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Environmental Regulations and Corporate Green Innovation in China: The Role of City Leaders’ Promotion Pressure

Author

Listed:
  • Le Yang

    (Department of Public Finance, School of Public Finance and Taxation, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Jiahao Zhang

    (Department of Administration, College of Philosophy, Law& Political Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 201418, China)

  • Yufeng Zhang

    (Department of Finance, Finance and Economics School, Jimei University, Xiamen 361031, China)

Abstract

China and other emerging market countries have suffered from the problem of environmental pollution while developing rapidly in the past few decades. In recent years, many countries have introduced strict environmental regulations in order to achieve sustainable development. This paper discusses the relationship between environmental regulations and corporate green innovation from the perspective of regional leaders’ promotion pressure. The empirical results show that direct policy regulation within the region stimulates green innovation on the part of enterprises, and the promotion pressure of city leaders has a further positive moderating effect on the positive correlation between environmental regulations and enterprises’ green innovation. The conclusion of the study proves that a strict environmental policy can promote the effectiveness of an environmental performance appraisal system in the sustainable development plans of cities and enterprises. This paper not only reveals the influence path of official promotion pressure on the sustainable development of enterprises in the administrative area from the micro perspective but also sheds some light that may improve government governance and promote the transformation of enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Le Yang & Jiahao Zhang & Yufeng Zhang, 2021. "Environmental Regulations and Corporate Green Innovation in China: The Role of City Leaders’ Promotion Pressure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:15:p:7774-:d:599278
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    4. Yue Zhu & Ziyuan Sun & Shiyu Zhang & Xiaolin Wang, 2021. "Economic Policy Uncertainty, Environmental Regulation, and Green Innovation—An Empirical Study Based on Chinese High-Tech Enterprises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Shuang Meng & Huan Yan & Jiajie Yu, 2022. "Global Value Chain Participation and Green Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-17, July.
    6. Melike Bildirici & Yasemin Asu Çırpıcı & Özgür Ömer Ersin, 2023. "Effects of Technology, Energy, Monetary, and Fiscal Policies on the Relationship between Renewable and Fossil Fuel Energies and Environmental Pollution: Novel NBARDL and Causality Analyses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-27, October.
    7. Khwaja Naveed & Fahad Khalid & Cosmina Lelia Voinea, 2023. "Board gender diversity and corporate green innovation: An industry‐level institutional perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 755-772, March.
    8. Weizhou Su & Gaowen Lei & Sidai Guo & Hongche Dan, 2022. "Study on the Influence Mechanism of Environmental Management System Certification on Enterprise Green Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Ying Ying & Shanyue Jin, 2024. "Impact of Environmental Regulation on Corporate Green Technological Innovation: The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance and Environmental Information Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-17, April.
    10. Haijie Wang & Yong Geng & Jingxue Zhang & Xiqiang Xia & Yanchao Feng, 2021. "Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zone, Air Pollution Reduction, and Political Promotion Tournament in China: Empirical Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-12, November.
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