Strategic or substantive: The role of green finance in shaping enterprise green innovation

IF 5.6 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

International Review of Economics & Finance Pub Date : 2025-09-19 DOI:10.1016/j.iref.2025.104636

Qi Qin , Da Gao , Linfang Tan

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Abstract

As an essential driver of sustainable development, green finance (GF) is crucial in improving firms' green innovation (GI). However, whether green finance primarily influences strategic or substantive GI remains unclear. Based on institutional theory and principal-agent theory, this study investigates the influence of GF on both strategic and substantive GI performance in China's A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020. This study also analyzes the moderating role of internal and external corporate governance factors. The results show that GF significantly promotes strategic GI performance, while the relationship between GF and substantive GI performance exhibits an inverted U-shaped pattern. In addition, environmental regulation and managers' environmental concerns negatively moderate the relationship between GF and strategic GI performance, but positively moderate the relationship between GF and substantive GI performance. Further, GI positively affects both enterprises' green and economic performance, although the improvement in economic performance is relatively slow. This study provides policymakers with theoretical foundations and practical guidance in formulating effective environmental policies.

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战略性还是实质性：绿色金融在塑造企业绿色创新中的作用

绿色金融作为可持续发展的重要驱动力，在提高企业绿色创新水平方面发挥着重要作用。然而，绿色金融主要影响的是战略地理标志还是实质性地理标志，目前尚不清楚。基于制度理论和委托代理理论，本文研究了2010 - 2020年中国a股上市公司GF对战略和实质性GI绩效的影响。本文还分析了公司内部治理因素和外部治理因素的调节作用。结果表明：GF显著促进了战略GI绩效，而GF与实质性GI绩效呈倒u型关系；此外，环境法规和管理者的环境关注负向调节GF与战略GI绩效之间的关系，但正向调节GF与实质性GI绩效之间的关系。此外，GI对企业的绿色绩效和经济绩效都有正向影响，尽管经济绩效的改善相对缓慢。本研究为决策者制定有效的环境政策提供了理论依据和实践指导。

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

International Review of Economics & Finance Multiple-

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

2.20%

发文量

253

期刊介绍： The International Review of Economics & Finance (IREF) is a scholarly journal devoted to the publication of high quality theoretical and empirical articles in all areas of international economics, macroeconomics and financial economics. Contributions that facilitate the communications between the real and the financial sectors of the economy are of particular interest.