The Impact of Green Mergers and Acquisitions on the Market Power of Heavily Polluting Enterprises

Yunpeng Fu, Zixuan Wang () and Wenjia Zhao
Additional contact information
Yunpeng Fu: School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China
Zixuan Wang: School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China
Wenjia Zhao: School of Business, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-29

Abstract: In the era of low-carbon economy, green mergers and acquisitions (green M&As) have emerged as a pivotal strategic pathway for heavily polluting enterprises to not only carve out a competitive edge in the market but also contribute significantly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12)—Responsible Consumption and Production. Based on the data of China’s heavily polluting enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2010 to 2022, this study applies the multi-temporal difference-in-differences method to analyze the impact of green M&As on the market power of heavily polluting enterprises. The findings suggest that the adoption of green M&As by heavily polluting enterprises in China can enhance market power, and this conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. The mediation effect analysis shows that green M&As promote the market power of heavily polluting enterprises by increasing green total factor productivity, optimizing human capital structure and enhancing brand capital. Meanwhile, according to the heterogeneity study conducted, the implementation of green M&As by non-state-owned heavily polluting enterprises and heavily polluting enterprises within the growth period has a more pronounced effect on market power promotion. In addition, domestic green M&As have a stronger effect on the market power of heavily polluting enterprises. By bridging the theoretical gap between green M&As and the driving mechanisms of market power, this study not only enriches the academic literature but also provides actionable insights for heavily polluting enterprises seeking to enhance their market competitiveness while adhering to sustainable development principles.

Keywords: green mergers and acquisitions; market power; heavily polluting enterprises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6290/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6290/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6290-:d:1697943

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().