Page 146 - IJOCTA-15-4

Mengxue Li et al. / IJOCTA, Vol.15, No.4, pp.686-705 (2025)
innovation, such as pollutant emissions, on the limitation of focusing on economic rationality and
measurement of efficiency. Consequently, focus- neglecting system interaction. Existing literature
ing on SNEs, the evaluation indices of GIE are generally reduces green innovation to rational
selected to measure their innovation ability and decision-making under a cost-benefit game, overly
green development. GIE is evaluated using the relies on the direct impacts of financial perfor-
undesirable slack-based measure (SBM) model, mance or a single innovation input, but neglects
and influencing factors affecting GIE are analyzed the dynamic coupling mechanism of internal and
using the systematic generalized method of mo- external factors. For example, although finan-
ments (GMM) dynamic model. Finally, for SNEs, cial status can explain short-term resource con-
suggestions are provided based on an accurate straints, it cannot reveal the role of non-financial
evaluation of GIE, while providing leadership and factors, such as management’s environmental val-
demonstration for the green development of SMEs ues and organizational culture, in shaping the
and filling gaps in existing research in this field. direction of green innovation. The positive cor-
relation between up-front environmental costs
2. Literature review and patent outputs may also conceal deep-seated
contradictions, such as technological path depen-
Although green innovation as an important path
to promote sustainable development has received dence and policy subsidy heterogeneity. Regard-
widespread attention in the academic community, ing the research on the impact of a company’s
the fragmentation and subjectivity of its measure- characteristics on green innovation, numerous
ment methods still constrain the scientific and scholars, both domestically and internationally,
policy guidance value of the research. Ernest have proposed and validated their viewpoints
6
and David proposed the concept of green inno- from different angles. Due to the high cost of
vation in 1994, which refers to products, tech- green innovation for enterprises, the financial sta-
nologies, innovation efficiency, and processes that tus of the enterprise and its initial R&D expendi-
tures will affect the implementation of green inno-
can achieve the goal of reducing, eliminating, or 11
vation activities. Zhang and Zhang found that
avoiding environmental pollution while saving re-
the expected economic benefits and profitability
sources. However, in relevant domestic and inter-
of enterprises have a significant impact on green
national research, scholars have yet to establish 10
innovation. Brunnermeier and Cohen indicate
a unified standard for measuring green innova-
that the initial environmental costs invested by
tion. In several important studies, green innova-
enterprises are positively correlated with the out-
tion is measured using questionnaires. Due to the
put of green patents, meaning that the higher
high cost of surveys, scholars subsequently began
the environmental costs, the more green patents
using input–output data related to innovation to 12
enterprises produce. Zhang and Wang verified
measure green innovation. The company’s R&D the donation of R&D investment to corporate
investment can reflect its importance in innova-
tion. Generally speaking, the more a company green technology innovation by simulating the
invests in R&D, the more it values innovation. dynamic changes in green technology innovation,
Therefore, R&D investment can be used to re- and the incentive effect continuously strengthened
13
flect a company’s level of innovation. For exam- over time. Wang et al., from the perspective of
7
ple, Lee et al. used green R&D expenditures to public scientific research institutions, found that
measure green innovation, while Wang and Chen 8 green R&D interventions can raise the standard
used R&D investment in energy consumption to of enterprises’ green innovation and broaden the
measure green innovation. As a result of innova- boundary of green innovation; the higher the in-
tion activities, innovation output can also reflect tensity of green R&D cooperation, the stronger
the level of innovation within a company to some the green innovation driving effect.
extent. The quantity of corporate green innova-
9
tion activities was measured by Tao et al. us- Green innovation efficiency is the most ele-
ing the number of invention patent applications. mentary component of green innovation research
They then created a patent knowledge breadth in- and a crucial statistic for assessing the judicious
dex to characterize the quality of green innovation distribution of innovation resources. From the
activities. standpoint of green growth, Zhang and Zhu 14 as-
Although the current research on the impact sessed the technological innovation efficiency of
of enterprise characteristics on green innovation China’s industrial businesses in 2009. Based on
has accumulated abundant results, most of them the results, environmental factors help different
focus on the linear correlation between finan- provinces become more efficient at technological
cial targets and R&D inputs, 10 with the cognitive innovation. Qian et al. determined the GIE of
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