How R&D investment promotes green technology innovation in the context of digitalization?-An empirical analysis based on provincial panel data

Green technology innovation is an important driving force and source to promote my country’s high-quality development,and it is the core path to achieve sustainable development.This paper uses my country’s provincial panel data from 2016 to 2019 to study the impact mechanism of R&D investment on green technology innovation,and introduces the level of digitization,using the panel threshold model to discuss its role in the impact mechanism of R&D investment on green technology innovation.The study found that when the level of digitalization in a region is low,increasing R&D investment does not necessarily improve the ability of green technology innovation;when the level of digitalization is relatively high,R&D investment has a positive role in promoting green technology innovation.Therefore,it is necessary to improve policies to encourage enterprises to increase investment in research and development;at the same time,it is necessary to promote the coordinated development of digital foundation,digital investment,digital literacy,digital economy and digital application,and promote the deep integration of digitalization and green technology innovation.

Study on the efficiency and regional disparity of green technology innovation in China's industrial companies

This paper first constructed a system to evaluate the innovation efficiency of industrial companies within China's Mainland.Then,a principal component analysis(PCA) was performed to these indicators for dimensionality reduction,so as to figure out the technology innovation efficiency in these two phases,respectively.Finally,the overall efficiency of industrial companies in different regions was estimated and factorized via data envelopment analysis(DEA).The results showed that:(1)the efficiency of green technology innovation of industrial companies in China was relatively low as a whole,which mainly resulted from pure technical efficiency(PTE).Further,this huge gap continues to expand in these regions.And both PTE and scale efficiency(SE) in central and western regions leave much to be expected.(2)In the first phase of green technology development,when environmental factors were concerned,the efficiency was much lower than that without environmental considerations.Besides,the central and western regions were facing increasingly severe environmental problems,and there was a wide disparity in technology development efficiency among eastern,central,and western regions.(3)In the second phase of green technology commercialization,there were still more rooms for improvement in raising the efficiency of green technology innovation,and the efficiency in eastern,central,and western regions was ranked from highest to lowest.(4)Liaoning,Hebei,Heilongjiang,Xinjiang,Shanxi,Inner Mongolia,Yunnan,and Qinghai should focus on improving their technology;Jilin,Jiangxi,Anhui,and Guangxi should make their efforts to reduce resource redundancy;whereas Ningxia and Gansu should try to solve the above two issues.

Calculation of the influence of Green Technology Innovation to Eco-Industrial Management in China

The function of Green Technology Innovation （GTI） in the Eco-Industrial Management （ELM） appears more and more important, but the research on how much this function plays is scarce. The influence of Green Technology Innovation to the Eco-Industrial Management has gradually received the academic and the industrial attention. In this article an empirical research was attempted to inspect whether such influence exists and to what value. The study attempts to empirically explore the influencing degree of GTI on EIM in China based on the double logarithmic regression equation.

Tripartite evolutionary game and simulation study on enterprise green technology innovation

By constructing the evolutionary game model among the government,enterprises and consumers,the paper analyzes the condition that the profit and loss relationship of the game subjects and their behavior strategies reach the stable state in the green technology innovation system,and uses MATLAB to conduct data simulation analysis.The results show that the government,enterprises and consumers have path-dependent behavior choices.The larger the government incentive coefficient and subsidy coefficient is not the better,but the larger the subsidy and subsidy coefficient will hinder the green technology innovation.Government punitive measures will promote green technology innovation,but high innovation subsidies will restrain the government’s environmental regulation.Therefore,the government should further improve environmental regulation policies,increase enterprises’enthusiasm for green technology innovation and consumers’acceptance of green products,and promote the development of green technology innovation.

Does the transformation of energy structure promote green technological innovation?A quasi-natural experiment based on new energy demonstration city construction

New energy development is essential to achieving carbon peaks and neutrality and promoting green technological innovation.Identifying the causal relationship between new energy demonstration city construction and green technological innovation is crucial for the expansion and promotion of new energy demonstration cities.In this study,we take the construction of new energy demonstration cities as a quasi-natural experiment,study their impact on green technological innovation using difference-indifference(DID),and conduct a robustness test using DID after propensity score matching(PSM-DID).The research results indicate the following:First,energy structure optimization can significantly improve the level of urban green technological innovation(this result was shown to be valid using PSM-DID and other tests involving the effects of placebo and instrumental variables).Second,new energy demonstration city construction mainly improves the level of urban green technological innovation through technology research and development,the improvement of the industrial innovation environment,and the promotion of environmental performance.Third,the impact of energy structure optimization on green technological innovation has regional,financial,and economic development heterogeneity.Finally,new energy demonstration city policy affects the flow of capital,labor,technology,and other production factors to pilot areas according to new energy demonstration city policy,forming a“siphon effect”.The carbon reduction effect of new energy demonstration city construction is greater than its pollution reduction effect.Given the results of the study,policy recommendations to promote the expansion of new energy demonstration cities are proposed.

Digital Transformation and Green Technology Innovation in Manufacturing Enterprises: A Study Based on Big Data Text Mining

Digital transformation serves as a new driving force and engine for enterprise innovation.Meanwhile,the national strategy of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality has set new goals and requirements for the green development of the Chinese manufacturing industry.From the three-dimensional perspective of"strategy-resource-institution,"this paper explores the impact and mechanism of digital transformation on green technology innovation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises and the heterogeneous impact of the institutional logic of ownership structure.Using a sample of 1,016 A-share listed manufacturing companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2011 to 2019 and based on big data text mining and a negative binomial regression model,this study finds that:(1)Digital strategy significantly enhances green technology innovation capability of enterprises;(2)digital resource investment partially mediates the effect of digital strategy on the enhancement of green technology innovation capability;and(3)the ownership structure of enterprises plays a moderating role in the mediating relationship mentioned above.Specifically,compared to state-owned enterprises(SOEs),non-state-owned enterprises(NsOEs)show no significant difference in the stages where digital strategy promotes green technology innovation and guides digital resource investment.However,they demonstrate higher efficiency in transforming digital resource investment into green technology innovation.The robustness test indicates that the significant effect of digital strategy and resource investment on green technology innovation in enterprises remains valid in the medium term,with a continuous enabling effect.There is no significant difference between SOEs and NsOEs in the medium and long term in promoting green technology innovation through digital transformation.Further,introducing keyword text networks to explore the structural impact of digital strategy,this study finds that digital product and manufacturing strategy are adequate strategic dimensions to enhance green technology innovation capability,and digital financial strategy and digital marketing strategy have no direct promoting effect on green technology innovation of enterprises.From the perspectives of strategies,resources,and institutions,the research findings elucidate the process mechanisms of digital acceleration in the green transformation of manufacturing and the heterogeneous effect of ownership structure and provide critical theoretical insights into the role mechanisms and contextual factors of digitalization on green innovation in manufacturing enterprises.Moreover,this study offers scientific decision-making support for incentivizing the manufacturing industry to seize the opportunities of industrial digitalization and accelerate carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

Managers'Digital Literacy and Corporate Green Technology Innovation

This paper incorporates individual digital literacy into corporate management practice to explore the relationship between managers'digital literacy and the performance of corporate green technology innovation.The results show that managers'digital literacy can contribute to corporate green technology innovation.Specifically,a greater degree of digital literacy among the top management team is associated with better performance in corporate green technology innovation.Even if the management does not have an educational background in core digital technologies,their work experience related to core digital technologies such as computers and information technology can help promote corporate green technology innovation in the later stage.There is the heterogeneity in the managers'digital literacy role in promoting corporate green technology innovation,which is more significant in the sample of regions with low levels of the digital economy development,sufficient media attention,and non-heavily polluting enterprises.Digital transformation plays a mediating role between managers'digital literacy and corporate green technology innovation.Through further research,we find that the improvement of managers'digital literacy can contribute to the enhancement of corporate value in the future.The conclusions enrich the research horizon of upper echelons theory,explore the value and differentiated effect of digital human capital in the new era,and provide empirical evidence at the micro level that digital technologies promote the green and sustainable development of the economy.

Corporate Digital Transformation and Green Technoiogy Innovation: Evidence from China's Listed Companies in the Manufacturing Industry

Digital transformation has brought new vitality into enterprises'innovative development.Traditional manufacturing industries have leveraged digitalization to drive technological advancements,thereby promoting corporate green technology innovation and achieving the goal of coordinated transformation toward digital and green development.This paper employs annual data of China's A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2007 to 2020 to examine the impact of digital transformation on corporate green technology innovation and the underlying mechanism of this impact.The results indicate that digital transformation significantly enhances corporate green technology innovation,and this enhancing effect is even more significant in state-owned enterprises and high-tech enterprises.The mechanism test reveals that enhancing digital transformation can not only improve enterprises'information transparency and strengthen positive market expectations,but also encourage enterprises to increase R&D investment,ultimately enhancing the level of their green technology innovation.The empirical findings of this paper can provide valuable insights for government departments to formulate strategies that can promote green innovation in the manufacturing industry,drive high-quality development,and contribute to the achievement of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets.

Digital Transformation, Market Competition, and Corporate Green Technology Innovation

This paper selects China's A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021 as the research sample and explores the impact of digital transformation on corporate green technology innovation and the moderating role of corporate competitive position in this relationship.The research findings are as follows:Digital transformation plays a significant role in promoting corporate green technology innovation.The improvement of corporate competitive position weakens the promoting effect of digital transformation on corporate green technology innovation.The moderating effect of the corporate competition position is more pronounced in the enterprises of the eastern and western regions,as well as in the listed companies in the manufacturing industry.The promoting effect of digital transformation on utility model patent innovation is dramatically attenuated when the corporate competitive position is strengthened.However,the weakening effect on invention patent innovation is not statistically significant.

Research on the Impact of Digital Finance on Energy Efficiency in China

Digital finance and green technology innovation(GTI)serve as powerful engines for promoting energy efficiency(EE)and economic development.This paper explores the mechanism by which digital finance impacts EE based on panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning from 2011 to 2019.The results demonstrate that digital finance can significantly enhance EE,with a particularly pronounced effect in the eastern region.Through mechanistic analysis,it is evident that GTI serves as the transmission pathway through which digital finance influences EE,accounting for 45.3%of the effect.The policy implication of this study suggests that China should expedite the digitization of financial markets to further harness the development of digital finance,particularly in pursuit of its technological innovation and green,lowcarbon environmental protection effects.

Government subsidies, dual-credit policy, and enterprise performance: Empirical evidence from Chinese listed new energy vehicle companies

The development of the new energy vehicle industry has become a key force driving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutralization.To better guide future strategies,this study investigates the dual impact of subsidy and dual-integral policies on the performance of new energy vehicle enterprises.This study first theorizes the influential mechanism according to the institutional-based approach and technical innovation theory,and then collects data from listed companies in the new energy vehicle industry from 2016 to 2020.The hypotheses are examined using a two-way fixed-effects model.The findings show that:(1)subsidy policies are can still improve enterprise performance,but not through green technology innovation;(2)the dual-credit policy can improve enterprise performance through green technology innovation;and(3)under current policy conditions,with subsidies declining annually,the interaction effects between the subsidy and dual-integral policies will also decrease.Thus,this study suggests that non-monetary industrial policy,represented by the dual credit policy is a more effective alternative to government subsidies.

Does enterprise digitization reduce carbon emissions? Evidence from China

The digital transformation and expansion of businesses will provide China’s low-carbon economic develop‐ment strategy with fresh impetus in the backdrop of the emerging digital economy and environmentally friendly growth.This article measures the level of enterprise digitization using two methods:the enterprise digitization index and text analysis word frequency statistics.Additionally,carbon emissions are obtained by measuring various types of emissions according to the carbon emission classification range standard.To ac‐count for endogeneity and unobservable variables,relative indicators,such as the rate of increase for company emissions of carbon,are utilized.Using microdata from Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2021,this study ex‐amines the implications of corporate digitization on enterprise carbon emissions.This study further analyzes the transmission mechanism and investigates the function of green finance in controlling corporate digitiza‐tion and reducing corporate carbon emissions by distinguishing between two types of green patents.Research shows that businesses’carbon emissions are greatly reduced as a consequence of getting digital.Even after performing several robustness and endogeneity tests,the conclusion still remains valid.According to mecha‐nism analysis,which demonstrates that the main strategy for reducing corporate emissions of carbon through the digitalization of enterprises is to promote innovation in green technology.The regulation of green finance in enterprise digitalization will further reduce corporate carbon emissions.According to the analysis of hetero‐geneity,state-owned businesses and those situated in areas with stringent environmental regulations are more significantly impacted by enterprise digitization on corporate carbon emissions.This article discusses the mechanism of promoting corporate carbon emissions through digitalization,expands on relevant research on corporate digitalization,and analyzes the achievable paths of corporate digitalization and low-carbon develop‐ment strategies.

Green Technology Innovation under China's New Development Concept:The Effects of Policy-Push and Demand-Pull on Renewable Energy Innovation

Green technology innovation meets the dual expectation of innovative development and green development perspectives.Under the canonical demand-pull and policy-push theories,a long-term mechanism for green technology innovation could be formed through upstream policy push and downstream demand-pull.Leveraging China's regional carbon emission trading scheme pilots as a quasi-natural experiment,this paper examines the policy-push and demand-pull effects on innovation in renewable energy patents.The data pertain to the city-level renewable energy patents from 2000 to 2020.Based upon the triple difference-in-difference method,results suggest that both policy-push and demandpull factors exert positive effects on innovation.This paper further explores the practical and theoretical implications of green technology innovation under the new development perspective.

Are the Green TBTs a Stimulus or a Trap for Enterprises’Green Technology Development?

Green trade barriers are often seen as a catalyst that promotes exporting countries to develop green technologies.However,by distinguishing the green technology behavior of enterprises into green technology transformation and green technology innovation,this paper finds that although green trade barriers can encourage enterprises in exporting countries to increase investment in green technology transformation in order to obtain rapid market access,they crowd out the resources of green technology innovation of enterprises.In other words,green trade barriers will strengthen enterprises’dependence on the introduction of green technologies,weaken their innovation capabilities,and increase the risk of being locked in the middle of the global industrial chain,creating a trap effect.Using the data of enterprises in the heavily polluting industry of A-shares from 2009 to 2021,this paper confirms the existence of the trap effect.In addition,this paper finds that due to the infl uence of short-sightedness of managers,alleviating corporate financing constraints can enhance the promotion effect of green trade barriers on the green technological transformation of enterprises,but cannot reduce its inhibiting effect on green technology innovation.The study also finds that even if the time window is extended to the medium and long term,green trade barriers cannot have a significant positive impact on enterprises’green technology innovation.Therefore,the government should not overestimate the role of green trade barriers in encouraging green development and green technology innovation,nor should it rely too much on loose financing policies.In contrast,government should formulate targeted industrial policies to help enterprises overcome green trade barriers through technological innovation.

Can the low-carbon city pilot policy promote the upgrading of high-carbon emitting enterprises? Evidence from China

As a crucial environmental reform system to realize“carbon peaking”and“carbon neutrality”,the pilot policy of low-carbon cities(LCCs)puts pressure and challenges on high-carbon emitting enterprises(HCEEs)while providing opportunities for these firms to take the path of independent transformation.Employing the data of Chinese listed enterprises from 2006 to 2016 and adopting a difference-in-differences(DID)model,we evaluated the impact of LCC construction on the upgrading of HCEEs and its mechanisms.The results indicate that LCC construction enhances the upgrading of HCEEs in the pilot cities.The conclusions remain stable after a series of robustness tests.The mechanism analysis reveals that LCC construction triggers the upgrading of HCEEs by promoting resource allocation efficiency,R&D investment,and green technology innovation.The heterogeneity results indicate that this positive effect is more pronounced for HCEEs in regions with more stringent environmental law enforcement.This study also observes that the upgrading impact is more promi‐nent for state-owned enterprises,enterprises with higher bargaining power,and enterprises whose managers have a long-term vision.The above results provide directions for upgrading HCEEs and replicable evidence for cities in developing economies to fulfill the win-win target of environmental protection and economic transfor‐mation.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Technological Innovation:Chinese Evidence of the Porter Effect

When pursuing regional pollution control through environmental regulation in China, the region may face new problems such as the relocation of polluting industrial facilities and redirection of investment to other fi elds. In order to test the effectiveness of relevant regulatory measures, this paper examines the relationship between environmental regulation and green technological innovation based on provincial panel data. A major fi nding is that collecting pollutant discharge fees and increasing government spending on environmental protection are more effective than meting out environmental administrative punishment and promulgating local environmental rules and regulations. Therefore, the key to promote green technological innovation through environmental regulation lies in the choice of regulatory tools. Generally, fi nancial instruments, taxes, fees and other market-based environmental regulation tools are more suitable for the specifi c conditions in China. Test of the mediating effect shows that pollutant discharge fees and government spending on environmental protection can force enterprises to step up R&D efforts, and thus boost green technological innovation, and that the role of these two tools in pushing for green technological innovation exhibits a threshold effect as their influence grows from weak to strong and from insignificant to significant. It is noteworthy that severe environmental administrative punishment hinders green technological innovation and that local environmental rules and regulations have no significant impact on green technological innovation regardless of their intensity. In order to strengthen environmental governance and promote green technological innovation, it is necessary to build a market-based environmental regulation system, lay stress on relevant top-level design, and appropriately increase the intensity of environmental regulation.

中国城市绿色技术创新空间格局演化及驱动因素

This study uses green patent data from 264 cities in China between 2006 and 2020 to examine the evolution of spatial patterns in urban green technology innovation(GTI)across the country and identify the underlying driving factors.Moran’s I index,Getis-Ord Gi*index,standard deviation ellipse,and geographical detector were used for the analysis.The findings indicate an increase in the overall level of GTI within Chinese cities.Provincial capitals,cities along the eastern coast,and planned cities emerge as the prominent“highlands”of GTI,whereas the“lowlands”of GTI predominantly lie in the western and northeastern regions,forming the spatial pattern of“hot in the east and center of the country,cold in the northwest and the northeast.”The distribution center of gravity of GTI is toward the southwest of China.The distribution pattern is in the“northeast–southwest”direction,which is characterized by“diffusion,”followed by“agglomeration.”Differences in economic development have the highest determining power on the spatial differentiation of GTI in Chinese cities,whereas differences in environmental regulation and industrial structure have the lowest degree of relative influence.The interaction between any two factors contributes to an amplified explanatory power in understanding the differences in GTI.