IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v56y2023i4d10.1007_s10644-023-09536-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How does ESG performance promote corporate green innovation?

Author

Listed:
  • Han Long

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Gen-Fu Feng

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Chun-Ping Chang

    (Shih Chien University)

Abstract

How to enhance competitive advantage and turn green commitment into practice is a problem that corporates must face under sustainable development. This research examines the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on corporate green innovation and the role digital transformation plays in it. We use a panel fixed effects model for empirical analysis based on sample data of 1070 Chinese-listed corporates from 2011 to 2020. The empirical results show that better ESG performance leads to more acquisition of green innovation by corporates. This effect is more significant under the promotion of digital transformation. The role of ESG performance and digital transformation is markedly heterogeneous across different types of corporates. Among private corporates, technology-based corporates, and ecological corporates, the improvement of green innovation by ESG performance is more apparent, and the promotion effect of digital transformation is more significant. Our findings suggest that creating conditions for corporate ESG performance improvement and digital transformation at the macro level and enhancing corporates’ subjective willingness for sustainable development and digitalization at the micro level will enable them to develop their green innovation capabilities by leaps and bounds.

Suggested Citation

  • Han Long & Gen-Fu Feng & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "How does ESG performance promote corporate green innovation?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2889-2913, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:56:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10644-023-09536-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-023-09536-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10644-023-09536-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-023-09536-2?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. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    2. Zhijun Feng & Wei Chen, 2018. "Environmental Regulation, Green Innovation, and Industrial Green Development: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Spatial Durbin Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    4. Wang, Quan-Jing & Feng, Gen-Fu & Wang, Hai-Jie & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2021. "The impacts of democracy on innovation: Revisited evidence," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Zheng, Mingbo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Jang, Chyi-Lu & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2021. "Terrorism and green innovation in renewable energy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    7. Cornaggia, Jess & Mao, Yifei & Tian, Xuan & Wolfe, Brian, 2015. "Does banking competition affect innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 189-209.
    8. Chen, Xia & Fu, Qiang & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2021. "What are the shocks of climate change on clean energy investment: A diversified exploration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Bohnsack, René & Pinkse, Jonatan & Kolk, Ans, 2014. "Business models for sustainable technologies: Exploring business model evolution in the case of electric vehicles," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 284-300.
    10. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    11. Jing-Wen Huang & Yong-Hui Li, 2017. "Green Innovation and Performance: The View of Organizational Capability and Social Reciprocity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 309-324, October.
    12. Andrew A. King & Michael J. Lenox, 2001. "Does It Really Pay to Be Green? An Empirical Study of Firm Environmental and Financial Performance: An Empirical Study of Firm Environmental and Financial Performance," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 5(1), pages 105-116, January.
    13. Yu-Shan Chen & Shyh-Bao Lai & Chao-Tung Wen, 2006. "The Influence of Green Innovation Performance on Corporate Advantage in Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 331-339, September.
    14. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten, 2016. "Corporate governance and green innovation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-72.
    15. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Post-Print halshs-02007374, HAL.
    16. Xiang Ma & Young-Seok Ock & Fengpei Wu & Zhenyang Zhang, 2022. "The Effect of Internal Control on Green Innovation: Corporate Environmental Investment as a Mediator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, February.
    17. Youmeng Wu & Hao Sun & Hongliang Sun & Chi Xie, 2022. "Impact of Public Environmental Concerns on the Digital Transformation of Heavily Polluting Enterprises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    18. Yin, Hua-Tang & Wen, Jun & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Science-technology intermediary and innovation in China: Evidence from State Administration for Market Regulation, 2000–2019," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    19. Mingbo Zheng & Gen-Fu Feng & Xinxin Zhao & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "The transaction behavior of cryptocurrency and electricity consumption," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    20. Lucrezia Songini & Luca Gnan, 2015. "Family Involvement and Agency Cost Control Mechanisms in Family Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(3), pages 748-779, July.
    21. Xie, Xuemei & Huo, Jiage & Zou, Hailiang, 2019. "Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 697-706.
    22. Yuming Zhai & Zhenghuan Cai & Han Lin & Ming Yuan & Ye Mao & Mingchuan Yu, 2022. "Does better environmental, social, and governance induce better corporate green innovation: The mediating role of financing constraints," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1513-1526, September.
    23. Xing-Yun Zou & Xin-Yu Peng & Xin-Xin Zhao & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "The impact of extreme weather events on water quality: international evidence," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(1), pages 1-21, January.
    24. Fen Zhang & Xiaonan Qin & Lina Liu, 2020. "The Interaction Effect between ESG and Green Innovation and Its Impact on Firm Value from the Perspective of Information Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, March.
    25. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    26. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2015. "Testing Weak Cross-Sectional Dependence in Large Panels," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6-10), pages 1089-1117, December.
    27. El-Kassar, Abdul-Nasser & Singh, Sanjay Kumar, 2019. "Green innovation and organizational performance: The influence of big data and the moderating role of management commitment and HR practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 483-498.
    28. Feng, Gen-Fu & Yang, Hao-Chang & Gong, Qiang & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2021. "What is the exchange rate volatility response to COVID-19 and government interventions?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 705-719.
    29. Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2014. "Financial development and innovation: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 116-135.
    30. Weian Li & Jian Xu & Minna Zheng, 2018. "Green Governance: New Perspective from Open Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.
    31. Lobschat, Lara & Mueller, Benjamin & Eggers, Felix & Brandimarte, Laura & Diefenbach, Sarah & Kroschke, Mirja & Wirtz, Jochen, 2021. "Corporate digital responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 875-888.
    32. Awan, Abdul Ghafoor & Yaqoob, Robina, 2023. "Economic value of introducing technology to improve productivity: An ARDL approach," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 2(3).
    33. Zhao, Xin-Xin & Zheng, Mingbo & Fu, Qiang, 2022. "How natural disasters affect energy innovation? The perspective of environmental sustainability," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    34. Dukangqi Li & Weitao Shen, 2021. "Can Corporate Digitalization Promote Green Innovation? The Moderating Roles of Internal Control and Institutional Ownership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    35. Duygu Turker, 2009. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Organizational Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 189-204, October.
    36. Yuan, Baolong & Cao, Xueyun, 2022. "Do corporate social responsibility practices contribute to green innovation? The mediating role of green dynamic capability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    37. Feng Zhang & Lei Zhu, 2019. "Enhancing corporate sustainable development: Stakeholder pressures, organizational learning, and green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1012-1026, September.
    38. Lijiang Jia & Xiaoli Hu & Zhongwei Zhao & Tianze Zhou & Weiming Liu & Bin He & Wei Zhang, 2022. "The Impact of Digitization on Green Innovation Performance: Evidence Based on Panel Data of 228 Prefectural-Level Cities in China," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2022, pages 1-13, July.
    39. Yang, Hao-Chang & Feng, Gen-Fu & Zhao, Xin Xin & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "The impacts of energy insecurity on green innovation: A multi-country study," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 139-154.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kun Wang & Bing Chen & Yuhong Li, 2024. "Technological, process or managerial innovation? How does digital transformation affect green innovation in industrial enterprises?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    2. Minjie Li & Mengjun Meng & Yihui Chen, 2024. "The impact of the digital economy on green innovation: the moderating role of fiscal decentralization," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-33, April.
    3. Yiming Xu & Naiping Zhu, 2024. "The Effect of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance on Corporate Financial Performance in China: Based on the Perspective of Innovation and Financial Constraints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-21, April.

    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. Wen, Jun & Zhang, Sen & Chang, Chun-Ping & Anugrah, Donni Fajar & Affandi, Yoga, 2023. "Does climate vulnerability promote green investment under energy supply restriction?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Feng, Gen-Fu & Niu, Peng & Wang, Jun-Zhuo & Liu, Jian, 2022. "Capital market liberalization and green innovation for sustainability: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 610-623.
    3. Zhang, Dan & Zheng, Mingbo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Does an environmental policy bring to green innovation in renewable energy?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1113-1124.
    4. Han Long & Gen‐Fu Feng & Qiang Gong & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2023. "ESG performance and green innovation: An investigation based on quantile regression," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 5102-5118, November.
    5. Wen, Jun & Zhao, Xin-Xin & Fu, Qiang & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "The impact of extreme weather events on green innovation: Which ones bring to the most harm?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Chen, Xia & Zhao, Xinxin & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "The shocks of natural disasters on NPLs: Global evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    7. Wang, Jun-Zhuo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Yin, Hua-Tang & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "Toward sustainable development: Does the rising oil price stimulate innovation in climate change mitigation technologies?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 569-583.
    8. Niu, Jing & Ma, Chao & Wang, Yunpeng & Chang, Chun-Ping & Wang, Haijie, 2022. "The pricing of China stock index options based on monetary policy uncertainty," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Wen, Jun & Yin, Hua-Tang & Jang, Chyi-Lu & Uchida, Hideaki & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "Does corruption hurt green innovation? Yes – Global evidence from cross-validation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    10. Wang, Quan-Jing & Peng, Xin-Yu & Wang, Hai-Jie & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "The diversity impact of democracy on forest protection: Global evidence," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Zheng, Mingbo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Wang, Quan-Jing & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2023. "Financial globalization and technological innovation: International evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).
    12. Chen, Wanling & Hu, Yao & Liu, Bei & Wang, Hui & Zheng, Mingbo, 2022. "Does the establishment of Pilot Free Trade Test Zones promote the transformation and upgradation of trade patterns?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 114-128.
    13. Wang, Quan-Jing & Wang, Hai-Jie & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Environmental performance, green finance and green innovation: What's the long-run relationships among variables?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    14. Xing-Yun Zou & Xin-Yu Peng & Xin-Xin Zhao & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "The impact of extreme weather events on water quality: international evidence," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(1), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Feng, Gen-Fu & Zheng, Mingbo, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy innovation: International evidence," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(2).
    16. Jing Zhao & Xiaoru Zuo & Chun-Ping Chang, 2023. "More economic growth with the better public health? Evidence from Western China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 1083-1112, April.
    17. Wang, Ke & Wang, Yi-Wei & Wang, Quan-Jing, 2022. "Will monetary policy affect energy security? Evidence from Asian countries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Xin‐Xin Zhao & Jun Wen & Xing‐Yun Zou & Quan‐jing Wang & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2023. "Strategies for the sustainable development of China in the post‐epidemic era," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 426-438, February.
    19. Gen‐Fu Feng & Han Long & Hai‐Jie Wang & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2022. "Environmental, social and governance, corporate social responsibility, and stock returns: What are the short‐ and long‐Run relationships?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1884-1895, September.
    20. Yang, Qi-Cheng & Zheng, Mingbo & Wang, Jun-Sheng & Wang, Yun-Peng, 2022. "The shocks of armed conflicts to renewable energy finance: Empirical evidence from cross-country data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental; social; and governance; Green innovation; Digital transformation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

    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:kap:ecopln:v:56:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10644-023-09536-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.