IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v27y2020i6p2735-2750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Confession or justification: The effects of environmental disclosure on corporate green innovation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaojian Xiang
  • Chuanjiang Liu
  • Mian Yang
  • Xiaomeng Zhao

Abstract

As one type of voluntary environmental regulations, environmental disclosure plays an important role in promoting sustainable development of enterprises by enhancing their environmental awareness. Based on the social responsibility and annual reports published by heavily polluting listed companies in China between 2007 and 2016, this article investigates their environmental disclosure and assesses the impact on their green innovation activities as well as its influence mechanisms. Text analysis is used to measure the environmental disclosure by way of three dimensions including environmental investment and management, environmental supervision and agency certification, and environmental performance and governance. The results of the Poisson regression model for panel data show that environmental disclosure has significantly encouraged green innovations carried out by heavily polluting listed companies in China during the past decade and this result is consistent with a variety of robustness checks. Besides, the mediation effect test demonstrates that environmental disclosure stimulated green innovations of heavily polluting listed companies by expanding their financing channels, promoting their product sales, and raising media attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaojian Xiang & Chuanjiang Liu & Mian Yang & Xiaomeng Zhao, 2020. "Confession or justification: The effects of environmental disclosure on corporate green innovation in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2735-2750, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:6:p:2735-2750
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1998
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1998
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1998?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olaf Weber, 2014. "Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(5), pages 303-317, July.
    2. 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.
    3. Dirk Czarnitzki & Hanna Hottenrott, 2011. "R&D investment and financing constraints of small and medium-sized firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 65-83, January.
    4. Aerts, Walter & Cormier, Denis, 2009. "Media legitimacy and corporate environmental communication," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-27, January.
    5. Luong, Hoang & Moshirian, Fariborz & Nguyen, Lily & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui, 2017. "How Do Foreign Institutional Investors Enhance Firm Innovation?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 1449-1490, August.
    6. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & David Popp, 2010. "Renewable Energy Policies and Technological Innovation: Evidence Based on Patent Counts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 45(1), pages 133-155, January.
    7. Fischer, Carolyn & Newell, Richard G., 2008. "Environmental and technology policies for climate mitigation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 142-162, March.
    8. Marzucchi, Alberto & Montresor, Sandro, 2017. "Forms of knowledge and eco-innovation modes: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 208-221.
    9. Gurmu, Shiferaw & Trivedi, Pravin K, 1996. "Excess Zeros in Count Models for Recreational Trips," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 14(4), pages 469-477, October.
    10. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    11. Takahiko Kiso, 2019. "Environmental Policy and Induced Technological Change: Evidence from Automobile Fuel Economy Regulations," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(2), pages 785-810, October.
    12. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    13. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    14. Johnstone, Nick & Labonne, Julien, 2009. "Why do manufacturing facilities introduce environmental management systems? Improving and/or signaling performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 719-730, January.
    15. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    16. Wojciech Przychodzen & Dante I. Leyva‐de la Hiz & Justyna Przychodzen, 2020. "First‐mover advantages in green innovation—Opportunities and threats for financial performance: A longitudinal analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 339-357, January.
    17. Bhandari, Avishek & Javakhadze, David, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and capital allocation efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 354-377.
    18. Zhihua Cheng & Feng Wang & Christine Keung & Yongxiu Bai, 2017. "Will Corporate Political Connection Influence the Environmental Information Disclosure Level? Based on the Panel Data of A-Shares from Listed Companies in Shanghai Stock Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 209-221, June.
    19. Kenneth R. Ahern & Denis Sosyura, 2015. "Rumor Has It: Sensationalism in Financial Media," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(7), pages 2050-2093.
    20. Wiseman, Joanne, 1982. "An evaluation of environmental disclosures made in corporate annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 53-63, January.
    21. Aseem Kaul, 2012. "Technology and Corporate Scope: Firm and Rival Innovation as Antecedents of Corporate Transactions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 347-367, April.
    22. Lu, Bingbin, 2013. "Expedited patent examination for green inventions: Developing countries' policy choices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1529-1538.
    23. Weiwei Wu & Zhou Liang & Qi Zhang, 2020. "Effects of corporate environmental responsibility strength and concern on innovation performance: The moderating role of firm visibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1487-1497, May.
    24. William H. Greene, 1994. "Accounting for Excess Zeros and Sample Selection in Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression Models," Working Papers 94-10, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    25. David Popp, 2002. "Induced Innovation and Energy Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 160-180, March.
    26. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas & Ankele, Kathrin & Hoffmann, Esther, 2006. "The influence of different characteristics of the EU environmental management and auditing scheme on technical environmental innovations and economic performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 45-59, April.
    27. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    28. Dennis M. Patten, 2002. "Media exposure, public policy pressure, and environmental disclosure: an examination of the impact of tri data availability," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 152-171, June.
    29. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation: A patent analysis of energy-efficient technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 799-819.
    30. Daniel Kouloukoui & Ângelo Marcio Oliveira Sant'Anna & Sônia Maria da Silva Gomes & Marcia Mara de Oliveira Marinho & Pieter de Jong & Asher Kiperstok & Ednildo Andrade Torres, 2019. "Factors influencing the level of environmental disclosures in sustainability reports: Case of climate risk disclosure by Brazilian companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 791-804, July.
    31. Wang, Yanbing & Delgado, Michael S. & Khanna, Neha & Bogan, Vicki L., 2019. "Good news for environmental self-regulation? Finding the right link," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 217-235.
    32. Haakon Vennemo & Kristin Aunan & Henrik Lindhjem & Hans Martin Seip, 2009. "Environmental Pollution in China: Status and Trends," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 3(2), pages 209-230, Summer.
    33. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    34. Albino, Vito & Ardito, Lorenzo & Dangelico, Rosa Maria & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2014. "Understanding the development trends of low-carbon energy technologies: A patent analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 836-854.
    35. Emmanuelle Negre & Marie-Anne Verdier & Charles H. Cho & Dennis Patten, 2017. "Disclosure strategies and investor reactions to downsizing announcements: A legitimacy perspective," Post-Print halshs-01698634, HAL.
    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. Yufeng Xia & Peisen Liu, 2022. "Does Bank Competition Promote Corporate Green Innovation? Evidence from the Location of Bank Branches," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(2), pages 84-116, March.
    2. Fan Xia & Jiaying Chen & Xue Yang & Xiaoliang Li & Bing Zhang, 2023. "Financial constraints and corporate greenwashing strategies in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1770-1781, July.
    3. Wang, Moran & Li, Xuerong & Wang, Shouyang, 2021. "Discovering research trends and opportunities of green finance and energy policy: A data-driven scientometric analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    4. Ruiqian Li & Guanghua Xu & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan, 2022. "The impact of environmental investments on green innovation: An integration of factors that increase or decrease uncertainty," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3388-3405, November.
    5. Die Wu & Shuzhen Zhu & Aftab Ahmed Memon & Hafeezullah Memon, 2020. "Financial Attributes, Environmental Performance, and Environmental Disclosure in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Haiyue Liu & Cangyu Wang & Qin Zhang & Changyi Zhao & Jie Jiang, 2023. "The greening effects of regional innovation symbiosis – Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 141-160, March.
    7. Kopyrina, Olga & Wu, Kai & Ying, Zhanyu, 2023. "Greening through central inspection: The role of legitimacy pressure and risk-taking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Xiao, Fu, 2022. "How does information and communication technology affect renewable energy technology innovation? International evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 546-557.
    9. Fengyan Wang & Ziyuan Sun, 2022. "Does the Environmental Regulation Intensity and ESG Performance Have a Substitution Effect on the Impact of Enterprise Green Innovation: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-24, July.
    10. William Mbanyele, 2022. "Firms' innovation strategy under the shadow of corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(2), pages 339-355, March.
    11. Weijia Zhuo, 2023. "Environmental regulation and corporate sustainability: Evidence from green innovation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1723-1737, July.
    12. Jing Claire Li & Abdelhafid Benamraoui & Neeta Shah & Sudha Mathew, 2021. "Dynamic Capability and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Adoption: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, May.
    13. Changchun Zhu & Na Li & Jing Ma, 2023. "Environmental backgrounds of CEOs and corporate environmental management information disclosure: The mediating effects of financing constraints and media attention," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2885-2905, November.
    14. Antonio Corvino & Silvio Bianchi Martini & Federica Doni, 2021. "Extinction accounting and accountability: Empirical evidence from the west European tissue industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2556-2570, July.
    15. Bin Yan Ding & Feng Wei, 2022. "Executive resume information disclosure and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3593-3610, December.
    16. Ding, Jinxiu & Lu, Zhe & Yu, Chin-Hsien, 2022. "Environmental information disclosure and firms’ green innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 147-159.
    17. Shilei Wu & Hongjie Zhang & Taoyuan Wei, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure, Media Reports, and Enterprise Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Xinyue Hao & Fanglin Chen & Zhongfei Chen, 2022. "Does green innovation increase enterprise value?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1232-1247, March.
    19. Huang, Yuhong & Gao, Yajia, 2023. "Labor protection and the digital transformation of enterprises: Empirical evidence from China's social insurance law," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    20. Haidong Li & Ziming Qian & Shanyong Wang & Jing Wang & Qian Wang, 2023. "Do green concerns promote corporate green innovation? Evidence from Chinese stock exchange interactive platforms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1786-1801, April.
    21. Abdoul G. Sam & Danbee Song, 2022. "Corporate environmentalism and international trade: Evidence from industry‐level data," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1440-1455, September.
    22. Qiezeng Yuan, 2021. "How to Restrain Regulatory Capture and Promote Green Innovation in China. An Analysis Based on Evolutionary Game Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-20, August.

    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. Xiang, Xiaojian & Liu, Chuanjiang & Yang, Mian, 2022. "Who is financing corporate green innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 321-337.
    2. Fabrizi, Andrea & Guarini, Giulio & Meliciani, Valentina, 2018. "Green patents, regulatory policies and research network policies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 1018-1031.
    3. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    4. Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2019. "Academic Inventors and the Antecedents of Green Technologies. A Regional Analysis of Italian Patent Data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 247-263.
    5. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Roberto Zoboli, 2011. "Enviromental Innovations, Complementarity and Local/Global Cooperation," Working Papers 201104, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    6. Marin, Giovanni, 2014. "Do eco-innovations harm productivity growth through crowding out? Results of an extended CDM model for Italy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 301-317.
    7. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    8. Ren, Shenggang & Hu, Yucai & Zheng, Jingjing & Wang, Yangjie, 2020. "Emissions trading and firm innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    9. Grafström, Jonas & Poudineh, Rahmat, 2023. "No evidence of counteracting policy effects on European solar power invention and diffusion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    10. 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.
    11. Elijido-Ten, Evangeline, 2011. "Media coverage and voluntary environmental disclosures: A developing country exploratory experiment," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 139-157.
    12. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Sandro Montresor, 2012. "Environmental Innovations, Local Networks and Internationalization," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 697-734, November.
    13. Rik L. Rozendaal & Herman R. J. Vollebergh, 2021. "Policy-Induced Innovation in Clean Technologies: Evidence from the Car Market," CESifo Working Paper Series 9422, CESifo.
    14. Nicolò Barbieri & Claudia Ghisetti & Marianna Gilli & Giovanni Marin & Francesco Nicolli, 2016. "A Survey Of The Literature On Environmental Innovation Based On Main Path Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 596-623, July.
    15. Lazkano, Itziar & Nøstbakken, Linda & Pelli, Martino, 2017. "From fossil fuels to renewables: The role of electricity storage," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 113-129.
    16. Guidry, Ronald P. & Patten, Dennis M., 2012. "Voluntary disclosure theory and financial control variables: An assessment of recent environmental disclosure research," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 81-90.
    17. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Simone Borghesi, 2012. "The European Emission Trading Scheme and environmental innovation diffusion: Empirical analyses using Italian CIS data," Working Papers 201201, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    18. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation: A patent analysis of energy-efficient technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 799-819.
    19. Linyan Fan & Sheng Yao, 2022. "Analyst Site Visits and Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Camélia Radu & Claude Francoeur, 2017. "Does Innovation Drive Environmental Disclosure? A New Insight into Sustainable Development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 893-911, November.

    More about this item

    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:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:6:p:2735-2750. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.