IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v82y2022icp65-81.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heterogeneous debt financing and environmental research & development: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Guo, Chun
  • Su, Wunhong
  • Song, Xiaobao
  • Hu, Xingxing

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between heterogeneous debt financing and environmental research and development (R&D) based on debt heterogeneity hypothesis using Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2019. Results show that firms with higher trade credit are more likely to engage in environmental R&D, while firms with more bank credit unlikely conduct environmental R&D. Bank credit restrains firms' environmental R&D through aggravating its financing constraints, and trade credit stimulates firms' environmental R&D by increasing its excess cash holdings. Considering firms heterogeneity, the negative effect of state-owned firms' bank credit on environmental R&D is more pronounced than that of non-state-owned firms. In contrast, trade credit's positive impact on environmental R&D only exists in state-owned firms. Further researches suggest that the Environment Protection Law promotes firms to engage in environmental R&D, but it only weakens the relationship between bank credit and environmental R&D. The study reveals that heterogeneous debt financing can exert different effects on environmental R&D, which expands theoretical connotation of the debt heterogeneity hypothesis, and enriches the literature on environmental R&D.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Chun & Su, Wunhong & Song, Xiaobao & Hu, Xingxing, 2022. "Heterogeneous debt financing and environmental research & development: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 65-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:82:y:2022:i:c:p:65-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2022.06.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056022001563
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2022.06.002?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. Zhang, Rongrong, 2020. "Trade credit, cash holdings, and product market competition," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 132-146.
    2. Lin, Tsung-Te & Chou, Jian-Hsin, 2015. "Trade credit and bank loan: Evidence from Chinese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 17-29.
    3. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1997. "Trade Credit: Theories and Evidence," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(3), pages 661-691.
    4. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    5. Her-Jiun Sheu & Shiou-Ying Lee, 2012. "Excess cash holdings and investment: the moderating roles of financial constraints and managerial entrenchment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52, pages 287-310, October.
    6. Mike Burkart & Tore Ellingsen, 2004. "In-Kind Finance: A Theory of Trade Credit," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 569-590, June.
    7. Sanjeev Kumar & K. S. Ranjani, 2018. "Financial constraints and investment decisions of listed Indian manufacturing firms," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Mingfeng Tang & Grace Walsh & Daniel Lerner & Markus A. Fitza & Qiaohua Li, 2018. "Green Innovation, Managerial Concern and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 39-51, January.
    9. Ni, Jian & Chu, Lap Keung & Li, Qiang, 2017. "Capacity decisions with debt financing: The effects of agency problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 261(3), pages 1158-1169.
    10. Ting Luo & Jianqiao Yu, 2019. "Friends along supply chain and relationship-specific investments," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 895-931, October.
    11. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    12. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Monika Schnitzer, 2013. "Financial Constraints And Innovation: Why Poor Countries Don'T Catch Up," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(5), pages 1115-1152, October.
    13. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    14. Juhyun Jung & Kathleen Herbohn & Peter Clarkson, 2018. "Carbon Risk, Carbon Risk Awareness and the Cost of Debt Financing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 1151-1171, July.
    15. Shantanu Banerjee & Sudipto Dasgupta & Yungsan Kim, 2008. "Buyer–Supplier Relationships and the Stakeholder Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2507-2552, October.
    16. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    17. Inessa Love, 2003. "Financial Development and Financing Constraints: International Evidence from the Structural Investment Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 765-791, July.
    18. Berger, Ron & Herstein, Ram & Silbiger, Avi & Barnes, Bradley R., 2018. "Is guanxi universal in China? Some evidence of a paradoxical shift," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 344-355.
    19. Chung, Henry F.L. & Yang, Zhilin & Huang, Pei-How, 2015. "How does organizational learning matter in strategic business performance? The contingency role of guanxi networking," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1216-1224.
    20. Kemp, René & Pontoglio, Serena, 2011. "The innovation effects of environmental policy instruments — A typical case of the blind men and the elephant?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 28-36.
    21. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    22. Yang, Xiaolou, 2011. "Trade credit versus bank credit: Evidence from corporate inventory financing," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 419-434.
    23. Wunhong Su & Xiaobao Song & Chun Guo, 2020. "Research and development investment and operational performance of listed small and medium-sized enterprises in China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(54), pages 5936-5948, November.
    24. Jiang, Fuxiu & Kim, Kenneth A. & Nofsinger, John R. & Zhu, Bing, 2015. "Product market competition and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 196-210.
    25. Wiesmeth, Hans, 2020. "Stakeholder engagement for environmental innovations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 310-320.
    26. Ghisetti, Claudia & Pontoni, Federico, 2015. "Investigating policy and R&D effects on environmental innovation: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 57-66.
    27. Hirth, Stefan & Viswanatha, Marc, 2011. "Financing constraints, cash-flow risk, and corporate investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1496-1509.
    28. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Askenazy & Nicolas Berman & Gilbert Cette & Laurent Eymard, 2012. "Credit Constraints And The Cyclicality Of R&D Investment: Evidence From France," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(5), pages 1001-1024, October.
    29. Muhammad Nadeem & Stephen Bahadar & Ammar Ali Gull & Umer Iqbal, 2020. "Are women eco‐friendly? Board gender diversity and environmental innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3146-3161, December.
    30. Siqi Zheng & Matthew E. Kahn, 2017. "A New Era of Pollution Progress in Urban China?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 71-92, Winter.
    31. Bhuiyan, Md Borhan Uddin & Hooks, Jill, 2019. "Cash holding and over-investment behavior in firms with problem directors," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 35-51.
    32. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Leonidou, Constantinos N. & Fotiadis, Thomas A. & Zeriti, Athina, 2013. "Resources and capabilities as drivers of hotel environmental marketing strategy: Implications for competitive advantage and performance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 94-110.
    33. Luigi Aldieri & Maxim Kotsemir & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2020. "The role of environmental innovation through the technological proximity in the implementation of the sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 493-502, February.
    34. Aghion, Philippe & Angeletos, George-Marios & Banerjee, Abhijit & Manova, Kalina, 2010. "Volatility and growth: Credit constraints and the composition of investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 246-265, April.
    35. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    36. Xingqiang Du & Jianying Weng & Quan Zeng & Yingying Chang & Hongmei Pei, 2017. "Do Lenders Applaud Corporate Environmental Performance? Evidence from Chinese Private-Owned Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 179-207, June.
    37. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    38. Li, Yuanhui & Li, Xiao & Xiang, Erwei & Geri Djajadikerta, Hadrian, 2020. "Financial distress, internal control, and earnings management: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    39. Zhiqi Chen & Xiaoqiao Wang, 2020. "Specific investment, supplier vulnerability and profit risks," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(9-10), pages 1215-1237, October.
    40. Chod, Jiri & Lyandres, Evgeny & Yang, S. Alex, 2019. "Trade credit and supplier competition," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 484-505.
    41. Chen Chen & Li Li & Mary L.Z. Ma, 2014. "Product market competition and the cost of equity capital: evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 227-261, September.
    42. S. Alex Yang & John R. Birge, 2018. "Trade Credit, Risk Sharing, and Inventory Financing Portfolios," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3667-3689, August.
    43. Himmelberg, Charles P & Petersen, Bruce C, 1994. "R&D and Internal Finance: A Panel Study of Small Firms in High-Tech Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 38-51, February.
    44. Megginson, William L. & Ullah, Barkat & Wei, Zuobao, 2014. "State ownership, soft-budget constraints, and cash holdings: Evidence from China’s privatized firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 276-291.
    45. Sanjeev Kumar & K. S. Ranjani, 2018. "Financial Constraints and Cash Flow Sensitivity to Investment in Indian Listed Manufacturing Firms," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Taufiq Choudhry & Jacek Mizerka (ed.), Contemporary Trends in Accounting, Finance and Financial Institutions, pages 57-69, Springer.
    46. Nishant Dass & Jayant R. Kale & Vikram Nanda, 2015. "Trade Credit, Relationship-specific Investment, and Product Market Power," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 19(5), pages 1867-1923.
    47. Aghion, P. & Askenazy, P. & Berman, N. & Cette, G. & Eymard, L., 2008. "Credit Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment: Evidence from France," Working papers 198, Banque de France.
    48. Zhongju Liao, 2020. "Is environmental innovation conducive to corporate financing? The moderating role of advertising expenditures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 954-961, March.
    49. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    50. Dhaliwal, Dan & Judd, J. Scott & Serfling, Matthew & Shaikh, Sarah, 2016. "Customer concentration risk and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 23-48.
    51. Costa-Campi, M.T. & García-Quevedo, J. & Martínez-Ros, E., 2017. "What are the determinants of investment in environmental R&D?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 455-465.
    52. Liu, Huan & Hou, Canran, 2019. "Does trade credit alleviate stock price synchronicity? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 141-155.
    53. Michael E. Porter & Claas van der Linde, 1995. "Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 97-118, Fall.
    54. Cole, Rebel A. & Sokolyk, Tatyana, 2018. "Debt financing, survival, and growth of start-up firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 609-625.
    55. Lee, Chang Hwan & Rhee, Byong-Duk, 2011. "Trade credit for supply chain coordination," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 214(1), pages 136-146, October.
    56. Panos Kouvelis & Wenhui Zhao, 2012. "Financing the Newsvendor: Supplier vs. Bank, and the Structure of Optimal Trade Credit Contracts," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(3), pages 566-580, June.
    57. Ebers, Mark & Semrau, Thorsten, 2015. "What drives the allocation of specific investments between buyer and supplier?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 415-424.
    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. Qiao, Penghua & Liu, Siting & Fung, Hung-Gay & Wang, Chen, 2024. "Corporate green innovation in a digital economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 870-883.
    2. Ren, Yi-Shuai & Derouiche, Imen & Hassan, Majdi & Liu, Pei-Zhi, 2024. "Do creditors price climate transition risks? A natural experiment based on China's carbon emission trading scheme," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 138-155.

    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. Wunhong Su & Chun Guo & Xiaobao Song, 2022. "Media coverage, Environment Protection Law and environmental research and development: evidence from the Chinese-listed firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6953-6983, May.
    2. Georgios Efthyvoulou & Priit Vahter, 2016. "Financial Constraints, Innovation Performance and Sectoral Disaggregation," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 84(2), pages 125-158, March.
    3. He, Yiqing & Ding, Xin & Yang, Chuchu, 2021. "Do environmental regulations and financial constraints stimulate corporate technological innovation? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Martinsson, Gustav, 2009. "Finance and R&D Investments - is there a debt overhang effect on R&D investments?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 174, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    5. Martinsson, Gustav, 2008. "Firm Collateral and the Cyclicality of Knowledge Intensity," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 134, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    6. Falavigna, Greta & Ippoliti, Roberto, 2023. "SMEs’ behavior under financial constraints: An empirical investigation on the legal environment and the substitution effect with tax arrears," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Amess, Kevin & Banerji, Sanjay & Lampousis, Athanasios, 2015. "Corporate cash holdings: Causes and consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-433.
    8. Hanna Hottenrott & Bettina Peters, 2012. "Innovative Capability and Financing Constraints for Innovation: More Money, More Innovation?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1126-1142, November.
    9. Tian, Jinfang & Sun, Siyang & Cao, Wei & Bu, Di & Xue, Rui, 2024. "Make every dollar count: The impact of green credit regulation on corporate green investment efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Giovanni Dosi & Mauro Napoletano & Andrea Roventini & Tania Treibich, 2017. "Micro and macro policies in the Keynes+Schumpeter evolutionary models," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 63-90, January.
    11. Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Taylor, Mark P. & Wang, Zigan & Xu, Qi, 2022. "Currency volatility and global technological innovation," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    12. Zhang, Xiang & Zhang, Zongyi & Zhou, Han, 2020. "Oil price uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Suzuki, Keishun, 2020. "Patent Puzzle, Inflation, and Internal Financial Constraint," MPRA Paper 101937, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Sasidharan, Subash & Jijo Lukose, P.J. & Komera, Surenderrao, 2015. "Financing constraints and investments in R&D: Evidence from Indian manufacturing firms," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 28-39.
    15. Yasin Alan & Vishal Gaur, 2018. "Operational Investment and Capital Structure Under Asset-Based Lending," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 637-654, October.
    16. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Jiri Chod, 2017. "Inventory, Risk Shifting, and Trade Credit," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(10), pages 3207-3225, October.
    18. Giebel, Marek & Kraft, Kornelius, 2020. "R&D investment under financing constraints," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-018, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Maskus, Keith E. & Neumann, Rebecca & Seidel, Tobias, 2012. "How national and international financial development affect industrial R&D," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 72-83.
    20. Audretsch, David B. & Weigand, Jurgen, 2005. "Do knowledge conditions make a difference?: Investment, finance and ownership in German industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 595-613, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental research and development; Heterogeneous debt financing; Bank credit; Debt heterogeneity hypothesis; Trade credit; Property right; Environment protection law;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    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:eee:reveco:v:82:y:2022:i:c:p:65-81. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    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.