Innovation-Led FDI Sustainability: Clarifying the Nexus between Financial Innovation, Technological Innovation, Environmental Innovation, and FDI in the BRIC Nations

Spatial adequacy and capital formation are impactful macro factors in achieving economic sustainability; therefore, offering a conducive ambiance for foreign investors entices them to the technology and capital mobilization in the host economy. The purpose of the study is to highlight the nexus of the innovation-led FDI in BRIC nations from 1990–2019. The study has implemented several econometric techniques to establish the empirical nexus, including a unit root test with a structural break, a combined cointegration test, an augmented autoregressive distributed lagged, a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lagged and the Fourier Toda–Yamamoto causality test. The structural break test divulged one break year in the data set, and the study incorporated the structural break effects in line with the explained variable. The long run association between the explanatory explained and the control variables has been unveiled with the test statistics of the combined cointegration. Furthermore, the long run cointegration in the empirical equation has been found in the linear and nonlinear assessment. In terms of the symmetric investigation, the coefficient of innovation, that is, TI, FI, and EI on FDI, were revealed to be positive and statistically significant at a 1% level, suggesting the innovation culture boosts the inflows of the FDI in the economy, both in the long run and short run. Furthermore, the asymmetric association has been confirmed by implementing the standard Wald test with the null of symmetry in the long and short runs. Inferring to the asymmetric coefficients, it is apparent that the positive and negative shocks of TI, FI and EI have established a positive tie to FDI, which is significant at a 1% level. According to the elasticities of the asymmetric shocks, the positive innovation disclosed a more prominent impact than the negative innovation on the FDI inflows. Thus this study advocated for ensuring a conducive innovation environment by mobilizing economic resources. Finally, the causality test documented the feedback hypothesis to explain the causal association between technological innovation and FDI and environmental innovation and FDI.