The Impact of Political Connections on Corporate Green Innovation: The Mediating Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Moderating Effect of Environmental Public Opinion

Abstract

The construction industry is the lifeblood of the national economy; thereby, to some extent, the green transformation of the construction industry is representative of the industrialization levels of modern construction, especially in China. Based on the panel data of A-share listed companies in China’s construction industry from 2014 to 2019, this work studies the influence mechanism of political connection on corporate green innovation by establishing a multiple regression model, analyzes the realization path of corporate social responsibility as an mediating variable on the impact of political connections on corporate green innovation, and reveals the role boundary of environmental public opinion as a moderating variable on the impact of political connections on corporate green innovation. The results show that political connection has a significant positive impact on corporate green innovation, and this impact exists in both state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises, as well as in the eastern region and the central and western regions of China. Moreover, corporate social responsibility plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between political connection and corporate green innovation, and serves as an effective value transfer intermediary, a benefit balance mechanism, and a risk avoidance method. Political connections urge enterprises to be more socially responsible, thus affecting green innovation. Additionally, environmental public opinion strengthens the positive impact of political connections on corporate green innovation, especially in non-state-owned enterprises and in the eastern regions with a higher degree of marketization. The research conclusions provide a new theoretical reference for promoting the transformation of green innovation and achieving high-quality development in the construction industry.

Corporate social responsibility: A key driver of sustainable development in China’s post-COVID economy

“…The stakeholders expect to improve the performance of firms, and the responsibility of any firm management is to work for it. Furthermore, any firm's stakeholders expect to improve the firm's performance for the achievement of social goals [39]. The reliability of firm performance and its sustainable advancement can provide a better working opportunity for business [40,41].…”

“…Better employment opportunities for a company may be made possible by the consistency of firm performance and its advancement in operating. According to Wang, Peng [39], while each company undoubtedly has different objectives, all of them must live up to the expectations of its stakeholders. The management of any company must work in the stated direction of the stakeholders.…”

A Study on the Impact Mechanism of Digitalization on Corporate Green Innovation

“…In order to verify the effect of the digitalization level of enterprises on the green innovation of enterprises, we reference to the test method of Wang et al (2022) [98], and a common panel data model ( 1) is constructed to test the effect of green innovation.…”

Analysis of Regional Social Capital, Enterprise Green Innovation and Green Total Factor Productivity—Based on Chinese A-Share Listed Companies from 2011 to 2019

“…Li and Shen [46] conducted empirical tests and concluded that cities with higher levels of happiness had higher levels of green innovation among the listed companies. Wang et al [47] found through their analysis of Chinese construction companies that the political affiliation of enterprises has a significant positive impact on green innovation. Zhang and Wang [48] found that corporate political ties have an inverted U-shaped relationship with green innovation.…”