IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i19p8630-d1758287.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green Drive Force, Energy Efficiency, and Corporate Sustainable Development

Author

Listed:
  • Peng Yang

    (School of Business, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea)

  • Jun Young Yoon

    (Department of Public Policy, Hansei University, Gunpo 15852, Republic of Korea)

  • Shanyue Jin

    (School of Business, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This study investigates how improvements in energy efficiency (EE) contribute to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) of manufacturing firms. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2012 and 2023, we provide empirical evidence that higher EE significantly enhances firms’ ability to maintain long-term and stable growth. Furthermore, the findings reveal that executives’ green perception (EGP) and environmental protection investment (EPI) strengthen this positive relationship, while an excessive green innovation bubble (GIB) weakens it. By integrating insights from corporate governance and sustainability research, this study highlights the critical roles of managerial orientation, resource allocation, and innovation quality in shaping the pathway from EE to sustainable growth. The results extend the understanding of how micro-level corporate actions support global sustainability goals and provide a nuanced perspective on balancing efficiency and innovation. Practically, the findings suggest that managers should embed EE into strategic decisions, while policymakers should strengthen financial and institutional support to facilitate corporate green transition. This research contributes to the literature by offering new evidence from an emerging market context and by demonstrating the multidimensional mechanisms through which EE fosters corporate sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng Yang & Jun Young Yoon & Shanyue Jin, 2025. "Green Drive Force, Energy Efficiency, and Corporate Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:19:p:8630-:d:1758287
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8630/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8630/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:19:p:8630-:d:1758287. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.