IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v78y2025ics0275531925002120.html

The effects of regulatory mechanism on enterprise carbon reduction policies

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Xi
  • Zhu, Qingyuan
  • Hajek, Petr
  • Lucey, Brian
  • Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the influencing factors for the optimization of regulatory mechanisms in stimulating enterprises’ implementation of carbon reduction policies, by establishing an evolutionary game model involving government, enterprises, independent regulators (IR) and the public. Results show that: (1) six equilibrium points exist satisfying stability criteria, including one ideal state where enterprises implement carbon reduction policies under IR supervision with the complementary force from the public, without government subsidizing. (2) Enterprises’ positive policy implementation correlates closely with reduced supervision costs and increased economic costs caused by reputational losses, and the reduction in public participation costs can promote enterprises and IR to choose the positive strategy. (3) Enhanced government financial incentives and penalties can facilitate enterprises’ carbon reduction implementation. This study evaluates multi-player cost-benefit trade-offs, providing evidenced references for the policy making to optimize the regulatory mechanism in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Xi & Zhu, Qingyuan & Hajek, Petr & Lucey, Brian & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul, 2025. "The effects of regulatory mechanism on enterprise carbon reduction policies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:78:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925002120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102956
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531925002120
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102956?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bochao Zhang & Baizhen Zhang & Junpeng Di & Qing Han, 2022. "The strategic behavior of Chinese enterprises using R&D subsidies: game model and empirical research," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(36), pages 4187-4202, August.
    2. Livia Fritz & Chad M. Baum & Sean Low & Benjamin K. Sovacool, 2024. "Public engagement for inclusive and sustainable governance of climate interventions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    4. Polzin, Friedemann & Migendt, Michael & Täube, Florian A. & von Flotow, Paschen, 2015. "Public policy influence on renewable energy investments—A panel data study across OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 98-111.
    5. Bouteska, Ahmed & Ha, Le Thanh & Bhuiyan, Faruk & Sharif, Taimur & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul, 2024. "Contagion between investor sentiment and green bonds in China during the global uncertainties," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 469-484.
    6. Simone Lazzini & Zeila Occhipinti & Angela Parenti & Roberto Verona, 2021. "Disentangling economic crisis effects from environmental regulation effects: Implications for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2332-2353, July.
    7. Jeon, Chanwoong & Lee, Jeongjin & Shin, Juneseuk, 2015. "Optimal subsidy estimation method using system dynamics and the real option model: Photovoltaic technology case," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 33-43.
    8. Na Yu & Jianghua Chen & Lei Cheng, 2022. "Evolutionary Game Analysis of Carbon Emission Reduction between Government and Enterprises under Carbon Quota Trading Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    9. Jason Chilvers & Rob Bellamy & Helen Pallett & Tom Hargreaves, 2021. "A systemic approach to mapping participation with low-carbon energy transitions," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(3), pages 250-259, March.
    10. Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Goldstein, Michael A. & Huang, Qingcheng & Zeng, Hongjun, 2024. "Forward-looking disclosure effects on stock liquidity in China: Evidence from MD&A text analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    11. Haifeng Yao & Jiangyue Fu, 2021. "Analysis of Smooth Implementation of Industry Poverty Alleviation considering Government Supervision," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-13, June.
    12. Wei Zhou & Feipeng Guo, 2022. "Precise Supervision of Enterprise Environmental Protection Behavior Based on Boolean Matrix Factorization under Low Carbon Background," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Wei, Yigang & Gong, Ping & Zhang, Jianhong & Wang, Li, 2021. "Exploring public opinions on climate change policy in "Big Data Era"—A case study of the European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) based on Twitter," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    14. Wu, Jing & Zuidema, Christian & Gugerell, Katharina & de Roo, Gert, 2017. "Mind the gap! Barriers and implementation deficiencies of energy policies at the local scale in urban China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 201-211.
    15. Gera, Weena, 2016. "Public participation in environmental governance in the Philippines: The challenge of consolidation in engaging the state," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 501-510.
    16. Sun, Xialing & Meng, Zheng & Zhang, Xuchao & Wu, Jiaxi, 2025. "The role of institutional quality in the nexus between green financing and sustainable development," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    17. Zhang, Huiming & Li, Lianshui & Zhou, Dequn & Zhou, Peng, 2014. "Political connections, government subsidies and firm financial performance: Evidence from renewable energy manufacturing in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 330-336.
    18. Wu, Xiaoping & Liu, Peng & Yang, Lin & Shi, Zhuangfei & Lao, Yongshuai, 2024. "Impact of three carbon emission reduction policies on carbon verification behavior: An analysis based on evolutionary game theory," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    19. La Torre, Mario & Leo, Sabrina & Palma, Alessia & Zapata, Jenny Daniela Salazar, 2024. "Public spending and green finance: A systematic literature review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Jorgen W. Weibull, 1997. "Evolutionary Game Theory," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262731215, December.
    21. Nasrallah, Nohade & El Khoury, Rim & Atayah, Osama F. & Marashdeh, Hazem & Najaf, Khakan, 2025. "The impact of carbon awareness, country-governance, and innovation on the cost of equity: Evidence from oil and gas firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PB).
    22. Dongdong Song & Boya Jia & Hongtao Jiao, 2022. "Review of Renewable Energy Subsidy System in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, October.
    23. Axon, Stephen, 2016. "“The Good Life”: Engaging the public with community-based carbon reduction strategies," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 82-92.
    24. Xia, Xiqiang & Li, Jiangwen & Wei, Wei & Benkraiem, Ramzi & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul, 2025. "Emission reduction levels of manufacturers under carbon trading policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    25. Diogenis Baboukardos & Anastasia Kopita & Charlotte Ranegaard & Elias Demetriades, 2024. "Carbon reporting regulation: Real effects, external pressures, and internal policies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4871-4886, July.
    26. Xin Zhao & Ramzi Benkraiem & Mohammad Zoynul Abedin & Silu Zhou, 2024. "The charm of green finance: Can green finance reduce corporate carbon emissions?," Post-Print hal-04925274, HAL.
    27. Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Goldstein, Michael A. & Malhotra, Nidhi & Yadav, Miklesh Prasad, 2024. "Middle East conflict and energy companies: The effect of air and drone strikes on global energy stocks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    28. Asane-Otoo, Emmanuel, 2016. "Competition policies and environmental quality: Empirical analysis of the electricity sector in OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 212-223.
    29. Stefan Drews & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2016. "What explains public support for climate policies? A review of empirical and experimental studies," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(7), pages 855-876, October.
    30. Jamali, Mohammad-Bagher & Rasti-Barzoki, Morteza & Khosroshahi, Hossein & Altmann, Jörn, 2022. "An evolutionary game-theoretic approach to study the technological transformation of the industrial sector toward renewable electricity procurement: A case study of Iran," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    31. repec:fth:iniesr:487 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Jason Chilvers & Rob Bellamy & Helen Pallett & Tom Hargreaves, 2021. "Publisher Correction: A systemic approach to mapping participation with low-carbon energy transitions," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 764-764, July.
    33. Zhao, Xin & Benkraiem, Ramzi & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Zhou, Silu, 2024. "The charm of green finance: Can green finance reduce corporate carbon emissions?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    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. Kai-Hua Wang & Shu-Mei Li, 2025. "Green bonds and carbon prices: a dynamic relationship revealed," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(12), pages 28995-29018, December.
    2. Zou, Yuxin & Park, Kyong Won, 2025. "Can green finance development inhibit corporate green bubble?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    3. You Li & Huan Tao & Hongying Cao & Xiaoming Wan & Xiaoyong Liao, 2024. "Achieving synergistic benefits through integrated governance of cultivated cadmium contamination via multistakeholder collaboration," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Sterner, Thomas & Ewald, Jens & Sterner, Erik, 2024. "Economists and the climate," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Kılkış, Şiir & Ulpiani, Giulia & Vetters, Nadja, 2024. "Visions for climate neutrality and opportunities for co-learning in European cities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. He, Yugang, 2026. "Reconfiguring Korea’s dual transition: Empirical insights on the role of industry 4.0 technologies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Liyun Liu & Yefan Liu & Mingming Zhang & Xinyu Zhou & Jia Huang, 2025. "How Does Green Credit Affect Corporate Green Investment Efficiency? A Test Based on Listed Corporations in China’s Heavy Pollution Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-24, April.
    8. Ruizhi Liu & Jiajia Li & Mark Wu, 2025. "The Impact of Climate Change Risk on Corporate Debt Financing Capacity: A Moderating Perspective Based on Carbon Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-37, July.
    9. Han, Linna & Chen, Xihui Haviour & Wang, Yong & Hoang, Yen Hai, 2024. "Examining the impact of mineral export controls on sustainable energy transition in the global south," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Zhao, Dan & Ji, Shou-feng & Wang, He-ping & Jiang, Li-wen, 2021. "How do government subsidies promote new energy vehicle diffusion in the complex network context? A three-stage evolutionary game model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    11. Zemin Wu & Qiuwei Wu & Xianyu Yu & Jin Tan & Qunwei Wang & Zhiling Hui, 2025. "Regulatory effect of carbon pricing on the negative impacts of coal phase-out," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    12. Ma, Baolin & Li, Yongxin & Zhou, Bo & Jian, Yaode & Zhang, Cheng & An, Jin, 2025. "The green development mechanism of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy in China: Novel evidence of green finance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2022. "Beyond the triangle of renewable energy acceptance: The five dimensions of domestic hydrogen acceptance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    14. Wan, Kai & Yu, Xiaolin, 2025. "Green structural monetary policy and firms’ Asymmetric carbon emission reduction: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1914-1928.
    15. Kassouri, Yacouba & Altuntaş, Mehmet & Alola, Andrew Adewale, 2022. "The contributory capacity of natural capital to energy transition in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 617-629.
    16. Yu, Yantuan & Zhang, Ning, 2025. "Towards low-carbon development through integration of technology and finance: Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. de Vries, M.O. & Mouter, N. & Metze, T.A.P. & Spruit, S., 2026. "Who is listening? Comparing 7 cases of citizen participation at different levels of government in the Dutch energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 209(PB).
    18. Zhu, Huayou & Bao, Weiping & Yu, Guojun, 2024. "How can intelligent manufacturing lead enterprise low-carbon transformation? Based on China's intelligent manufacturing demonstration projects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    19. Yao, Xing & Fan, Ying & Zhu, Lei & Zhang, Xian, 2020. "Optimization of dynamic incentive for the deployment of carbon dioxide removal technology: A nonlinear dynamic approach combined with real options," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    20. Feng, Lingbing & Qi, Jiajun & Zheng, Yuhao, 2025. "How can AI reduce carbon emissions? Insights from a quasi-natural experiment using generalized random forest," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:riibaf:v:78:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925002120. 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/ribaf .

    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.