IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v97y2025ics1057521924007592.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Atmospheric environmental resources and corporate green innovation: Blessing or curse of the weather?

Author

Listed:
  • Qi, Xiangqin
  • Wu, Xia
  • Li, Ziwei
  • Cai, Yinyin

Abstract

Green technology innovation is an important way to realize corporate green transformation and sustainable economic development. Regional resource endowments can affect local policies and corporate innovation decisions. This paper examines whether and how atmospheric environmental resources, that is, the capacity of the atmospheric environment to accommodate and purify pollutants, have an impact on corporate green innovation. Using the data of China's A-shares listed heavily polluting firms from 2012 to 2022, we find that the atmospheric environmental resources inhibit corporate green technology innovation, indicating a “resource curse” effect. The mechanism test reveals that regional environmental resources affect corporate green technological innovation by influencing local governments' environmental protection concern, economic concern, environmental enforcement and public concern. Further analysis shows that the impact of atmospheric environmental resources on corporate green technology innovation differs before and after the Paris Agreement, and varies across different levels of financial development, industry competition, property rights, and executive characteristics. This paper proposes a new perspective of regional atmospheric environmental resources and explores its impact on corporate green technology innovation, revealing the mechanisms behind corporate green innovation from an external perspective, which has implications for governmental departments and corporate environmental governance decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Qi, Xiangqin & Wu, Xia & Li, Ziwei & Cai, Yinyin, 2025. "Atmospheric environmental resources and corporate green innovation: Blessing or curse of the weather?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:97:y:2025:i:c:s1057521924007592
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103827
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521924007592
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103827?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. Sachs, Jeffrey D. & Warner, Andrew M., 1999. "The big push, natural resource booms and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 43-76, June.
    2. Wang, Juxian & Ma, Mengdi & Dong, Tianyi & Zhang, Zheyuan, 2023. "Do ESG ratings promote corporate green innovation? A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Xu, Yang & Liu, Xia & Yang, Liu & Yang, Xiaodong & Yan, Hongchuan & Ran, Qiying, 2023. "Exploring the impact of natural resource dependence on green technology innovation: New insights from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    4. Joshua Graff Zivin & Matthew Neidell, 2013. "Environment, Health, and Human Capital," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 689-730, September.
    5. Huang, Zhehao & Liao, Gaoke & Li, Zhenghui, 2019. "Loaning scale and government subsidy for promoting green innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 148-156.
    6. Zhu, Juan & Jiang, Dequan & Shen, Yongjian & Shen, Yuxin, 2021. "Does regional air quality affect executive turnover at listed companies in China?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 428-436.
    7. Ma, Xinru & He, Jingbin, 2023. "Air pollution and corporate green innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Yu Qin & Hongjia Zhu, 2018. "Run away? Air pollution and emigration interests in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 235-266, January.
    9. Magali Delmas & Michael W. Toffel, 2004. "Stakeholders and environmental management practices: an institutional framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(4), pages 209-222, July.
    10. Han, Yingwei & Li, Jie, 2022. "Should investors include green bonds in their portfolios? Evidence for the USA and Europe," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    11. Auty, R. & Warhurst, A., 1993. "Sustainable development in mineral exporting economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 14-29, March.
    12. Yu, Zhichao & Youn, Ik Joong & Alessa, Noha & Borgi, Hela, 2023. "Does natural-resource-dependency create the need of green innovation?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    13. He, Kang & Chen, Wanyi & Zhang, Liguang, 2021. "Senior management's academic experience and corporate green innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    14. Zhongju Liao & Manting Zhang, 2020. "The influence of responsible leadership on environmental innovation and environmental performance: The moderating role of managerial discretion," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2016-2027, September.
    15. Mingzhe Yu & Qiang Zhou & Mui Yee Cheok & Jakub Kubiczek & Nadeem Iqbal, 2022. "Does green finance improve energy efficiency? New evidence from developing and developed economies," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 485-509, February.
    16. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 81-94.
    17. Wang, Zhongcheng & Li, Xinyue & Xue, Xinhong & Liu, Yahuan, 2022. "More government subsidies, more green innovation? The evidence from Chinese new energy vehicle enterprises," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 11-21.
    18. Zheng, Yizhe & Li, Jiali & Zhang, Xinhe, 2023. "Executives with overseas background and green innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    19. Xu, Dandan & Guo, Dongli & Yue, Pengpeng & Li, Mengshi, 2024. "Household green consumption: Does digital inclusion matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. Yang, Jun & Hao, Yun & Feng, Chao, 2021. "A race between economic growth and carbon emissions: What play important roles towards global low-carbon development?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    21. Shenggang Ren & Yue Wang & Yucai Hu & Ji Yan, 2021. "CEO hometown identity and firm green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 756-774, February.
    22. Huang, Lei & Wang, Chenhao & Chin, Tachia & Huang, Jiahe & Cheng, Xuanmei, 2022. "Technological knowledge coupling and green innovation in manufacturing firms: Moderating roles of mimetic pressure and environmental identity," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    23. Dayuan Li & Min Huang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Lutao Ning, 2018. "Environmental Legitimacy, Green Innovation, and Corporate Carbon Disclosure: Evidence from CDP China 100," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1089-1104, July.
    24. Mutandwa, Bright & Genc, Bekir, 2018. "Leveraging Zimbabwe's mineral endowment for economic transformation and human development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 230-239.
    25. Wang, Ailun & Si, Lulu & Hu, Shuo, 2023. "Can the penalty mechanism of mandatory environmental regulations promote green innovation? Evidence from China's enterprise data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    26. Jianming Zhang & Gongqian Liang & Taiwen Feng & Chunlin Yuan & Wenbo Jiang, 2020. "Green innovation to respond to environmental regulation: How external knowledge adoption and green absorptive capacity matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 39-53, January.
    27. Chen, Zan & Jin, Jun & Li, Meng, 2022. "Does media coverage influence firm green innovation? The moderating role of regional environment," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    28. He, Yu & Lu, Shanglin & Wei, Ran & Wang, Shixuan, 2024. "Local media sentiment towards pollution and its effect on corporate green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    29. Fan, Meiting & Li, Mengxu & Liu, Jianghua & Shao, Shuai, 2022. "Is high natural resource dependence doomed to low carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from 283 cities in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    30. Yuan Li & Dabo Guan & Yanni Yu & Stephen Westland & Daoping Wang & Jing Meng & Xuejun Wang & Kebin He & Shu Tao, 2019. "A psychophysical measurement on subjective well-being and air pollution," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    31. Zhang, Jinning & Wang, Jianlong & Yang, Xiaodong & Ren, Siyu & Ran, Qiying & Hao, Yu, 2021. "Does local government competition aggravate haze pollution? A new perspective of factor market distortion," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    32. Hong, Ying & Hu, Jiangting & Chen, Mengyu & Tang, Shoulian, 2023. "Motives and antecedents affecting green purchase intention: Implications for green economic recovery," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 523-538.
    33. Cheng, Zhonghua & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Jun, 2020. "Natural resource abundance, resource industry dependence and economic green growth in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    34. Feng, Suling & Zhang, Rong & Li, Guoxiang, 2022. "Environmental decentralization, digital finance and green technology innovation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 70-83.
    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. Cai, Xiaotong & Lin, Peiyang & Wang, Rui, 2025. "Intelligent manufacturing and corporate green transformation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    2. Peng, Changhong & Chen, Dongjing & Jia, Daizheng & Liu, Qiao & Xu, Xin, 2025. "Can green credit policies reduce enterprise risk? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    3. Zhang, Liyuan & Luo, Zhenqing & Yu, Xiaoyuan & Yang, Qiming & Wang, Jiancong, 2025. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Wang, Pei & Xue, Weixian & Wang, Zhuan, 2024. "Fog and haze control and enterprise green total factor productivity - evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Ma, Li & Li, Danna, 2024. "Would macro policy promote green and low-carbon transformation of energy companies?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    6. Wu, Jiaxi & Wang, Shali & Zhang, Rui & Zhao, Meilin & Sun, Xialing & Qie, Xiaotong & Wang, Yue, 2025. "Measurement of green innovation efficiency in Chinese listed energy-intensive enterprises based on the three stage Super-SBM model," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Hu, Haichuan & Jia, Zhenting & Yang, Siyao, 2025. "Exploring FinTech, green finance, and ESG performance across corporate life-cycles," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Li, Lu & Gan, Yufei & Bi, Shuochen & Fu, Haokai, 2025. "Substantive or strategic? Unveiling the green innovation effects of pilot policy promoting the integration of technology and finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Tian, Ying & Feng, Chao, 2023. "Breaking “resource curse” through green technological innovations: Evidence from 286 cities in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    10. Li, Zetong & Cao, Jingjie, 2025. "Enhancing green total factor productivity through corporate social responsibility: The moderating effect of environmental regulations," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. An, Suxia & Gu, Yu & Pan, Lu & Yu, Ying, 2024. "Supply chain digitalization and firms' green innovation: Evidence from a pilot program," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 828-846.
    12. Zhao, Ruihan & Mou, Yunting & Yu, Xiaxia, 2025. "Analysis of the moderating effects of environmental regulations on green accounting information disclosure and financial performance of heavily polluting enterprises," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Zhang, Jun & Xie, Tangkun & Kong, Xiaoran & Liu, Bo & Zhang, Wenke, 2025. "Can data assets promote green innovation in enterprises?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Liu, Meihan & Zhao, Jingjie & Liu, Hongtao, 2025. "Digital transformation, employee and executive compensation, and sustained green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Liu, Yanqiong & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Green finance policies, resource allocation, and corporate social responsibility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Aurang Zeb & Irfan Ullah & Amjad Iqbal & Mohib Ur Rahman & Shahab Aziz, 2024. "CEO’s Science and Engineering Background and Green Innovation: Evidence From China," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440241, February.
    17. Licheng Yang & Shijie Song & Chunlin Liu, 2024. "Green signals: The impact of environmental protection support policies on firms' green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3258-3278, May.
    18. Zhao, Ruizeng & An, Yuchen & Tu, Hanyun & Song, Jiashan, 2024. "China's economic growth and low-carbon development under the background of resource curse: A new perspective based on digital finance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    19. Xu, Nianhang & Li, Min & Xie, Rongrong & Chan, Kam C., 2024. "Double standards? The adverse impact of chairperson hometown ties on corporate green innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    20. Bai, Xiao & Zhao, Wenyao & Tian, Geran, 2024. "ESG certification, green innovation, and firm value: A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings: A pre-registered report," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    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:finana:v:97:y:2025:i:c:s1057521924007592. 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/inca/620166 .

    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.