IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v12y2022i2p21582440221106733.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Conservation or Emission Reduction? The Effects of Different Types of Environmental Regulations on Enterprises’ Green Innovation Preference

Author

Listed:
  • Zibiao Li
  • Siwei Wang
  • Keyuan Sun
  • Han Li
  • Xue Lu

Abstract

Previous research on green innovation sought to comprehend the antecedents and outcomes of environmental regulations. However, how these antecedents translate into outcomes may vary depending on different types of environmental regulations, such as environmental subsidies and pollution charges. We propose and test the effects of different environmental regulations on enterprises’ green innovation preferences. Moreover, we analyze how ownership type moderates the observed effects. The fundamental results reveal that: (1) Environmental subsidies and pollution charges positively affect energy conservation innovation. (2) Environmental subsidies and pollution charges positively affect emission reduction innovation. (3) Pollution charges are not as effective as environmental subsidies in promoting energy conservation innovation. However, pollution charges have a greater implementation effect than environmental subsidies in encouraging emission reduction innovation. (4) The types of enterprise ownership only play a positive moderating role in the relationship between pollution charges and emission reduction innovation. Accordingly, this paper provides auxiliary decision-making for the government to motivate the energy conservation and emission reduction of enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Zibiao Li & Siwei Wang & Keyuan Sun & Han Li & Xue Lu, 2022. "Energy Conservation or Emission Reduction? The Effects of Different Types of Environmental Regulations on Enterprises’ Green Innovation Preference," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:2:p:21582440221106733
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440221106733
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221106733
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440221106733?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dechezlepretre, Antoine & Sato, Misato, 2017. "The impacts of environmental regulations on competitiveness," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 77700, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Chiroleu-Assouline, Mireille & Fodha, Mouez, 2014. "From regressive pollution taxes to progressive environmental tax reforms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 126-142.
    3. Becker, Randy A., 2011. "Local environmental regulation and plant-level productivity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2516-2522.
    4. Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Misato Sato, 2017. "The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Competitiveness," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(2), pages 183-206.
    5. Jing-Wen Huang & Yong-Hui Li, 2017. "Green Innovation and Performance: The View of Organizational Capability and Social Reciprocity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 309-324, October.
    6. Albort-Morant, Gema & Leal-Millán, Antonio & Cepeda-Carrión, Gabriel, 2016. "The antecedents of green innovation performance: A model of learning and capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4912-4917.
    7. Paul Lanoie & Jérémy Laurent‐Lucchetti & Nick Johnstone & Stefan Ambec, 2011. "Environmental Policy, Innovation and Performance: New Insights on the Porter Hypothesis," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 803-842, September.
    8. Andrea Bellucci & Luca Pennacchio & Alberto Zazzaro, 2019. "Public R&D subsidies: collaborative versus individual place-based programs for SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 213-240, January.
    9. Hering, Laura & Poncet, Sandra, 2014. "Environmental policy and exports: Evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 296-318.
    10. Adam B. Jaffe & Karen Palmer, 1997. "Environmental Regulation And Innovation: A Panel Data Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 610-619, November.
    11. Edward Freeman, R. & Evan, William M., 1990. "Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 337-359.
    12. Christainsen, Gregory B. & Haveman, Robert H., 1981. "The contribution of environmental regulations to the slowdown in productivity growth," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 381-390, December.
    13. Kemp, René & Pontoglio, Serena, 2011. "The innovation effects of environmental policy instruments — A typical case of the blind men and the elephant?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 28-36.
    14. X. Xu & S. Zeng & C. Tam, 2012. "Stock Market’s Reaction to Disclosure of Environmental Violations: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 227-237, May.
    15. Xiaoxiao Zhou & Ming Xia & Teng Zhang & Juntao Du, 2020. "Energy- and Environment-Biased Technological Progress Induced by Different Types of Environmental Regulations in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-26, September.
    16. Wu, Aihua, 2017. "The signal effect of Government R&D Subsidies in China: Does ownership matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 339-345.
    17. M. E. Sharpe, 1996. "Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the Twenty-First Century By Margaret M. Blair," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 62-64, March.
    18. Lee, Sang-Ho & Park, Chul-Hi, 2021. "Environmental regulations in private and mixed duopolies: Taxes on emissions versus green R&D subsidies," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(1).
    19. Johnstone, Nick & Managi, Shunsuke & Rodríguez, Miguel Cárdenas & Haščič, Ivan & Fujii, Hidemichi & Souchier, Martin, 2017. "Environmental policy design, innovation and efficiency gains in electricity generation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 106-115.
    20. Dong, Kangyin & Sun, Renjin & Hochman, Gal & Li, Hui, 2018. "Energy intensity and energy conservation potential in China: A regional comparison perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 782-795.
    21. Bu, Maoliang & Qiao, Zhenzi & Liu, Beibei, 2020. "Voluntary environmental regulation and firm innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 10-18.
    22. Bigerna, Simona & Wen, Xingang & Hagspiel, Verena & Kort, Peter M., 2019. "Green electricity investments: Environmental target and the optimal subsidy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(2), pages 635-644.
    23. Conrad, Klaus & Wastl, Dieter, 1995. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Productivity in German Industries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 615-633.
    24. Du, Kerui & Cheng, Yuanyuan & Yao, Xin, 2021. "Environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure upgrading: The road to the green transformation of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    25. Saul Lach, 2002. "Do R&D Subsidies Stimulate or Displace Private R&D? Evidence from Israel," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 369-390, December.
    26. Wen, Shiyan & Lin, Boqiang & Zhou, Yicheng, 2021. "Does financial structure promote energy conservation and emission reduction? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 755-766.
    27. Stavins, Robert N., 1996. "Correlated Uncertainty and Policy Instrument Choice," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 218-232, March.
    28. Blackman, Allen & Lahiri, Bidisha & Pizer, William & Rivera Planter, Marisol & Muñoz Piña, Carlos, 2010. "Voluntary environmental regulation in developing countries: Mexico's Clean Industry Program," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 182-192, November.
    29. Hye-Young Joo & Yong-Won Seo & Hokey Min, 2018. "Examining the effects of government intervention on the firm’s environmental and technological innovation capabilities and export performance," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(18), pages 6090-6111, September.
    30. Camila Gramkow & Annela Anger-Kraavi, 2018. "Could fiscal policies induce green innovation in developing countries? The case of Brazilian manufacturing sectors," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 246-257, February.
    31. Shuai Shao & Zhigao Hu & Jianhua Cao & Lili Yang & Dabo Guan, 2020. "Environmental Regulation and Enterprise Innovation: A Review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1465-1478, March.
    32. Liu, Jingjing & Zhao, Min & Wang, Yanbo, 2020. "Impacts of government subsidies and environmental regulations on green process innovation: A nonlinear approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    33. Albrizio, Silvia & Kozluk, Tomasz & Zipperer, Vera, 2017. "Environmental policies and productivity growth: Evidence across industries and firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 209-226.
    34. Becker, Randy A., 2011. "Local environmental regulation and plant-level productivity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2516-2522.
    35. Kong, Lingbo & Hasanbeigi, Ali & Price, Lynn & Liu, Huanbin, 2017. "Energy conservation and CO2 mitigation potentials in the Chinese pulp and paper industry," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PA), pages 74-84.
    36. Howell, Anthony, 2017. "Picking ‘winners' in China: Do subsidies matter for indigenous innovation and firm productivity?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 154-165.
    37. Shi, Beibei & Feng, Chen & Qiu, Meng & Ekeland, Anders, 2018. "Innovation suppression and migration effect: The unintentional consequences of environmental regulation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-23.
    38. Ming Hua Li & Lin Cui & Jiangyong Lu, 2014. "Varieties in state capitalism: Outward FDI strategies of central and local state-owned enterprises from emerging economy countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(8), pages 980-1004, October.
    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. Zhuanlan Sun & Demi Zhu, 2023. "Investigating environmental regulation effects on technological innovation: A meta-regression analysis," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(3), pages 463-492, May.
    2. Mian Yang & Yining Yuan & Fuxia Yang & Dalia Patino-Echeverri, 2021. "Effects of environmental regulation on firm entry and exit and China’s industrial productivity: a new perspective on the Porter Hypothesis," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(4), pages 915-944, October.
    3. Peng, Jiaying & Xie, Rui & Ma, Chunbo & Fu, Yang, 2021. "Market-based environmental regulation and total factor productivity: Evidence from Chinese enterprises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 394-407.
    4. Huang, Youxing & Xu, Qi & Zhao, Yanping, 2021. "Short-run pain, long-run gain: Desulfurization investment and productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Xiaoxiao Zhou & Ming Xia & Teng Zhang & Juntao Du, 2020. "Energy- and Environment-Biased Technological Progress Induced by Different Types of Environmental Regulations in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Themann, Michael & Koch, Nicolas, 2021. "Catching up and falling behind: Cross-country evidence on the impact of the EU ETS on firm productivity," Ruhr Economic Papers 904, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Zhang, Dan & Zheng, Mingbo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Does an environmental policy bring to green innovation in renewable energy?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1113-1124.
    8. Lena, Daniela & Pasurka, Carl A. & Cucculelli, Marco, 2022. "Environmental regulation and green productivity growth: Evidence from Italian manufacturing industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    9. Jichuan Sheng & Jing Xin & Weihai Zhou, 2023. "The impact of environmental regulations on corporate productivity via import behaviour: the case of China’s manufacturing corporations," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 3671-3697, April.
    10. Koch, Nicolas & Themann, Michael, 2022. "Catching up and falling behind: Cross-country evidence on the impact of the EU ETS on firm productivity," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Xie, Yu & Wu, Desheng & Li, Xiaoyan & Tian, Suhua, 2023. "How does environmental regulation affect productivity? The role of corporate compliance strategies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    12. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Zhang, Yijun & Li, Xiaoping & Song, Yi & Jiang, Feitao, 2021. "Can green industrial policy improve total factor productivity? Firm-level evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 51-62.
    14. Sangeeta Bansal & Massimo Filippini & Suchita Srinivasan, 2023. "How Regulation Might Fail to Reduce Energy Consumption While Still Stimulating Total Factor Productivity Growth," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 23/379, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    15. Galeotti, Marzio & Salini, Silvia & Verdolini, Elena, 2020. "Measuring environmental policy stringency: Approaches, validity, and impact on environmental innovation and energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    16. Cai, Hechang & Wang, Zilong & Zhang, Zhiwen & Xu, Liuyang, 2023. "Does environmental regulation promote technology transfer? Evidence from a partially linear functional-coefficient panel model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    17. Yiqun Hu & Xiong Dai & Li Zhao, 2022. "Digital Finance, Environmental Regulation, and Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Study of 278 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Zhang, Ming & Zhao, Yingxue, 2023. "Does environmental regulation spur innovation? Quasi-natural experiment in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    19. Abdulla, Eman & Lim, King Yoong & Morris, Diego & Saliba, Faten, 2022. "Climate Change, Gender Equality, and Firm-Level Innovation : Cross-Country Evidence," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1429, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    20. Herman, Kyle S. & Xiang, Jun, 2019. "Induced innovation in clean energy technologies from foreign environmental policy stringency?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 198-207.

    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:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:2:p:21582440221106733. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.