Analysis of the Impact of Outward Foreign Direct Investment of Corporations on Green Innovation in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

Yutian Chen, Gong Chen () and Wenhu Xu
Additional contact information
Yutian Chen: Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Gong Chen: Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Wenhu Xu: Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-33

Abstract: Amid the global trend of green transformation, existing studies have explored the impact of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on economic performance and technological innovation. However, micro-level empirical analyses on how OFDI facilitates green technological innovation through capital and knowledge channels remain insufficient. Drawing on data from China’s A-share listed companies during 2007–2022, this study systematically investigates, for the first time, the pathways through which OFDI influences green innovation, and identifies the mediating mechanisms of financing constraints and R&D investment. Employing fixed effects and mediation effect models, the empirical results reveal that OFDI significantly promotes firms’ green technological innovation, with stronger effects observed among state-owned enterprises, among non-polluting firms, and in the context of invention patent applications. This study enriches the theoretical framework of green innovation and provides empirical evidence and actionable insights for corporate “going global” strategies and green transition policy making.

Keywords: Belt and Road Initiative; OFDI; green technology innovation; heterogeneity (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/2071-1050/17/9/3773/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3773/ (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:9:p:3773-:d:1639860

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 ().