Private construction businesses have grown quickly, greatly boosting China’s economic growth; nonetheless, these businesses suffer tremendous developmental uncertainty, particularly when compared to larger state-owned businesses. The traits of the top management team (TMT) may have a direct impact on how risk-taking and decision-making behaviors are exhibited by businesses, according to earlier studies. The majority of private construction companies in China are family businesses with family members making up the majority of their top executives. As a result, these companies are vulnerable to family centralization, which will definitely boost their risk-taking level. This study used a sample of private listed companies in China’s construction industry from 2009 to 2019 to explore the impact of CEO traits on the risk-taking degree of enterprises. The findings show that a higher percentage of top female managers and a higher average rate of TMT member both lower the level of risk taking in private construction businesses. The level of risk taking, however, is positively impacted by the top management’s higher average education level. The average tenure and overseas experience of TMTs and the degree of risk taking in private construction enterprises are not significantly correlated. Additionally, the degree of risk taking in private construction firms can vary depending on the qualities of the senior management team.

Sustainable development, epitomized by green innovation, is increasingly emerging as a pivotal force propelling economic ecosystems and environmental conservation efforts. It plays a vital role in addressing the environmental challenges epitomized by the Kuznets curve conundrum. As a pivotal theoretical determinant in fostering green innovation practices within firms, the extent of influence and the underlying mechanism of top executives’ educational backgrounds have not been adequately examined through empirical research. This study investigates the influence of executives’ educational attainment on corporate green innovation, examining the relationship from the perspectives of risk assumption and corporate social responsibility. The results of our analysis are as follows: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between the educational level of executives and the incidence of green technological innovation within firms. (2) Executives with overseas backgrounds make a substantial contribution to both green technological and green management innovation. (3) The examination of mediation effects reveals that risk bearing plays a partial mediation role in the process through which executives’ educational background influences green technological innovation. Additionally, corporate social responsibility functions as a partial mediation factor.

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Aiming to clarify the impact of China’s green finance reform policy on corporate sustainable innovation, as well as its internal mechanism, this paper draws on institutional theory and stakeholder theory to examine whether the policy drives corporate sustainable innovation, as well as the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies covering the period 2012 to 2022, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) model to test the policy effects. The results show that the green finance reform policy significantly boosts both the input and output of corporate sustainable innovation. CSR strategies play a partial mediating role in this relationship: the policy drives firms to optimize CSR practices, which in turn enhances their sustainable innovation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy effects vary across industries and regions. Specifically, the policy has a stronger effect on innovation input in heavily polluting industries, while it has a more significant impact on innovation output in non-heavily polluting industries. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) amplify the policy’s promotion effect on innovation output. We also find a significant threshold effect: CSR only drives sustainable innovation input when the proportion of green credit exceeds a critical level. These findings provide theoretical and empirical support for optimizing green finance policies to advance the coordinated development of the economy and the environment.