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ESG performance and green innovation in new energy enterprises: Does institutional environment matter?

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  • Wang, Miao
  • Wang, Yiduo
  • Wen, Shouxun

Abstract

As the demand for sustainable production grows across Chinese society, heightened attention is being paid to new energy enterprises with superior green innovation capabilities in the current environment. Given the considerable importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance to business operations, we use a sample of 192 Chinese A-share listed new energy enterprises from 2009 to 2022 to investigate the impact of ESG performance on green innovation from the institutional environment perspective. The empirical findings indicate that ESG performance and the institutional environment significantly contribute to facilitating new energy enterprises’ green innovation and the institutional environment can strengthen the promoting effect of ESG performance on green innovation. In addition, ESG performance and the institutional environment can have a significant influence on promoting green innovation in non-state-owned enterprises and new energy enterprises of all sizes, while the moderating effect of the institutional environment only has a positive influence on non-state-owned and large new energy enterprises. Finally, comparing the discrepancy between new energy enterprises’ substantive and strategic green innovation, ESG performance, institutional environment and its optimisation effect tend towards the former.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Miao & Wang, Yiduo & Wen, Shouxun, 2024. "ESG performance and green innovation in new energy enterprises: Does institutional environment matter?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:71:y:2024:i:c:s0275531924002885
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102495
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