Firm carbon orientation and green innovation: the moderating roles of R&D investment and digital transformation

作者：S. M. Akram Ullah, Arshad Fawad, Yuanyuan Huang, Jiang Yushi · 发表于：International Journal of Innovation Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1108/ijis-11-2024-0347 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Energy, Environment, Economic Growth、Innovation Policy and R&D、Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of firm carbon orientation (FCO) on green innovation (GI) in the context of climate sustainability. The authors aim to contribute to enhancing firms’ environmental legitimacy and leveraging their innovation capabilities to fulfill sustainable commitments. The literature is enriched by revealing the impact of research and development investment (R&D) and firm digital transformation (DT) as the moderating factors between FCO and GI, integrating legitimacy theory with the resource-based view (RBV). Design/methodology/approach The sample includes A-share-listed Chinese manufacturing firms from 2016 to 2022, prompted by the Paris Agreement of 2015. Textual analysis was used to measure FCO and DT, using the Hausman test to compare fixed-effects and random-effects models, ultimately applying a fixed-effect regression model for baseline results. Findings The findings indicate a significant positive relationship between FCO and GI, with R&D further enhancing this effect. Moreover, the findings suggest that DT significantly and positively enhances the impact of FCO on GI. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of FCO’s influence on GI through integrating legitimacy theory with the RBV while exploring the moderating roles of R&D and DT. Practical implications Firms should prioritize strengthening their carbon orientation to drive GI while integrating R&D and DT strategies. This approach ampli...