accelerate the financial market's digitization, principally in pursuit of sustainable growth effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Can digital finance empowerment reduce extreme ESG hypocrisy resistance to improve green innovation?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:125:y:2023:i:c:s0140988323002542
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106756
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988323002542
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106756?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Dongyang & Mohsin, Muhammad & Rasheed, Abdul Khaliq & Chang, Youngho & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "Public spending and green economic growth in BRI region: Mediating role of green finance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Paul Lanoie, 2008. "When And Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Papers 2008n-02a, CIRANO.
    3. Dong Wang & Shengli Chen, 2022. "Digital Transformation and Enterprise Resilience: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1, October.
    4. Zhou, Guangyou & Zhu, Jieyu & Luo, Sumei, 2022. "The impact of fintech innovation on green growth in China: Mediating effect of green finance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    5. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & David Popp, 2010. "Renewable Energy Policies and Technological Innovation: Evidence Based on Patent Counts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 45(1), pages 133-155, January.
    6. Zhang, Dongyang & Kong, Qunxi, 2022. "Green energy transition and sustainable development of energy firms: An assessment of renewable energy policy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Rahul C. Basole & Shiv S. Patel, 2018. "Transformation Through Unbundling: Visualizing the Global FinTech Ecosystem," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 379-396, December.
    8. Chen, Shimin & Sun, Zheng & Tang, Song & Wu, Donghui, 2011. "Government intervention and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 259-271, April.
    9. Mi, Zhifu & Zhang, Yunkun & Guan, Dabo & Shan, Yuli & Liu, Zhu & Cong, Ronggang & Yuan, Xiao-Chen & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2016. "Consumption-based emission accounting for Chinese cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1073-1081.
    10. Muhammad Kamran Khan & Muhammad Imran Khan & Muhammad Rehan, 2020. "The relationship between energy consumption, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Ghisetti, Claudia & Quatraro, Francesco, 2017. "Green Technologies and Environmental Productivity: A Cross-sectoral Analysis of Direct and Indirect Effects in Italian Regions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1-13.
    12. Metawa, Noura & Dogan, Eyup & Taskin, Dilvin, 2022. "Analyzing the nexus of green economy, clean and financial technology," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 385-396.
    13. Zhao, Xiaomeng & Liu, Chuanjiang & Sun, Chuanwang & Yang, Mian, 2020. "Does stringent environmental regulation lead to a carbon haven effect? Evidence from carbon-intensive industries in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    14. Buchak, Greg & Matvos, Gregor & Piskorski, Tomasz & Seru, Amit, 2018. "Fintech, regulatory arbitrage, and the rise of shadow banks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 453-483.
    15. Shank, Corey A., 2022. "Information asymmetry in the NFL gambling market: Inside information versus informed bettors," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    16. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van & Chen, Catherine Huirong, 2020. "Greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. Li, Jianglong & Lin, Boqiang, 2017. "Does energy and CO2 emissions performance of China benefit from regional integration?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 366-378.
    18. Lee, In & Shin, Yong Jae, 2018. "Fintech: Ecosystem, business models, investment decisions, and challenges," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 35-46.
    19. Gang Kou & Özlem Olgu Akdeniz & Hasan Dinçer & Serhat Yüksel, 2021. "Fintech investments in European banks: a hybrid IT2 fuzzy multidimensional decision-making approach," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-28, December.
    20. Li, Yanfei & Ji, Qiang & Zhang, Dayong, 2020. "Technological catching up and innovation policies in China: What is behind this largely successful story?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    21. Peterson K. Ozili, 2018. "Impact of digital finance on financial inclusion and stability," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 18(4), pages 329-340, December.
    22. Cheng, Ya & Awan, Usama & Ahmad, Shabbir & Tan, Zhixiong, 2021. "How do technological innovation and fiscal decentralization affect the environment? A story of the fourth industrial revolution and sustainable growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    23. Chen, G.Q. & Wu, X.D. & Guo, Jinlan & Meng, Jing & Li, Chaohui, 2019. "Global overview for energy use of the world economy: Household-consumption-based accounting based on the world input-output database (WIOD)," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 835-847.
    24. HUO, Peng & WANG, Luxin, 2022. "Digital economy and business investment efficiency: Inhibiting or facilitating?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    25. Qin, Xiaodi & Wu, Haitao & Li, Rongrong, 2022. "Digital finance and household carbon emissions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    26. Xu, Guiyang & Li, Guanggui & Sun, Peibo & Peng, Dan, 2023. "Inefficient investment and digital transformation: What is the role of financing constraints?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    27. Christian Haddad & Lars Hornuf, 2019. "The emergence of the global fintech market: economic and technological determinants," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 81-105, June.
    28. Sun, Yunpeng & Guan, Weimin & Razzaq, Asif & Shahzad, Mohsin & Binh An, Nguyen, 2022. "Transition towards ecological sustainability through fiscal decentralization, renewable energy and green investment in OECD countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 385-395.
    29. Tao Kong & RenJi Sun & Guanglin Sun & Youtao Song, 2022. "Effects of Digital Finance on Green Innovation considering Information Asymmetry: An Empirical Study Based on Chinese Listed Firms," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(15), pages 4399-4411, December.
    30. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Green financial system regulation shock and greenwashing behaviors: Evidence from Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    31. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2018. "Impact of Digital Finance on Financial Inclusion and Stability," MPRA Paper 84771, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    32. Paltrinieri, Andrea & Dreassi, Alberto & Migliavacca, Milena & Piserà, Stefano, 2020. "Islamic finance development and banking ESG scores: Evidence from a cross-country analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    33. Qihang Xue & Caiquan Bai & Weiwei Xiao, 2022. "Fintech and corporate green technology innovation: Impacts and mechanisms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3898-3914, December.
    34. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Environmental regulation, green innovation, and export product quality: What is the role of greenwashing?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    35. Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Subsidy expiration and greenwashing decision: Is there a role of bankruptcy risk?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    36. Xingqiang Du, 2015. "How the Market Values Greenwashing? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 547-574, May.
    37. Horbach, Jens, 2008. "Determinants of environmental innovation--New evidence from German panel data sources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 163-173, February.
    38. Daniela Gabor & Sally Brooks, 2017. "The digital revolution in financial inclusion: international development in the fintech era," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 423-436, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tianlei Pi & Haoxuan Hu & Jingyi Lu & Xue Chen, 2022. "The Analysis of Fintech Risks in China: Based on Fuzzy Models," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Yi Sun & Shihui Li & Rui Wang, 2023. "Fintech: from budding to explosion - an overview of the current state of research," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 715-755, April.
    3. Hiranya Dissanayake & Catalin Popescu & Anuradha Iddagoda, 2023. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Financial Technology: Unveiling the Research Landscape," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Zhong, Weiqiang & Jiang, Tingfeng, 2021. "Can internet finance alleviate the exclusiveness of traditional finance? evidence from Chinese P2P lending markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    5. Mohd Afjal, 2023. "Bridging the financial divide: a bibliometric analysis on the role of digital financial services within FinTech in enhancing financial inclusion and economic development," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Luo, Sumei & Sun, Yongkun & Zhou, Rui, 2022. "Can fintech innovation promote household consumption? Evidence from China family panel studies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Zhang, Dongyang & Wang, Jinli & Wang, Yizhi, 2023. "Greening through centralization of environmental monitoring?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    8. Kristin Hommel & Peter M. Bican, 2020. "Digital Entrepreneurship in Finance: Fintechs and Funding Decision Criteria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Abbasi, Kaleemullah & Alam, Ashraful & Du, Min (Anna) & Huynh, Toan Luu Duc, 2021. "FinTech, SME efficiency and national culture: Evidence from OECD countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    10. PU, Zhengning & FEI, Jinhua, 2022. "The impact of digital finance on residential carbon emissions: Evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 515-527.
    11. Mateusz Folwarski, 2021. "The FinTech Sector and Aspects on the Financial Inclusion of the Society in EU Countries," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 459-467.
    12. Yi Yang & Shuhe Shi & Jingjing Wu, 2022. "Digital Financial Inclusion to Corporation Value: The Mediating Effect of Ambidextrous Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-23, December.
    13. Decai Tang & Ziqian Zhao & Wenwen Shen & Jianqun Zhang & Yuehong Kong & Valentina Boamah, 2022. "Research on the Impact of Digital Finance on the Industrial Structure Upgrading of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the Perspective of R&D Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Ruixin Su & Tong Zheng & Yuzhao Zhong & Weizhou Zhong, 2023. "Role of Digital Inclusive Finance for High-Quality Business Development: A Study of China’s “Five Development Concept” Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-21, August.
    15. Cristina Chueca Vergara & Luis Ferruz Agudo, 2021. "Fintech and Sustainability: Do They Affect Each Other?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, June.
    16. Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Does green finance really inhibit extreme hypocritical ESG risk? A greenwashing perspective exploration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    17. Gallego-Losada, María-Jesús & Montero-Navarro, Antonio & García-Abajo, Elisa & Gallego-Losada, Rocío, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion. Visualizing the academic literature," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Jiamin Liu & Xiaoyu Ma & Bin Zhao & Qi Cui & Sisi Zhang & Jiaoning Zhang, 2023. "Mandatory Environmental Regulation, Enterprise Labor Demand and Green Innovation Transformation: A Quasi-Experiment from China’s New Environmental Protection Law," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-31, July.
    19. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2021. "Financial inclusion and legal system quality: are they correlated?," MPRA Paper 110518, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Lanhua Zhang & Manxiu Ning & Chaoying Yang, 2023. "Evaluation of the Mechanism and Effectiveness of Digital Inclusive Finance to Drive Rural Industry Prosperity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:125:y:2023:i:c:s0140988323002542. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.