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Green Technology innovation intends to enable the advancement of technologies toward the goals of human health, natural resource sustainability and social equity. Green technology innovation has become an important driving force for the sustainable growth of the global economy. In this study, building upon the theories on informal institutions, we empirically investigate the effects of social trust on green technology innovation. Using a sample of companies listed in A-share markets in China from 2012 to 2017, we find that social trust has a significant positive impact on the performance of green technology innovation. We employ an instrumental variable approach through two-stage-least square estimator, and report consistent results. Further heterogeneity analysis finds that with higher levels of policy uncertainty and lower levels of intellectual property rights protection, the effect of social trust on firms’ green technology innovation is more significant. Further, the effect of social trust on firms’ green technology of non-SOEs innovation is larger than SOEs. In addition, the positive effect of social trust on green technology innovation in firms is an effective supplement for formal systems to promote green technology innovation in said firms, which provides a new theoretical reference for promoting firms’ green technology innovation and achieving high-quality development.
Yaru Yang; Desheng Liu; Luxiu Zhang; Yingkai Yin. Social Trust and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from Listed Firms in China. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4828 .
AMA StyleYaru Yang, Desheng Liu, Luxiu Zhang, Yingkai Yin. Social Trust and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from Listed Firms in China. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4828.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYaru Yang; Desheng Liu; Luxiu Zhang; Yingkai Yin. 2021. "Social Trust and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from Listed Firms in China." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4828.
Green technology innovation is an effective means to realize energy conservation and reduce carbon emissions, which plays a crucial role in promoting green and sustainable economic development. Although green technology innovation is increasing, the current understanding of how political connections affect firms’ green technology innovation remains limited. This study analyzes the effect of political connections, and the loss of political relations, on firms’ green technology innovations to extend the theoretical research. Using the data of Chinese A-listed firms from 2012 to 2017, the authors constructed a quasi-natural experiment to test the relationship between political connections and firms’ technology innovations based on an anti-corruption campaign event to improve corporate governance by restricting government officials’ involvement in firms’ top management in 2013. The results indicate that political connections hinder the firms’ green technology innovations and reduce their innovation output. We also find that the level of green technology innovations increased significantly when a company lost its political connections, as firms had to compensate for the lack of competitiveness resulting from the loss of political relationships by increasing investments in innovation. Various endogenous and robustness tests indicate that these results are consistent and robust. This study also compared the impact of political connections on firms’ green technology innovations with different situations, including market conditions, categories of connections, and China’s Environmental Protection Law. The findings indicate that political relationships have a more negative impact on firms’ green technology innovations when the degree of marketization is low. These findings not only contribute to extending the literature on companies’ political connections and green technology innovations but also provides a valuable reference for implementing market-oriented reforms in emerging market countries.
Liu Desheng; Chen Jiakui; Zhang Ning. Political connections and green technology innovations under an environmental regulation. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 298, 126778 .
AMA StyleLiu Desheng, Chen Jiakui, Zhang Ning. Political connections and green technology innovations under an environmental regulation. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 298 ():126778.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiu Desheng; Chen Jiakui; Zhang Ning. 2021. "Political connections and green technology innovations under an environmental regulation." Journal of Cleaner Production 298, no. : 126778.