Relationships between fluctuations of environmental regulation, technological innovation, and economic growth: a multinational perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaiyang Xie ◽  
Liang Qu ◽  
Runhui Lin ◽  
Qiutong Guo

PurposeEnvironmental regulation is in a continuous state of intense change and modification amid the long-term tensions between environmental protection and economic growth. In this article, the authors creatively investigate how fluctuations of environmental regulation influence a nation's economic growth while also examining the mediating effect of technological innovation.Design/methodology/approachUsing sample data of 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries from 2013 to 2018, environmental regulation is differentiated in two aspects of formal environmental regulation (FER) and informal environmental regulation (IER) and analyzed to assess the effects of regulatory fluctuations on investment and technological innovation.FindingsThe research results demonstrate that both FER fluctuation and IER fluctuation exert a significant negative impact on economic growth. These two fluctuations in environmental regulation increase uncertainty and unpredictable risks for corporations and investors, significantly stifling the willingness to contribute to innovation activities and leading to a diminished level of innovation. Technological innovation is revealed to have a mediating influence on the relationship of environmental regulation fluctuation to economic growth.Originality/valueThese findings enrich the research on the impact of environmental regulation from a dynamic, multinational perspective, contributing to the literature by exploring the relationships between environmental regulation fluctuation, technological innovation and economic growth at the OECD-country level.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guichuan Zhou ◽  
Wendi Liu ◽  
Liming Zhang ◽  
Kaiwen She

Previous studies indicate that the Porter hypothesis (PH) generates controversial and inconsistent conclusions on the impact of environmental regulation (ER) on business performance. As a result, based on the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2016 to 2018, a moderated mediating effect model is established to examine the relationship between ER, technological innovation and business performance, as well as the moderating effect of environmental regulation flexibility (ERF) on the relationship. Results show that technological innovation has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between ER and business performance. Furthermore, ERF has a negative moderating effect on the mediating effect technological innovation exerted. At a certain degree, the flexible ER could weaken technological innovation’s mediating effects on the relationship between ER and business performance, and further could mitigate the negative impact of ER on both technological innovation and business performance. Also, an inflexible ER intensifies its negative effects on technological innovation and business performance, which is to the disadvantage of enterprises becoming the subject of environmental protection consciously and sustainably.


Author(s):  
Yinhao Wu ◽  
Shumin Yu ◽  
Xiangdong Duan

Pollution-intensive industries (PIIs) have both scale effect and environmental sensitivity. Therefore, this paper studies how environmental regulation (ER) affects the location dynamics of PIIs under the agglomeration effect. Our results show that, ER can increase the production costs of pollution-intensive firms (PIFs) by internalizing the negative impact of pollutant discharge in a region, and thus, directly reduces the region’s attractiveness to PIFs. Meanwhile, ER can indirectly reduce the attractiveness of a region to PIFs by reducing the externality of the regional agglomeration effect. Moreover, these influences are regulated by the level of local economic development. Based on the moderated mediating effect model, we find evidence from the site selection activities of newly built chemical firms in cities across China. The empirical test shows that compared with 2014, the proportion of the direct effect of ER to the total effects significantly decreased in 2018, while the proportion of indirect effects under the agglomeration effect increased significantly. Our findings provide reference for the government to design effective environmental policies to guide the location choice of new PIFs.


Author(s):  
Qingyang Wu

Abstract:This paper uses the balanced panel data from 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China for a total of 17 years from 2000 to 2016 as a research sample, and establishes an empirical model to examine the impact of environmental regulations and technological innovation on the quality of economic growth. Then this paper test technological innovation as a threshold variable, in which play a regulatory role. Taking the provincial balanced panel data as a research sample, a fixed effect model, a system GMM model, and a panel threshold model were established for empirical testing and the robustness test. Based on the empirical results, this article draws the following conclusions: from a national perspective, environmental regulations and technological innovation can significantly promote the quality of economic growth; from a regional perspective, there are regional differences in impact effects. Under the constraints of environmental regulations, the promotion effect of technological innovation on the quality of economic growth will be reduced; the impact of environmental regulation on the quality of economic growth will have a "threshold effect", and environmental regulation can significantly promote the quality of economic growth only after crossing the threshold and the threshold of technological innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Martins

PurposeThe concept of green marketing has emerged as a panacea for reducing the negative impact of business activities on the environment. Many studies have investigated the impact of green marketing on green purchase behavior, sustainable competitive advantage, etc., without much being explored about how green marketing translates into firms' profitability, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. This study, therefore, investigates the influence of green marketing on perceived SME profitability alongside the mediating effect of green purchase behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research approach was adopted, where a cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect the data from 400 SME owners/managers in Ghana. Using Statistical Package for Social Science, the data were analysed through descriptive statistics, correlation and macro Process version 3.4.1.FindingsThe results reveal that the dimensions (environmental knowledge, environmental concern, green price, green advertising and green product) of green marketing distinctively have significant positive effect on perceived SME profitability as well as green purchase behaviour. Furthermore, green purchase behaviour significantly mediates the relationship between green marketing dimensions and perceived SME profitability such that the indirect effects are far greater than the direct effects.Practical implicationsSME managers should include the green marketing dimensions in their business plans and develop strategies to implement them in order to enhance green purchase behaviour of their products and services which will, in turn, lead to profitability.Originality/valueIn augmenting green marketing literature, this study provides an insight into how SMEs can leverage on the distinct dimensions of green marketing to influence green purchase behaviour and profitability in an emerging market context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minggui Yu ◽  
Yujing Huang ◽  
Huijie Zhong ◽  
Qing Zhang

Purpose There are two opposite views about whether the Antitrust Law is conducive to the development of the economy. One view is that the Antitrust Law can restrain monopoly, maintain market competition and benefit economic growth. The other view is that the Antitrust Law inhibits innovation by monopolistic firms and fosters rent-seeking, which is bad for economic growth. To provide a possible perspective for clarifying the controversy, this paper aims to answer the following two questions: first, will the Antitrust Law inhibit corporate innovation? Second, does the antitrust enforcement agency discriminate against private enterprises? Design/methodology/approach Based on the samples of A-share listed companies from 2003 to 2013, the authors use the implementation of China’s Antitrust Law in 2008 as a policy shock, take the monopoly enterprises in each industry as the treatment group and competitive enterprises as the control group, using the difference-in-differences method to test the impact of the implementation of the Antitrust Law on corporate innovation activities. Findings The results show that compared with competitive enterprises, the patent output of monopolistic enterprises was significantly reduced after the implementation of the Antitrust Law, which indicates that the Antitrust Law does inhibit the innovation activities of monopolistic enterprises. Further research finds that the innovation suppression effect of the Antitrust Law is more prominent in state-owned enterprises, which means that the government does not have “selective law enforcement” against private enterprises in the process of law enforcement. Therefore, the results provide evidence for the idea that government intervention is neutral. Originality/value First, the paper enriches and expands the research on the factors affecting corporate innovation from the perspective of market structure. Second, it enriches and expands relevant research on the consequences of implementing the Antitrust Law from the perspective of corporate innovation. Third, it not only provides the relevant empirical evidence for clarifying the dispute about the Antitrust Law but also is helpful to clarify whether the Chinese Government has “selective law enforcement” against private enterprises.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Zhong ◽  
Weihong Chen ◽  
Ge Ren

PurposeMany studies have examined the antecedents of firms' strategic change on a micro and meso level, but few studies have explored it from the macrolevel (e.g. economic policy uncertainty) perspective. This research draws attention to the impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change.Design/methodology/approachThis research empirically tests hypotheses based on a sample of listed firms in China during the period between 2010 and 2017.FindingsBased on real options theory, the authors theorize and find that economic policy uncertainty will negatively affect firms' strategic change through the mediating effect of CEO turnover. Moreover, organizational inertia will strengthen the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty on CEO turnover and will weaken the positive impact of CEO turnover on firms' strategic change.Originality/valueFirst, this research contributes to the strategic change literature by demonstrating the important impact of economic policy uncertainty on firms' strategic change. Second, this research expands the literature on the economic consequences of economic policy uncertainty. Third, this research clarifies the path and boundary conditions of economic policy uncertainty affecting strategic change by introducing the mediating effects of CEO turnover and the moderating effects of organizational inertia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhong Cao ◽  
Jianxin You

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between environmental regulation, technological innovation and manufacturing quality competitiveness to provide some references for emission reduction activities and improvements in manufacturing quality competitiveness to achieve environmental protection targets and economic development as part of a win–win situation. Design/methodology/approach Based on the structure-behavior-performance paradigm and Grabowski’s research, a new empirical model was provided. The software, EViews 6.0, was used for econometric analysis. Regression analysis was adopted to explore the three indicators’ relationships. Findings First, environmental regulation can promote technological innovation effectively. Second, compared with wasted gas and wasted solids, investment in wasted water control promotes Chinese technological innovation most. Third, the impact of research and development investment, induced by environmental regulation, on manufacturing quality competitiveness is greater than that induced by non-environmental regulation. Fourth, the impact of lagged two-phase environmental regulation on manufacturing quality competitiveness is similar to that of lagged one-phase regulation. Practical implications The issue that Chinese manufacturing is facing is how to manage the trade-off between pollution control investment and improved quality competitiveness. This study enables managers to understand how to better implement environmental regulation initiatives while achieving environmental protection and quality competitiveness as part of a win–win situation. Originality/value This paper analyzes the relationships between environmental regulation, technological innovation and manufacturing quality competitiveness for the first time and provides the basic argument for integrating Chinese environmental regulation with quality competitiveness to reveal the uniqueness of the circumstances determining China’s economic development.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 487-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yew Chong Tan ◽  
Nelson Oly Ndubisi

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between organisational resources, technological innovation, relationship quality and enterprise performance, as well as the mediating effect of firm–supplier RQ. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted of the palm oil processing sector in Malaysia, consisting milling, refining and oleo-chemical companies. Data were gathered and used to statistically test hypotheses that underpinned a proposed conceptual model. Findings – Organisational resources have a direct impact on RQ, which, in turn, has a direct effect on performance indicators such as financial performance, market effectiveness and strategic objectives. RQ is a mediator in some of the resource-performance relationships, which underpins the genesis of the research undertaken. The mediating role played by RQ in promoting business performance in the palm oil processing sectors, is achieved through translating the effects of organisational resources into improved business performance. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this study lies in its cross-sectional nature. A single respondent was drawn from each company, and information from each respondent was obtained only once and at a single point in time. Practical implications – The results offer some suggestions to top management, e.g. on the type of resources to invest in and exploring vital relational issues that enhance performance outcomes and the impact of different sets of resources on relational dynamics. Originality/value – Very little is known about the application of resource-based view in the Asian context, or how RQ affects business performance from the East Asian perspective. By confirming the strong impact of RQ on business performance in the Asian context, the study adds value by providing evidence from the East. The study also makes a contextual contribution, by demonstrating the applicability of the observed relationships among palm oil processing companies from a non-Western, collectivist society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2231
Author(s):  
Die Li ◽  
Sumin Hu

Technological innovation is considered to be an effective way to promote the quality of economic development and green transition under environmental policies, while the specific mechanism of this process is still unclear. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to examine how technological innovation mediates the relation between environmental regulation and high-quality economic development. Based on the panel data of 34 industries in China from 2007 to 2015, this paper firstly calculated the green total factor productivity (GTFP) as a proxy variable for the quality of economic development through the super-slack-based measure model, and then analyzed the impact of environmental regulation and technical innovation on the GTFP by making use of the mediation effect model. The results showed that environmental-related policy directly affected the GTFP while technological innovation indirectly moderated this process, where the moderate impact of technological innovation was industrial heterogeneous. Specifically, the relation between environmental regulation and GTFP was positively and partially moderated by technological innovation in clean industries and high-tech industries, while positively but completely moderated by technological innovation in low-and medium-tech industries. Moreover, the mediating effect of technological innovation in pollution-intensive industries was positive but insignificant.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mesbah Fathy Sharaf

PurposeWithin a multivariate framework, this study examines the asymmetric and threshold impact of external debt on economic growth in Egypt during the period 1980–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration and a vector error-correction model to estimate the short- and long-run parameters of equilibrium dynamics. A multiple structural breaks model is estimated to test nonlinearity in the relationship between external debt and economic growth.FindingsResults of the NARDL model show a robust statistically significant negative long-run impact on economic growth stemming from both positive and negative external-debt-induced shocks. In terms of magnitude, on the one hand, the impact of external-debt-induced negative shocks exceeds that of the positive. In the short and long run, on the other hand, the growth impact of external debt in Egypt is symmetric. There is also support for the nonlinearity hypothesis in which a negative impact on growth of external debt obtains once the threshold level of external debt-to-GDP ratio equals or exceeds 96.7%.Practical implicationsIdentifying the threshold level after which external debt becomes harmful to economic growth would help inform policymakers in Egypt about maximum external debt levels that can be sustained without impairing economic growth.Originality/valueThe current study makes a substantial contribution to the extant literature on the debt-growth tradeoffs. It breaks ground by being the first tract that examines, using a NARDL model, asymmetry and nonlinearity of debt-growth tradeoffs in Egypt.


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