ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Institutional Configuration Study of Urban Green Economic Efficiency – Analysis Based on fsQCA and NCA
,
 
,
 
,
 
,
 
Scopus logo
 
 
 
More details
Hide details
1
School of Business, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, China
 
2
Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 
 
Submission date: 2024-02-24
 
 
Final revision date: 2024-03-17
 
 
Acceptance date: 2024-04-13
 
 
Online publication date: 2024-07-30
 
 
Publication date: 2025-01-09
 
 
Corresponding author
Bing He   

School of Business, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, China
 
 
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(2):1457-1467
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Since there is a lot of discussion and attention focused on green economic efficiency, the central government has prioritized the sustainable development of the urban economy. Utilizing the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) methodologies based on sample data from 276 Chinese cities in 2021, this study examines the institutional configurations that influence urban green economic efficiency. The findings show that environmental regulations, environmental subsidies, green credit, the green equity market, and the level of enterprise intelligence cannot individually constitute the required conditions for determining urban green economic efficiency. However, they form four institutional configurations that enable cities to attain high levels of green economic efficiency. The study provides useful insights for sustainable development by thoroughly revealing the intricate causal links between numerous institutional aspects and urban green economic efficiency.
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 (45)
1.
FAROOQ M.U., SHAHZAD U., SARWAR S., LI Z.J. The impact of carbon emission and forest activities on health outcomes: empirical evidence from China. *Environmental Science and Pollution Research*, 26 (13), 12894, 2019. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356...> PMid:30888615.
 
2.
HE B., YU X.X., HO S.E., ZHANG X.Y., XU D. Does China's Two‑Way FDI Coordination Improve Its Green Total Factor Productivity? *Polish Journal of Environmental Studies*, 33 (1), 173, 2024. <https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes...> PMid:11301846.
 
3.
SHAO Q.L. Paving ways for a sustainable future: a literature review. *Environmental Science and Pollution Research*, 27, 13032, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356...> PMid:32141001.
 
4.
LUO K., LIU Y., CHEN P.F., ZENG M. Assessing the impact of digital economy on green development efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. *Energy Economics*, 112, 106127, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enec...>.
 
5.
FUKUYAMA H., WEBER W\.L. A directional slacks‑based measure of technical inefficiency. *Socio‑Economic Planning Sciences*, 43 (4), 274, 2009. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps...>.
 
6.
ZHANG J. Estimation of China's provincial capital stock (1952–2004) with applications. *Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies*, 6 (2), 177, 2008. <https://doi.org/10.1080/147652...>.
 
7.
REZA‑GHAREHBAGH R., HAFEZALKOTOB A., MAKUI A., SAYADI M.K. Financing green technology development and role of digital platforms: Insourcing vs. outsourcing. *Technology in Society*, 69, 101967, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tech...>.
 
8.
JIANG Q., LI J., SI H., SU Y. The Impact of the Digital Economy on Agricultural Green Development: Evidence from China. *Agriculture*, 12 (8), 1107, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.3390/agricu...>.
 
9.
ISHIDA H. The effect of ICT development on economic growth and energy consumption in Japan. *Telematics and Informatics*, 32 (1), 79, 2015. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele...>.
 
10.
GUAITA MARTÍNEZ J.M., PUERTAS R., MARTÍN MARTÍN J.M., RIBEIRO‑SORIANO D. Digitalization, innovation and environmental policies aimed at achieving sustainable production. *Sustainable Production and Consumption*, 32, 92, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc....>.
 
11.
LV C., FAN J., LEE C.C. Can green credit policies improve corporate green production efficiency? *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 397, 136573, 2023. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle...>.
 
12.
WANG Y., LEI X., LONG R., ZHAO J. Green Credit, Financial Constraint, and Capital Investment: Evidence from China's energy‑intensive enterprises. *Environmental Management*, 66 (6), 1059, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267...> PMid:32793991.
 
13.
SU X., PAN C., ZHOU S., ZHONG X. Threshold effect of green credit on firms' green technology innovation: Is environmental information disclosure important? *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 380, 134945, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle...>.
 
14.
ZHANG M., LI X., PAI C.H., DING H., ZHANG X. Green credit and fossil fuel resource efficiency: Advancing sustainability in Asia. *Resources Policy*, 86, 104204, 2023. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reso...>.
 
15.
KONG F., WANG Y. How to understand carbon neutrality in the context of climate change? With special reference to China. *Sustainable Environment*, 8 (1), 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1080/276585...>.
 
16.
KURNIAWAN T.A., LIANG X., O'CALLAGHAN E., GOH H., OTHMAN M.H.D., AVTAR R., KUSWORO T.D. Transformation of Solid Waste Management in China: Moving towards Sustainability through Digitalization‑Based Circular Economy. *Sustainability*, 14 (4), 2374, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.3390/su1404...>.
 
17.
JIANG Y., NI H., NI Y., GUO X. Assessing environmental, social, and governance performance and natural resource management policies in China's dual carbon era. *Resources Policy*, 85, 104050, 2023. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reso...>.
 
18.
XIONG W., JIANG M., TASHKHODJAEV M., PASHAYEV Z. Greening the economic recovery: Natural resource market efficiency as a key driver. *Resources Policy*, 86, 104268, 2023. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reso...>.
 
19.
SCHNEIDER C.Q., WAGEMANN C. *Set‑Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences*. Cambridge University Press, 2012. <https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO978...>.
 
20.
VIS B., DUL J. Analyzing Relationships of Necessity Not Just in Kind But Also in Degree. *Sociological Methods & Research*, 47 (4), 872, 2016. <https://doi.org/10.1177/004912...> PMid:30443090 PMCid:PMC6195096.
 
21.
World Investment Report 2018. UNCTAD, 2018.
 
22.
ZHENG Y., LI C., LIU Y. Impact of environmental regulations on SME innovation: Evidence from China. *Environmental Technology & Innovation*, 22, 101515, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti....>.
 
23.
SHAO Y., CHEN Z. Can government subsidies promote green technology innovation transformation? Evidence from Chinese listed companies. *Economic Analysis and Policy*, 74, 716, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap....>.
 
24.
DONG Z., HE Y., WANG H., WANG L. Is there a ripple effect in environmental regulation in China? Evidence from local‑neighborhood green technology innovation. *Ecological Indicators*, 118, 106773, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol...>.
 
25.
SHUAI S., FAN Z. Modeling the role of environmental regulations in China's green economy efficiency: Evidence from super‑efficiency DEA‑Tobit. *Journal of Environmental Management*, 261, 110227, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv...> PMid:32148297.
 
26.
PORTER M.E. Essay. *Scientific American*, 264 (4), 168, 1991. <https://doi.org/10.1038/scient...>.
 
27.
AMBEC S., COHEN M.A., ELGIE S., LANOIE P. The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness? *Review of Environmental Economics and Policy*, 7 (1), 2, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/r...> PMCid:PMC7450147.
 
28.
FAROOQ U., WEN J., TABASH M.I., FADOUL M. Environmental regulations and capital investment: Does green innovation allow to grow? *International Review of Economics & Finance*, 89, 878, 2024. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref...>.
 
29.
HUANG Z., LIAO G., LI Z. Loaning scale and government subsidy for promoting green innovation. *Technological Forecasting and Social Change*, 144, 148, 2019. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tech...>.
 
30.
PLANK J., DOBLINGER C. The firm-level innovation impact of public R\&D funding: Evidence from the German renewable energy sector. *Energy Policy*, 113, 430, 2018. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpo...>.
 
31.
DUQUE‐GRISALES E., AGUILERA‐CARACUEL J., GUERRERO‐VILLEGAS J., GARCÍA‐SÁNCHEZ E. Does green innovation affect the financial performance of Multilatinas? The moderating role of ISO 14001 and R\&D investment. *Business Strategy and the Environment*, 29 (8), 3286, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.25...>.
 
32.
THOMPSON P., COWTON C.J. Bringing the environment into bank lending: implications for environmental reporting. *The British Accounting Review*, 36 (2), 197, 2004. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar....>.
 
33.
JEUCKEN M. *Sustainable Finance and Banking: The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet*. Earthscan Publications Ltd., London, 2001.
 
34.
HE L., ZHANG L., ZHONG Z., WANG D., WANG F. Green credit, renewable energy investment and green economy development: Empirical analysis based on 150 listed companies of China. *Journal of Cleaner Production*, 208, 363, 2019. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle...>.
 
35.
HARIHARAN D., REDDY D. Impact of Waste Management Policies and Use of Green Energy Sources to Reduce Environmental Pollution in the Global Business Market Atmosphere. *Technoarete Transactions on Renewable Energy, Green Energy and Sustainability*, 2 (2), 2022. <https://doi.org/10.36647/TTREG...>.
 
36.
HOPENHAYN H. Firms, Misallocation, and Aggregate Productivity: A Review. *Annual Review of Economics*, 6 (1), 735, 2014. <https://doi.org/10.1146/annure...>.
 
37.
NAMBISAN S., LYYTINEN K., MAJCHRZAK A., SONG M. Digital Innovation Management: Reinventing Innovation Management Research in a Digital World. *MIS Quarterly*, 41 (1), 223, 2017. <https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/...>.
 
38.
LYU W., LIU J. Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies in the energy sector. *Applied Energy*, 303, 117615, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apen...>.
 
39.
HUTCHINSON P. Reinventing Innovation Management: The Impact of Self‑Innovating Artificial Intelligence. *IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management*, 68 (2), 628, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.20...>.
 
40.
POPKOVA E.G., INSHAKOVA A.O., BOGOVIZ A.V., LOBOVA S.V. Energy Efficiency and Pollution Control Through ICTs for Sustainable Development. *Frontiers in Energy Research*, 9, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg....>.
 
41.
NOSELEIT F. Entrepreneurship, structural change, and economic growth. *Journal of Evolutionary Economics*, 23 (4), 735, 2012. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191...>.
 
42.
FISS P.C. Building Better Causal Theories: A Fuzzy Set Approach to Typologies in Organization Research. *Academy of Management Journal*, 54 (2), 393, 2011. <https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.20...> PMCid:PMC11676925.
 
43.
TONE K. A slacks-based measure of efficiency in data envelopment analysis. *European Journal of Operational Research*, 130 (3), 498, 2001. <https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-...>.
 
44.
CRILLY D., ZOLLO M., HANSEN M.T. Faking It or Muddling Through? Understanding Decoupling in Response to Stakeholder Pressures. *Academy of Management Journal*, 55 (6), 1429, 2012. <https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.20...>.
 
45.
GRECKHAMER T., FURNARI S., FISS P.C., AGUILERA R.V. Studying configurations with qualitative comparative analysis: Best practices in strategy and organization research. *Strategic Organization*, 16 (4), 482, 2018. <https://doi.org/10.1177/147612...>.
 
 
CITATIONS (22):
1.
Investigating Factors Influencing Regional Green Innovation Based on the Grouping Perspective
Ye Yang, Yanfeng Cong
Highlights in Business, Economics and Management
 
2.
Moving Toward Carbon Neutrality in China: The Role of Human Capital in Reducing Carbon Intensity
Congying Ma, Yongxia Ma
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
 
3.
Do the E-commerce-induced business clusters increase the income of local rural households?
Li Qiuyun, Mingjia Xie, Yuehuan Tang
Economic Analysis and Policy
 
4.
Designing Governance for ESG: Incentive and Oversight Complementarities in Corporate Sustainability Performance
Beyza Gürel, Nehir Balci, Mustafa Reha Okur
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
 
5.
Foreign investment and local emissions: Decoding the sectoral FDI-Environment nexus
Beenish Amir, Saba Fazal Firdousi, Ayesha Afzal
Environment, Development and Sustainability
 
6.
Specialization in Environmental Justice and Enterprises’ ESG: Evidence from the Environmental Courts in China
Mengmeng Geng
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies: Politics, Economics and Industry
 
7.
Impact of enhancing national autonomous innovation demonstration zones on cities’ efficiency in technological innovation
Mei He, Zhixiong Fan, Yanrui Chen
Scientific Reports
 
8.
Leveraging environmental knowledge to strengthen ESG performance and drive green innovation
Asep Marfu, Agung Purwanto, Dwi Atmanto
Discover Sustainability
 
9.
Research on Whether Quality Policies Can Promote the High-Quality Development of China’s Manufacturing Industry and Its Configuration Paths in the Context of Sustainable Development
Zhiqiang Zhang, Yifan Bai
Sustainability
 
10.
Can the Inclusiveness of Foreign Capital Improve Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance? Evidence from China
Bing He, Cancan Ma
Sustainability
 
11.
Carbon reduction strategies and firm value: evidence from China’s carbon quota allocation policies
Yiwen Zhao, Liurui Deng, Jiafeng Ke
Applied Economics Letters
 
12.
The “label code” of pro-environmental behavior—a study on pro-environmental behavior based on behavioral label theory
Xiaozhi Huang, Jiayue Li
Scientific Reports
 
13.
ESG emphasis of top companies in East and Southeast Asian countries unveiled by deep learning
Chao Li, Alexander Ryota Keeley, Shunsuke Managi
Green Technologies and Sustainability
 
14.
The Power of Collaboration: How Does Green Innovation Network Affect Urban Green Total Factor Productivity?
Hongrui Jiao, Hongbing Deng, Shengmei Hu
Sustainability
 
15.
Typologies of Service Supply Chain Resilience: A Multidimensional Analysis from China’s Regional Economies
Zhaoyu Chen, Mad Ithnin Salleh
Sustainability
 
16.
The Pollution Reduction Effect of Target Responsibility System of Environmental Protection: Evidence from China
Chao Li, Qiuyue Yang, Wenfang Fu
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
 
17.
Does the Digital Economy Matter for Carbon Emissions in China? Mechanism and Path
Bing He, Weichao Ding, Deyin Zhang
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies
 
18.
Spatial and Temporal Differentiation of Carbon Emission Efficiency and the Impact of Green Technology Innovation in Hubei Province
Shan Duan, Bingying Shang, Yan Nie, Junkai Wang, Ming Li, Jing Yu
Sustainability
 
19.
Sustainable development of national green innovation capacity: a qualitative comparative analysis based on dynamic public data
Yi Ran, Liu Qijia
Frontiers in Public Health
 
20.
The role of sustainable-oriented investor penetration in enhancing corporate carbon and energy efficiency: Evidence from China
Yunrong Li, Chi Zhou
Green Technologies and Sustainability
 
21.
Mechanisms of investor attention in enhancing ESG performance: evidence from Chinese listed companies
Dan Lu, Tiantian Meng, Yeng Wai Lau, Tze San Ong
Discover Global Society
 
22.
Low-Carbon Control of Integrated Energy by Combining Cuckoo Search Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm
Dandan Wang, Jian Guan, Hongyan Liu, Hanwen Zhang, Qi Wang, Lijian Zhang, Jingzheng Dong
Sustainability
 
eISSN:2083-5906
ISSN:1230-1485
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top