The role of entrepreneurship, cooperative innovation, environmental investment in relationship between the Belt and Road Initiative and green innovation upgrading
ISSN: 0025-1747
Article publication date: 12 June 2023
Issue publication date: 29 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyzes the effect of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on firm green innovation upgrading using data on Chinese firms between 2009 and 2021.
Design/methodology/approach
The author adopts the staggered difference-in-difference (DID) method to estimate regressions, treating the proposal of the BRI in 2013 as a policy shock. Our analysis yields few findings.
Findings
The author yields few findings. First, the BRI can significantly promote Chinese firms green innovation upgrading. Specifically, the BRI can promote firm green innovation upgrading by 0.9%. Second, the BRI mainly promotes firms green innovation upgrading by promoting firms to increase green entrepreneurship, cooperative innovation and environmental investment. Finally, the BRI has a greater impact on the green innovation upgrading of firms in the digital industrialization industry rather than digital industry and firms with low pollution emissions rather than firms with high-pollution emissions. This research indicates that the BRI is not only an important platform for sustainable development and also an important opportunity for green entrepreneurship.
Research limitations/implications
First, due to the low quality of data and the lack of detailed information on some firms' patents owned after 2018, fully applying data of all years for regression was not possible. Second, the author did not construct a theoretical model to explore the impact of the BRI on green innovation upgrading of firms from the perspective of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), which is also the direction of future research. Finally, there are still some unexplored mechanisms of the BRI on firms green innovation upgrading, which should be further explored in the future.
Originality/value
First, from the micro perspective, the author measures the quality of firms' green patents, further measuring the firms' green innovation upgrading. Second, the author discusses the impact of the BRI on firm green innovation upgrading with the method of staggered DID, so that the policy effect of the BRI can be more accurately evaluated. Third, the author comprehensively analyzes the mechanism of cooperative innovation and green infrastructure investment, as well as analyzing the heterogeneity from the perspective of industry digital transformation and firm pollution emissions. Lastly, the author provides specific paths for firms to make high-quality investment from the green BRI construction.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This publication is funded by WTO Chairs Program. This work is sponsored by “the Postgraduate Innovative Research Fund” of University of International Business and Economics” (no. 202236).
Expression of concern: The publisher of Management Decision is issuing an Expression of Concern for the following article “Tian, J. (2023), “The role of entrepreneurship, cooperative innovation, environmental investment in relationship between the Belt and Road Initiative and green innovation upgrading”, Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2023-0524.” which was submitted to the guest-edited special issue ‘Navigating the role of circular economy in entrepreneurship: Opportunities and challenges’. An investigation by the publisher found a number of articles with multiple concerns, including but not limited to compromised editorial handling and reviewing, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and lack of suitability for the scope of the journal. As a result of these concerns and as trust in the content is central to the integrity of the publication process, the Editor-in-Chief and publisher have taken the decision to publish an Expression of Concern for all articles within this special issue. The journal has not been able to confirm whether the authors were aware of these concerns. An investigation is ongoing and is currently unresolved. Further information will be provided by Management Decision as it becomes available.
Citation
Tian, J. (2024), "The role of entrepreneurship, cooperative innovation, environmental investment in relationship between the Belt and Road Initiative and green innovation upgrading", Management Decision, Vol. 62 No. 8, pp. 2510-2531. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2023-0524
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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