Signaling role of finance in the relationship between environmental regulation and firm green innovation.

IF 8.4 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Journal of Environmental Management Pub Date : 2025-09-29 DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.127461

Hongyu Li, Junjie Wu, Zhiqiang Lu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper investigates the signaling role of finance in shaping the relationship between China's New Environmental Protection Law (NEPL) and firm-level green innovation, drawing on the "Signaling View" framework. Leveraging the NEPL as a quasi-natural experiment and utilizing data from Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2020, our findings reveal that firms significantly increased their green innovation post-NEPL. Firms, especially those in high-polluting industries, utilized green patents as strategic signals to demonstrate environmental responsibility, enhance reputation, and reduce financing costs. Green patent applications and acquisitions increased by 14.5 % and 15.7 %, respectively, in these sectors. The signaling effect is more substantial among larger firms and those with greater media exposure, highlighting the role of public scrutiny in motivating environmental compliance. Further analysis reveals broader benefits of green signaling, including improved media sentiment, higher ESG scores, and lower debt financing costs. Our findings emphasize the synergistic role of finance and policy in advancing green innovation through the signaling effect.

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金融在环境规制与企业绿色创新关系中的信号作用。

本文借鉴“信号观”框架，研究了金融在中国新环境保护法与企业绿色创新之间关系形成中的信号作用。利用2010 - 2020年中国上市公司的数据，利用NEPL作为准自然实验，我们发现在NEPL实施后，企业的绿色创新显著增加。企业，特别是高污染行业的企业，利用绿色专利作为展示环境责任、提高声誉和降低融资成本的战略信号。这些领域的绿色专利申请和收购分别增长了14.5%和15.7%。这种信号效应在大公司和媒体曝光率较高的公司中更为显著，突出了公众监督在激励环境遵守方面的作用。进一步的分析揭示了绿色信号的更广泛好处，包括改善媒体情绪、提高ESG得分和降低债务融资成本。我们的研究结果强调了金融和政策通过信号效应促进绿色创新的协同作用。

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

Journal of Environmental Management 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

13.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

2477

审稿时长

84 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Environmental Management is a journal for the publication of peer reviewed, original research for all aspects of management and the managed use of the environment, both natural and man-made.Critical review articles are also welcome; submission of these is strongly encouraged.