Corporate environmental information disclosure and green innovation: The moderating effect of CEO visibility

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of corporate environmental information disclosure (EID) on green innovation in China's heavily polluting industries during 2009–2020 and the moderating effect of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) visibility. The results show that: (1) corporate EID increases green innovation, and CEO visibility strengthens the positive impact of corporate EID on green innovation. (2) The green innovation fostered by EID comes from the leverage effect, not from the crowding‐out effect at the expense of other existing innovations; EID stimulates green innovation by alleviating financing constraints and increasing R&D expenditures. (3) Corporate EID has a greater impact on substantive green innovation than on strategic green innovation, and hard EID makes a more significant contribution to green innovation than soft EID does. (4) State‐owned, large, and established enterprises benefit more from the promotion effect of EID on green innovation as well as the positive moderating effect of CEO visibility.

Green signals: The impact of environmental protection support policies on firms' green innovation

“…This is consistent with the prevailing trend in the recent literature, where the majority of similar studies have employed a fixed-effects model for regression (Liu et al, 2023;Sun et al, 2022;Xia et al, 2022). Two common approaches to fixed effects commonly observed in current research are firm and year fixed effects and industry and year fixed effects (Liu et al, 2023). We chose firm and year fixed effects regression, as these effects represent a more stringent form of fixed effects, which control for bias from time-invariant firm heterogeneity and can capture other firm-and time-specific effects on green innovation (Shi et al, 2018).…”

“…The results of the Hausman test (chi 2 = 412.20, Prob > chi 2 = 0.00) indicate that the fixed‐effects model is suitable for the current study. This is consistent with the prevailing trend in the recent literature, where the majority of similar studies have employed a fixed‐effects model for regression (Liu et al, 2023; Sun et al, 2022; Xia et al, 2022). Two common approaches to fixed effects commonly observed in current research are firm and year fixed effects (Li et al, 2023) and industry and year fixed effects (Liu et al, 2023).…”

Environmental information disclosure, environmental innovation, and firms' growth performances: The moderating role of media attention

“…Specifically, the active disclosure of environmental information was a signal for firms to reduce information symmetry and to convey organizational intentions, behaviors, and performances (Cheng & Feng, 2023). This signal effectively enhanced the relationship between firms and stakeholders, enabled innovation projects that can achieve sustainable development (Liu et al, 2023). Therefore, the higher the level of environmental information disclosure, the more likely firms are to implement environmental innovation.…”

“…Environmental information disclosure (β = 0.414; p < .01) had a significant promotional effect on firms' eco‐process innovation; that is, environmental information disclosure was conducive to the improvement of the eco‐process innovation level, thus supporting H2b. The active disclosure of environmental information can effectively reduce the binding force of capital on a firm's development; from the perspective of shareholders and managers, it is essential to invest capital in environmental innovation projects that can achieve sustainable development (Liu et al, 2023). Therefore, the higher the level of environmental information disclosure, the more likely firms are to implement environmental innovation.…”

A good name is rather to be chosen: The impact of CEO reputation incentives on corporate green innovation

“…Consequently, firms led by high-reputation CEOs are more likely to secure financing (Liu, Zhang, & Cho, 2023). Based on these observations, we propose the following hypothesis: H2.…”