The Impact of Local Chairpersons on Green Innovation: Evidence from China

Lei Xiong, Wei Weng (), Zenglin Yang, Jie Peng and Shihuan Zhang
Additional contact information
Lei Xiong: School of Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China
Wei Weng: School of Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China
Zenglin Yang: School of Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China
Jie Peng: School of Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China
Shihuan Zhang: School of Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650092, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-25

Abstract: Drawing on prior research, this study analyzes panel data from listed companies (2013–2023) to examine how chairpersons’ local social connections affect corporate green innovation. Specifically, it explores how such networks provide access to resources and policy advantages through social capital, thereby shaping firms’ green innovation. The findings reveal that local chairpersons negatively affect firms’ green innovation. Firms led by local chairpersons undertake significantly fewer green innovation initiatives than those with non-local leaders. Moreover, ESG performance and a strong legal environment can mitigate the negative impact of local chairpersons on green innovation. In contrast, stable executive teams may alleviate the adverse effect of local chairpersons on corporate green innovation by curbing myopic managerial behavior and reinforcing a long-term strategic orientation.

Keywords: green innovation; local chairpersons; ESG; legal environment; stability of the executive team (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/2071-1050/17/20/9285/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9285/ (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:20:p:9285-:d:1774917

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 ().