IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i7p5924-d1110449.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Market-Incentive Environmental Regulation and the Quality of Corporate Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Chao Tu

    (Research Institute of Economics and Management, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China)

  • Yingfang Shi

    (School of Business, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 00853, China)

Abstract

Environmental issues have received worldwide attention in recent years, and a large body of literature has focused on environmental regulations and business innovation. However, very few studies examine the effects of market-incentive-based environmental regulation policies on the quality of corporate innovation. Thus, this paper uses China’s A-share listed enterprises in 2010–2020 and China’s carbon trading policy (CCTP) to conduct a quasi-natural experiment. The results show that the CCTP significantly increases the quality of innovation but does not affect the quantity of firm innovation. Furthermore, according to the result of heterogeneity analysis, the effect of CCTP on high-quality innovation occurs mainly in low-financialization and non-state enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Chao Tu & Yingfang Shi, 2023. "Market-Incentive Environmental Regulation and the Quality of Corporate Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5924-:d:1110449
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5924/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5924/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Lanoie & Michel Patry & Richard Lajeunesse, 2008. "Environmental regulation and productivity: testing the porter hypothesis," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 121-128, October.
    2. Eli Berman & Linda T. M. Bui, 2001. "Environmental Regulation And Productivity: Evidence From Oil Refineries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 498-510, August.
    3. Ming Yi & Xiaomeng Fang & Le Wen & Fengtao Guang & Yao Zhang, 2019. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Different Environmental Policy Instruments on Green Technology Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-19, November.
    4. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    5. Xuan Tian & Tracy Yue Wang, 2014. "Tolerance for Failure and Corporate Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 211-255, January.
    6. Olabi, A.G. & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali, 2022. "Renewable energy and climate change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    7. Chen, Chao & Gu, Junjian & Luo, Rongxi, 2022. "Corporate innovation and R&D expenditure disclosures," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    8. Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno, 2021. "Renewable Energy and Energy Saving: Worldwide Research Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-3, November.
    9. Feng, Zongbao & Wu, Xianguo & Chen, Hongyu & Qin, Yawei & Zhang, Limao & Skibniewski, Miroslaw J., 2022. "An energy performance contracting parameter optimization method based on the response surface method: A case study of a metro in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    10. Griffin, Dale & Li, Kai & Xu, Ting, 2021. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Innovation: International Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 123-154, February.
    11. Shao-Zhou Qi & Chao-Bo Zhou & Kai Li & Si-Yan Tang, 2021. "Influence of a pilot carbon trading policy on enterprises’ low-carbon innovation in China," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 318-336, March.
    12. Franck Aggeri, 1999. "Environmental policies and innovation : a knowledge-based perspective on cooperative approaches," Post-Print halshs-00644610, HAL.
    13. Xueming Xu & Changping Liu, 2021. "Research on the Impact of Expressway on the County Economy Based on a Spatial DID Model: The Case of Three Provinces of China," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-13, May.
    14. Raphael Calel & Antoine Dechezleprêtre, 2016. "Environmental Policy and Directed Technological Change: Evidence from the European Carbon Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(1), pages 173-191, March.
    15. Milliman, Scott R. & Prince, Raymond, 1989. "Firm incentives to promote technological change in pollution control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 247-265, November.
    16. Tan, Youchao & Liu, Xiumei & Sun, Hanwen & Zeng, Cheng(Colin), 2022. "Population ageing, labour market rigidity and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    17. Lily H. Fang & Josh Lerner & Chaopeng Wu, 2017. "Intellectual Property Rights Protection, Ownership, and Innovation: Evidence from China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(7), pages 2446-2477.
    18. Tan, Zhidong & Yan, Lina, 2021. "Does air pollution impede corporate innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 937-951.
    19. Lu, Jun & Wang, Wei, 2018. "Managerial conservatism, board independence and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-16.
    20. Yi Shi & Yan Li, 2022. "An Evolutionary Game Analysis on Green Technological Innovation of New Energy Enterprises under the Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-26, May.
    21. Yu, Zhen & Shen, Yiran & Jiang, Shengjun, 2022. "The effects of corporate governance uncertainty on state-owned enterprises' green innovation in China: Perspective from the participation of non-state-owned shareholders," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    22. Dang, Jianwei & Motohashi, Kazuyuki, 2015. "Patent statistics: A good indicator for innovation in China? Patent subsidy program impacts on patent quality," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 137-155.
    23. Pan, Xiongfeng & Ai, Bowei & Li, Changyu & Pan, Xianyou & Yan, Yaobo, 2019. "Dynamic relationship among environmental regulation, technological innovation and energy efficiency based on large scale provincial panel data in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 428-435.
    24. Yuan, Rongli & Wen, Wen, 2018. "Managerial foreign experience and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 752-770.
    25. Zhenghui Li & Gaoke Liao & Khaldoon Albitar, 2020. "Does corporate environmental responsibility engagement affect firm value? The mediating role of corporate innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1045-1055, March.
    26. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1993. "A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121743, December.
    27. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2017. "National culture and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 173-187.
    28. Jia, Zhijie & Lin, Boqiang, 2020. "Rethinking the choice of carbon tax and carbon trading in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    29. Min Hong & Zhenghui Li & Benjamin Drakeford, 2021. "Do the Green Credit Guidelines Affect Corporate Green Technology Innovation? Empirical Research from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, February.
    30. Zhang, Pan & Wang, Huan, 2022. "Do provincial energy policies and energy intensity targets help reduce CO2 emissions? Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    31. Sharma, Piyush & Davcik, Nebojsa S. & Pillai, Kishore Gopalakrishna, 2016. "Product innovation as a mediator in the impact of R&D expenditure and brand equity on marketing performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5662-5669.
    32. Wen, Huwei & Zhong, Qiming & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Digitalization, competition strategy and corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    33. Zhenzhen Xie & Jiatao Li, 2017. "Selective imitation of compatriot firms: Entry mode decisions of emerging market multinationals in cross-border acquisitions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 47-68, March.
    34. Boubakri, Narjess & Chkir, Imed & Saadi, Samir & Zhu, Hui, 2021. "Does national culture affect corporate innovation? International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    35. Aggeri, Franck, 1999. "Environmental policies and innovation: A knowledge-based perspective on cooperative approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 699-717, September.
    36. Kun Su & Heng Liu, 2021. "Financialization of manufacturing companies and corporate innovation: Lessons from an emerging economy," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 863-875, June.
    37. Xu, Zhaoxia, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty, cost of capital, and corporate innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(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. Lu, Yunguo & Zhang, Lin, 2022. "National mitigation policy and the competitiveness of Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Demirel, Pelin & Kesidou, Effie, 2011. "Stimulating different types of eco-innovation in the UK: Government policies and firm motivations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1546-1557, June.
    3. Ullah, Farid & Jiang, Ping & Elamer, Ahmed A. & Owusu, Andrews, 2022. "Environmental performance and corporate innovation in China: The moderating impact of firm ownership," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    4. Lv, Miaochen & Bai, Manying, 2021. "Evaluation of China's carbon emission trading policy from corporate innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    5. Pelin Demirel & Effie Kesidou, 2013. "The impact of environmental regulation frameworks and firm-level factors on eco-innovations: evidence from DEFRA survey of UK manufacturing firms," Chapters, in: Mehmet Ugur (ed.), Governance, Regulation and Innovation, chapter 6, pages 149-181, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Li, Guoxing & Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2023. "Western cultural influence on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    7. Mingliang Zhao & Fangyi Liu & Wei Sun & Xin Tao, 2020. "The Relationship between Environmental Regulation and Green Total Factor Productivity in China: An Empirical Study Based on the Panel Data of 177 Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Su, Zhong-qin & Xiao, Zuoping & Yu, Lin, 2019. "Do political connections enhance or impede corporate innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 94-110.
    9. Giovanni Marin & Francesca Lotti, 2017. "Productivity effects of eco-innovations using data on eco-patents," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(1), pages 125-148.
    10. 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.
    11. Martin Larsson, 2017. "EU Emissions Trading: Policy-Induced Innovation, or Business as Usual? Findings from Company Case Studies in the Republic of Croatia," Working Papers 1705, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    12. He, Feng & Yan, Yulin & Hao, Jing & Wu, Ji (George), 2022. "Retail investor attention and corporate green innovation: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    13. Maogang Tang & Silu Cheng & Wenqing Guo & Weibiao Ma & Fengxia Hu, 2023. "Relationship between carbon emission trading schemes and companies’ total factor productivity: evidence from listed companies in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11735-11767, October.
    14. Qiong Yao & Suzhen Zeng & Shibin Sheng & Shiyuan Gong, 2021. "Green innovation and brand equity: moderating effects of industrial institutions," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 573-602, June.
    15. Francesco Crespi & Claudia Ghisetti & Francesco Quatraro, 2015. "Environmental and innovation policies for the evolution of green technologies: a survey and a test," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 343-370, December.
    16. Cenjie Liu & Chunbo Ma & Rui Xie, 2020. "Structural, Innovation and Efficiency Effects of Environmental Regulation: Evidence from China’s Carbon Emissions Trading Pilot," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 741-768, April.
    17. Fethi, Sami & Rahuma, Abdulhamid, 2020. "The impact of eco-innovation on CO2 emission reductions: Evidence from selected petroleum companies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 108-115.
    18. Byun, SeongK. & Fuller, Kathleen & Lin, Zhilu, 2021. "The costs and benefits associated with inventor CEOs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. Yu, Zhen & Shen, Yiran & Jiang, Shengjun, 2022. "The effects of corporate governance uncertainty on state-owned enterprises' green innovation in China: Perspective from the participation of non-state-owned shareholders," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    20. Pan, Xia & Cheng, Wenyin & Gao, Yuning, 2022. "The impact of privatization of state-owned enterprises on innovation in China: A tale of privatization degree," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5924-:d:1110449. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.