About the Journal
In Memory of Professor Jerzy Radecki
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Scope
Impact Factor
Indexed in...
Journal Impact Factor contributing items
Contact
Subscription
Current issue
Online first
Notes to Authors
Frequently Asked Questions
Editorial policies
PJOES Publication Policy Overview
PJOES Peer Review Policy
PJOES Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
PJOES Plagiarism Policy
PJOES Conflict of Interest Policy
PJOES Open Access Policy
PJOES Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Archive
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Green Talent Policy and Green Innovation:
Evidence from China
1
School of Accounting, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming, 650221, China
2
Finance and Economics College, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, China
Submission date: 2024-05-28
Final revision date: 2024-11-29
Acceptance date: 2024-12-16
Online publication date: 2025-03-17
Publication date: 2026-01-30
Corresponding author
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(1):1345-1368
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Taking the green talent policy successively promulgated by Chinese cities as a quasi-natural
experiment, this paper investigates whether and how green talent policy affects corporate green
innovation. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2007 to 2021 and hand-collected
green talent policy data, our findings reveal that green talent policy significantly enhances the quantity
and quality of green innovation. Additional analyses indicate that enhanced green human capital and
alleviated financing constraints are two potential mechanisms through which green talent policy plays
a role. Furthermore, our results support the notion that the green talent policy would bring resources
to enterprises. This paper finds that the positive relationship between green talent policy and green
innovation is more pronounced in firms with limited human capital and in less developed green credit
regions. However, this positive correlation is not apparent for firms in less market-oriented regions due
to inadequate intellectual property protection. Overall, these results indicate that green talent policy is
a significant factor in promoting corporate green innovation. Our findings contribute to the evaluation
of the effectiveness of green talent policy implementation and provide policy implications for improving
green innovation in emerging markets.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (56)
1.
QI S., LIN S., CUI J. Do environmental rights trading schemes induce green innovation? Evidence from listed firms in China. *Economic Research Journal*, 53 (12), 129, 2018.
2.
BRAUN E., WIELD D. Regulation as a means for the social control of technology. *Technology Analysis & Strategic Management*, 06 (03), 259, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1080/095373....
3.
LI M., WANG Q. Will technology advances alleviate climate change? Dual effects of technology change on aggregate carbon dioxide emissions. *Energy for Sustainable Development*, 41, 61, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.....
4.
QUAN X., KE Y., QIAN Y., ZHANG Y. CEO foreign experience and green innovation: evidence from China. *Journal of Business Ethics*, 182 (02), 535, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551... PMCid:PMC10984457.
5.
BI K., WANG Y., YANG C. Effect of innovation resources input on green innovation capability of green innovation system: empirical research from the perspective of manufacturing FDI inflows. *China Soft Science*, (03), 153, 2014.
6.
TO A.H., HA D.T., NGUYEN H.M., VO D.H. The impact of foreign direct investment on environment degradation: evidence from emerging markets in Asia. *International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health*, 16 (09), 1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph... PMid:31083372 PMCid:PMC6539116.
7.
PORTER M.E., VAN DER LINDE C. Green and competitive: ending the stalemate. *Harvard Business Review*, 73 (05), 120, 1995.
8.
WAGNER M. On the relationship between environmental management, environmental innovation and patenting: evidence from German manufacturing firms. *Research Policy*, 36 (10), 1587, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resp....
9.
TESTA F., IRALDO F., FREY M. The effect of environmental regulation on firms' competitive performance: the case of the building & construction sector in some EU regions. *Journal of Environmental Management*, 92 (09), 2136, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv... PMid:21524840.
10.
AMORE M.D., BENNEDSEN M. Corporate governance and green innovation. *Journal of Environmental Economics and Management*, 75, 54, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem....
11.
LI D., ZHENG M., CAO C., CHEN X., REN S., HUANG M. The impact of legitimacy pressure and corporate profitability on green innovation: evidence from China top 100. *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 141, 41, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
12.
ZHANG Y., WU F. The effect of S&T talent-attracting policies on the market value of high-tech enterprises. *Science Research Management*, 43 (03), 72, 2022.
13.
CHEN N., FANG J. Casting the ripple: the impact of local talent introduction policies on executive compensation contracts. *Foreign Economics & Management*, 44 (11), 93, 2022.
14.
JIN Z., PENG L. Local talent introduction policies and corporate human capital. *Journal of Financial Research*, (10), 117, 2022.
15.
LI J., YANG J., LAI M. Can talent policies promote the growth of enterprise's total factor productivity – based on the perspective of local government talent governance. *Economic Theory and Business Management*, (09), 38, 2022.
16.
KATHURIA V. Controlling water pollution in developing and transition countries – lessons from three successful cases. *Journal of Environmental Management*, 78 (4), 405, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv... PMid:16171929.
17.
LIU Y., WANG A., WU Y. Environmental regulation and green innovation: evidence from China's new environmental protection law. *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
18.
HE L., GAN S., ZHONG T. The impact of green credit policy on firms' green strategy choices: green innovation or green-washing? *Environmental Science and Pollution Research*, 29 (48), 73307, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356... PMid:35622278.
19.
MA J., HU Q., SHEN W., WEI X. Does the low-carbon city pilot policy promote green technology innovation? Based on green patent data of Chinese A-share listed companies. *International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health*, 18 (07), 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph... PMid:33916230 PMCid:PMC8037680.
20.
WANG Y., XU S., XUE M. Environmental protection tax and green innovation. *Environmental Science and Pollution Research*, 30 (19), 56670, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356... PMid:36920619.
21.
HE F., YAN Y., HAO J., WU J. Retail investor attention and corporate green innovation: evidence from China. *Energy Economics*, 115, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enec... PMCid:PMC10977774.
22.
HUANG C., CHANG X., WANG Y., LI N. Do major customers encourage innovative sustainable development? Empirical evidence from corporate green innovation in China. *Business Strategy and Development*, 32 (1), 163, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.31....
23.
GU J. Peer influence, market power, and enterprises' green innovation: evidence from Chinese listed firms. *Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management*, 31 (1), 108, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.25....
24.
YU C., WU X., ZHANG D., CHEN S., ZHAO J. Demand for green finance: resolving financing constraints on green innovation in China. *Energy Policy*, 153, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpo....
25.
REHMAN S.U., KRAUS S., SHAH S.A., KHANIN D., MAHTO R.V. Analyzing the relationship between green innovation and environmental performance in large manufacturing firms. *Technological Forecasting and Social Change*, 163, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tech....
26.
ASNI N., AGUSTIA D. Does corporate governance induce green innovation? An emerging market evidence. *Corporate Governance – The International Journal of Business in Society*, 22 (7), 1375, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-10-....
27.
HUANG H., CHANG Y., ZHANG L. CEO's marketing experience and firm green innovation. *Business Strategy and Development*, 32 (8), 5211, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.34....
28.
ARENA C., MICHELON G., TROJANOWSKI G. Big egos can be green: a study of CEO hubris and environmental innovation. *British Journal of Management*, 29 (2), 316, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8....
29.
REN S., WANG Y., HU Y., YAN J. CEO hometown identity and firm green innovation. *Business Strategy and the Environment*, 30 (2), 756, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.26....
30.
HUANG M., LI M., LIAO Z. Do politically connected CEOs promote Chinese listed industrial firms' green innovation? The mediating role of external governance environments. *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
31.
REINER C., MEYER S., SARDADVAR S. Urban attraction policies for international academic talent: Munich and Vienna in comparison. *Cities*, 61, 27, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.citi....
32.
MENG H., DI L., SU J. Evaluating the attraction of the high-level talent recruitment policy of provincial governments in China. *Human Resources Development of China*, (1), 116, 2017.
33.
LIU X., HUANG Q. Comparative analysis between eastern and western regions of China on high-level talent introduction policy texts: Sichuan province and Jiangsu province as examples. *Science and Technology Management Research*, (24), 51, 2018.
34.
LI W., BAKSHI K., TAN Y., HUANG X. Policies for recruiting talented professionals from the diaspora: India and China compared. *International Migration*, 57 (3), 373, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.1....
35.
ZHENG Y., GUO J., ZHU L. The dilemma in talent recruitment and the mechanism of talent recruitment in a broad sense in Hainan free trade zone. *Human & Social Sciences Journal of Hainan University*, 37 (6), 46, 2019.
36.
HE J., YAN S., TAN Z., HU M., FENG X., JIANG H. Text measure and effectiveness evaluation on the talent policy of "the war for talent": a perspective based on enterprise using policy. *Science of Science and Management of S&T*, 41 (12), 52, 2020.
37.
LI J., YANG J., MINGYONG L. Can talent policies promote the growth of enterprise's total factor productivity. *Economic Theory and Business Management*, (9), 38, 2022.
38.
DU X., PENG M. Do high-speed trains motivate the flow of corporate highly educated talents? *Business Management Journal*, 39 (12), 89, 2017.
39.
CHEN D., GAO H., LUO J., MA Y. The effects of rural–urban migration on corporate innovation: evidence from a natural experiment in China. *Financial Management*, 49 (2), 521, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/fima.1....
40.
LU J.C., JIANG G.S. Can CEO green experience promote green innovation? *Business Management Journal*, 44 (2), 106, 2022 [In Chinese].
41.
XI L.S., ZHAO H. Senior executive dual environmental cognition, green innovation and enterprise sustainable development performance. *Business Management Journal*, 44 (3), 139, 2022 [In Chinese].
42.
WANG F.M., HE J., CHEN L.L. Will interlocking directors with green experience promote quantity increase and quality improvement of enterprise green innovation? *China Industrial Economics*, 10, 155, 2023 [In Chinese].
43.
WANG X., WANG Y. Research on the green innovation promoted by green credit policies. *Journal of Management World*, 37 (6), 173, 2021 [In Chinese].
44.
WANG G.G., XIE F.J., JIA Y. Reconsider inventive mechanism of R&D subsidy policy – based on exploration for external financing incentive mechanism. *China Industrial Economics*, 2, 60, 2017 [In Chinese].
45.
ZHAI S.P., BI X.F., LI S.N. The enterprise dualistic innovation investment under time and space compression: evidence of high-speed railway opening. *South China Journal of Economics*, 9, 54, 2020 [In Chinese].
46.
ZENG Q., TONG Y., YANG Y. Can green finance promote green technology innovation in enterprises: empirical evidence from China. *Environmental Science and Pollution Research*, 30 (37), 87628, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356... PMid:37428314.
47.
LIN Z., LIN H., DENG X. A research on the impact of R&D investment on firms' performance. *Science Research Management*, 37 (7), 47, 2016.
48.
SERFLING M. Firing costs and capital structure decisions. *The Journal of Finance*, 71 (5), 2239, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.1....
49.
CHETTY R., LOONEY A., KROFT K. Salience and taxation: theory and evidence. *The American Economic Review*, 99 (4), 2009. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.99....
50.
LA FERRARA E., CHONG A., DURYEA S. Soap operas and fertility: evidence from Brazil. *American Economic Journal: Applied Economics*, 4 (4), 1, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.4.....
51.
CHEN Y., XIE Y., YOU H., ZHANG Y. Does crackdown on corruption reduce stock price crash risk? Evidence from China. *Journal of Corporate Finance*, 51, 125, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcor....
52.
LI Z. Will cheap talk on environmental responsibility get punished? *The Journal of World Economy*, 41 (12), 167, 2018.
53.
HADLOCK C.J., PIERCE J.R. New evidence on measuring financial constraints: moving beyond the KZ index. *Review of Financial Studies*, 23 (5), 1909, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hh... PMCid:PMC12843545.
54.
MARVEL M.R., LUMPKIN G.T. Technology entrepreneurs' human capital and its effects on innovation. *Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice*, 31 (06), 807, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540....
55.
JI Y., YANG Q. Can the high-speed rail service promote enterprise innovation? A study based on quasi-natural experiments. *The Journal of World Economy*, 43 (02), 147, 2020.
56.
MA L., WANG L., ZHANG Q. Pecking order of mixed ownership: the logic of market. *China Industrial Economics*, 7, 1, 2015.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
