ESG, Financial Constraints, and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from China with the Moderating Role of Environmental Public Attention
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Keywords
ESG, green technology innovation, financial constraint, environmental public attention
Abstract
Against the backdrop of China’s “dual-carbon” objectives and ongoing improvements in ESG disclosure standards, green technological innovation has become central to firms’ sustainable development. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies, this study examines how ESG performance affects firms’ green technology innovation and whether the effect varies across regions and ownership types. To unpack the underlying channels, the analysis incorporates financing constraints as a mediating mechanism and environmental public attention as a moderating factor. The results show that ESG performance is positively associated with green innovation, with pronounced geographic variation and firm-level heterogeneity. The effect is stronger for non-state-owned enterprises than for state-owned enterprises. Financing constraints mediate the ESG–green innovation relationship, suggesting that improved ESG performance can ease funding frictions and thereby support innovation activities. In addition, environmental public attention significantly strengthens the positive effect of ESG on green innovation: in regions with higher public attention to environmental issues, the ESG-innovation linkage becomes more pronounced. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by integrating spatial heterogeneity and public environmental attention into the empirical analysis of ESG-driven green innovation.
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