From green-washing to innovation-washing: Environmental information intangibility and corporate green innovation in China

Chao Xing, Xinyue Zhang, Yuming Zhang and Luxiu Zhang

International Review of Economics & Finance, 2024, vol. 93, issue PB, 204-226

Abstract: We use a sample of China's listed firms and employ a naïve Bayesian machine learning algorithm to reveal that environmental information intangibility superficially promotes green innovation. We demonstrate that this effect is channelled through the acquisition of institutional resources, including bank loans and government subsidies. The impact of environmental information intangibility on green innovation is most pronounced in state-owned enterprises, large firms, and politically connected firms. Furthermore, we confirm that environmental information intangibility does not lead to improvements in innovation efficiency or quality. This implies that green innovation may serve as a symbolic environmental activity. Our findings contribute to the research on environmental information intangibility, greenwashing behaviour, and their relationship to green innovation.

Keywords: Environmental information; Intangibility; Green innovation; Greenwashing; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G30 M41 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reveco:v:93:y:2024:i:pb:p:204-226

DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2024.03.077

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