Title: R&D investment, corporate social responsibility disclosure and firm's green innovation performance: evidence from China

Authors: Fawad Rauf; Qi Baolei; Wang Wanqiu; Cao Na; Khwaja Naveed

Addresses: School of Management, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China ' School of Management, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China ' College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China ' Shaanxi Technical Collage of Finance and Economics, Xinyang Shaanxi, 712000, China ' Faculty of Management, Open University of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands

Abstract: Given the contesting empirical literature on the relationship between Research and Development (R&D) investment and firms' green innovation performance (GIP), the current research is a unique study to look at the moderating effects of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) on this relationship. We used dataset of 3248 firm-year observations of A-share listed firms in China from (2012-2020). The CSRD issued by Chinese Stock Exchange and the Accounting Research Database (CSMAR) is used to measure CSR information. The Corporate GIP of a firm is considered and measured by examining the total number of green patents. Finally, multiple regression and fixed effects models were used. The results reveal that CSRD has an affirmative and significant impact on the relationship between corporate GIP and R&D investment which implies the compensatory and supportive role of CSR strategies in shape of green signals in the green outcomes. This research could support managers and policymakers of underdeveloped nations in establishing environmental innovation strategies for corporate sustainability.

Keywords: GIP; green innovation performance; Research & Development (R&D) investment; CSRD; corporate social responsibility disclosure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTGM.2023.134918

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 2023 Vol.18 No.1, pp.82 - 109

Received: 23 Dec 2021
Accepted: 16 Dec 2022
Published online: 20 Nov 2023 *

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