Green investor entry and corporate green transformation: Evidence from Chinese resource-based industry

Abstract

With the advancement of the global green development wave, corporate environmental governance has emerged as a central concern among stakeholders. Among these stakeholders, green institutional investors—as strategic capital providers—demonstrate distinct value for the green transformation of resource-intensive industries. This study examines China's A-share listed resource-based enterprises from 2015 to 2022 to systematically analyse the impact mechanisms of green investor participation on their green transformation. The findings reveal that green investor participation exerts a positive effect on the green transformation of resource-intensive industries, moderated by regional environmental regulation intensity, investor shareholding traits, corporate green strategy orientation, and industry classification. Mechanistic evidence shows that green investors significantly advance this transformation through dual channels: alleviating financing constraints and mitigating managerial myopia. Results remain robust across endogeneity tests and robustness checks. These findings offer theoretical insights for policymakers to refine green finance policies, specifically by establishing differentiated regional environmental governance systems, enhancing classification-based oversight of green investors, and innovating green financing instruments and policy portfolios to better channel capital toward the green transformation of resource-intensive industries. This research also provides practical guidance for firms to develop green investor selection criteria and strategic collaboration frameworks.