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The Green Blueprint: Founder Clan Culture Imprints and Green Innovation in Chinese Family Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Feifei Lu

    (SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China)

  • Zixuan Zang

    (SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China)

  • Khalid Mehmood

    (Research Center of Hubei Micro & Small Enterprises Development, School of Economics and Management, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan 432000, China)

  • Usman Ghani

    (School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
    Department of Management, Iqra University, Karachi 75500, Pakistan)

  • Shuya Rao

    (School of Business Administration, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China)

Abstract

Drawing on upper-echelon, imprinting, and agency theories, this paper investigates the influence of founder CEOs’ clan cultural values on family firms’ green innovation performance and examines the moderating roles of family involvement and the intensity of government environmental regulation. Using data from 1678 Chinese public family firms over the period from 2012 to 2020, which include 9048 firm–year observations, our results show a significant positive effect of founder CEOs’ clan cultural values on firms’ green innovation practices. Additionally, this positive effect is weakened when the level of family involvement is high, due to conflict. Moreover, the positive influence is strengthened when government environmental regulation is more stringent.

Suggested Citation

  • Feifei Lu & Zixuan Zang & Khalid Mehmood & Usman Ghani & Shuya Rao, 2025. "The Green Blueprint: Founder Clan Culture Imprints and Green Innovation in Chinese Family Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1978-:d:1599523
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    References listed on IDEAS

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