The assessment of corporate social responsibility grades offers viable support channels for heavily polluting enterprises to engage in exploratory innovation activities. However, the negative impact of social responsibility grades has received limited attention. The existing studies also have not yet clarified the mechanism by which social responsibility grades affect exploratory innovation. Based on the prospect theory and managerial entrenchment theory, in this article, we use data from 595 Chinese A-share listed heavily polluting firms (3900 firm-year observations) from 2012 to 2019. The study empirically tests the influence of heavily polluting enterprises’ social responsibility grades on exploratory innovation; the mediating effects of managerial entrenchment motivation; the moderating effect of the performance-aspiration gap; the joint moderating effect of ownership characteristics; and performance-aspiration gaps. This study not only provides theoretical and practical guidance for improving the assessment mechanisms that determine the social responsibility grades of heavily polluting enterprises but also has important reference values when it comes to encouraging heavily polluting enterprises to actively carry out exploratory innovation, break the technological blockade, and obtain technological advantages.

With the deceleration of China’s economic growth, the crude economic model will progressively diminish in its competitive edge, thereby posing challenges for state-level economic and technological development zones (ETDZs) in terms of transitioning their development model and grappling with low levels of total factor productivity (TFP). This study aims to evaluate the TFP of prominent cities in China, examine the influence of the establishment of state-level ETDZs on urban TFP, and investigate the moderating effect of transportation infrastructure on this relationship. The results show that the aggregate TFP of Chinese urban areas declined from 1999 to 2020, a trend linked to structural economic adjustments and persistent underutilization of capital in several regions. The establishment of state-level ETDZs has been found to exert a notable positive influence on regional TFP. The presence of transportation infrastructure plays a moderating role in facilitating state-level ETDZs, thereby enhancing regional TFP. Among various modes of transportation, highways and railways are particularly prominent in this regard. These conclusions provide a theoretical basis and decision-making reference for further unleashing the policy potential of development zones in China.