Carrying out green innovation is beneficial for firms to cope with environmental protection pressure and achieve sustainable development. Existing research has paid enough attention to the driver of green innovation, but still does not reveal how green innovation can be conceived and realized. This paper answers the above question from the perspective of international M&As, examines the relationship between exploratory international M&As, exploitative international M&As and green innovation performance, and further probes into how strategic and environmental factors moderate the green innovation effectiveness of exploratory and exploitative M&As. Results indicate that exploratory and exploitative international M&As both are beneficial for green innovation performance, and to maximize green innovation performance, implementing exploratory M&As is more beneficial for firms pursuing high green image and operating in a high green subsidy environment. By contrast, carrying out exploitative M&As is more effective for firms pursuing low green image and operating in a low green subsidy environment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

In the health care system, it is increasingly apparent that employee innovative behavior improves the core competitiveness and resilience of organizations. Previous research has identified leadership behavior as a key predictor of employee innovative behavior. Following this logic and by integrating social information processing theory with existing research conclusions, we constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the mechanism by which mindful leadership influences employee innovative behavior. An empirical analysis of 361 questionnaires that were completed by employees from the healthcare sector in China shows that mindful leadership is positively and significantly correlated with employee innovative behavior. Creative process engagement was found to play a mediating role in this relationship. Moreover, creative self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between mindful leadership and creative process engagement and moderated the mediating effect of creative process engagement on the relationship between mindful leadership and employee innovative behavior. That is, compared with employees with lower creative self-efficacy, employees with higher creative self-efficacy experienced a stronger indirect effect of mindful leadership on their innovative behavior. This study enriches the theoretical research on mindful leadership, clarifies the mechanism and boundary conditions of the effect of mindful leadership on employee innovative behavior, and provides theoretical support for organizational activities that stimulate and guide employee innovative behavior.

Improving enterprise innovation performance is key for enterprises to obtain sustainable competitiveness. With the increasingly fierce market competition of technological and product innovation, acquiring external heterogeneous knowledge of alliance enterprises becomes core to improving innovation performance. In this paper, we constructed a theoretical model to present the effect of inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity and alliance network governance mechanisms on enterprise innovation performance. We selected high-tech enterprises as the research object for empirical research and reached the following conclusions: (1) Inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity has a positive effect on exploratory and exploitative innovation performance, and (2) trust and contract have a moderating effect on the relationship between inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity and enterprise innovation performance.

In the face of increasing environmental pressures, environmentally friendly behaviour can help companies achieve truly sustainable growth. The issue of how to promote environmental behaviour among employees is a new challenge for leaders. However, studies do not systematically reveal the mechanisms of the effects of self-sacrificial leadership on employees’ organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment (OCBE). Based on social learning theory and the attitude–behaviour–context model, we investigated the impact of self-sacrificial leadership on employees’ OCBE by focusing on the mediating role of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) as perceived by employees, and the moderating role of the pro-environmental organisational climate (PEOC). The results of a field survey of 461 employees (small- and medium-sized enterprises) in China indicate that self-sacrificial leadership was positively related to employees’ OCBE; this relationship was partially mediated by employees’ perception of CSR. Moreover, PEOC strengthened the effect of employees’ perceived CSR on OCBE, and the mediating effect of employees’ perceived CSR on the relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and OCBE. Our findings not only help scholars understand the mechanism of the effect of self-sacrificial leadership on employees’ OCBE, but also provide insights for recommending integrated management models, social responsibility, and environmental protection.

International diversification has become a crucial measure for firms to realize sustainable development. However, previous studies have drawn inconsistent conclusions on the sustainable performance impact of international expansion. This paper examines the relationships among international diversification, capabilities, and sustainable performance. We provide a theoretical perspective of dynamic capabilities to uncover the impact mechanism of international diversification on firms’ economic and environmental performance. Based on data from Chinese listed manufacturing firms operating overseas, the findings show that international diversification is significant for firms’ sustainable development, and its effect on economic performance and environmental performance is mediated by adaptive capability and innovation capability. The implications for theoretical development and operating practice are discussed.

Implementing international strategy is essential to enhance corporate innovation and achieve sustainable development. Existing research has theoretically illustrated the concept and importance of carrying out both exploratory and exploitative internationalization, yet our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of both activities remains unclear. Based on the data of Chinese international manufacturing firms, this paper examines the differential effects of business, government and knowledge network capital on exploratory and exploitative internationalization, and probes into how organizational, strategic, and environmental factors moderate the innovation effectiveness of exploratory and exploitative internationalization. Results indicate that business network capital has the same positive impact on exploratory and exploitative internationalization; government network capital influences the implementation of exploratory internationalization, whereas knowledge network capital influences the execution of exploitative internationalization. Furthermore, our findings reveal that, to maximize innovation performance, pursuing exploratory internationalization is more beneficial for firms with older age, firms entering into countries with low host–home country similarity, and operating in a more dynamic international environment. By contrast, pursuing exploitative internationalization is more effective for younger firms, firms entering into countries with high host–home country similarity, and in more stable international environment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.