To explore or exploit for legitimacy: The effect of retail investor environmental concern on corporate green technological innovation

IF 10.9 1区管理学 Q1 ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL

Technovation Pub Date : 2025-09-08 DOI:10.1016/j.technovation.2025.103359

Yanmin Shao , Kunliang Xu , Xunpeng Shi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the impact of retail investor environmental concern (RIEC) on corporate exploratory and exploitative green technological innovation (GTI) within a theoretical underpinning centred on organisational legitimacy. The study posits that firms encountering an increased RIEC will encounter heightened environmental legitimacy pressure, facilitating their GTI participation. The cost-effectiveness of gaining legitimacy and the significance of breakthrough outcomes in proving environmental governance determination may lead firms to participate in both exploitative and exploratory GTI. Moreover, firms in competitive industries are anticipated to be more sensitive to legitimacy pressure from RIEC, thereby participating more in GTI. This study further argues that exploratory GTI holds greater potential in proving legitimacy and distinguishing firms from competitors. Thus, the impact of industry competitive intensity is more pronounced in enhancing the association between RIEC and exploratory GTI instead of exploitative GTI. Utilising a sample of 995 firms listed on the Chinese A-share market during 2010–2022, this study proposes a text-based measure of RIEC and validates the above conjecture. The findings provide valuable implications for stakeholders seeking to utilise RIEC in managing corporate GTI.

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探索或利用合法性：散户投资者的环境关注对企业绿色技术创新的影响

本研究以组织合法性为理论基础，探讨了散户投资者环境关注（RIEC）对企业探索性和剥削性绿色技术创新（GTI）的影响。该研究认为，企业面临的RIEC增加将面临更高的环境合法性压力，从而促进其参与GTI。获得合法性的成本效益和证明环境治理决心的突破性成果的重要性可能导致企业参与剥削性和探索性GTI。此外，预计竞争行业的公司对RIEC的合法性压力更敏感，从而更多地参与GTI。本研究进一步认为，探索性GTI在证明合法性和区分企业与竞争对手方面具有更大的潜力。因此，产业竞争强度的影响更明显地增强了RIEC与探索性GTI之间的联系，而不是开发性GTI。本研究以2010-2022年中国a股995家上市公司为样本，提出了一种基于文本的RIEC度量方法，并验证了上述猜想。研究结果为寻求利用RIEC管理公司GTI的利益相关者提供了有价值的启示。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Technovation 管理科学-工程：工业

CiteScore

15.10

自引率

11.20%

发文量

208

审稿时长

91 days

期刊介绍： The interdisciplinary journal Technovation covers various aspects of technological innovation, exploring processes, products, and social impacts. It examines innovation in both process and product realms, including social innovations like regulatory frameworks and non-economic benefits. Topics range from emerging trends and capital for development to managing technology-intensive ventures and innovation in organizations of different sizes. It also discusses organizational structures, investment strategies for science and technology enterprises, and the roles of technological innovators. Additionally, it addresses technology transfer between developing countries and innovation across enterprise, political, and economic systems.