环境信息披露对企业绿色技术扩散的影响及传导机制

The Impact of Environmental Information Disclosure on Enterprise Green Technology Diffusion and Its Transmission Mechanism

摘要:

利益相关者理论下的资本市场及投资者基于环境友好投资策略推崇，迫切需要企业披露更高质量的环境信息；而企业也需要通过环境信息披露使绿色技术完成从扩散方到被扩散方的流动和转移的过程，再进一步地通过绿色技术的扩散推动更多企业实现绿色转型。以2012－2021中国1316家A股上市公司为研究样本，利用多重中介效应模型和层次回归法实证检验环境信息披露对企业绿色技术扩散的影响及其传导机制，并进一步分别检验了该影响在企业、地区、行业层面的异质性以及数字化转型的调节效应。研究发现：环境信息披露能够显著促进企业间绿色技术扩散，政府补助与绿色合作创新分别发挥部分中介效应，且“政府补助－绿色合作创新”的链式中介效应显著。环境信息披露对处于成长期和位于中国东部地区的企业间绿色技术的扩散具有显著的促进作用，且对于重污染行业其企业的促进作用更强；企业数字化转型程度正向调节环境信息披露对于企业间绿色技术扩散的促进作用。为此，企业应主动全面披露高水平的环境信息，对外释放绿色技术供需信号，促进绿色技术在企业间的充分流动与扩散。

Abstract:

Green technology sets the future direction for high-quality sustainable development and is key to accelerating the green transformation of enterprises. Under the stakeholder theory, the capital market and investors advocating for environmentally friendly investment strategies urgently require enterprises to disclose higher-quality environmental information. Enterprises also need to complete the flow and transition of green technology from the diffuser to the recipient through environmental information disclosure, and thereby help more enterprises to realize green transformation. Taking 1 316 A-share listed companies in China from 2012 to 2021 as the research samples, the number of citations of green patents is used to characterize the diffusion of green technology, and the multiple mediation effect model and hierarchical regression are employed to empirically examine the impact of environmental information disclosure on the diffusion of green technology within enterprises and its transmission mechanism. Additionally, the heterogeneity of this impact at the firm, regional, and industry levels, as well as the moderating effect of digital transformation are investigated. Results indicate that environmental information disclosure, as a form of communication between enterprises and the external environment, can significantly promote the diffusion and dissemination of green technologies among enterprises. Government subsidies, along with green cooperation and innovation, serve as significant partial mediators in the positive impact of environmental information disclosure on the diffusion of green technology among enterprises. The promotion effect of environmental information disclosure on the diffusion of green technology is more significant among enterprises in the growth period and located in the eastern region of China, and has a stronger effects for enterprises in the heavily polluting industries. The degree of a company’s digital transformation positively moderates the impact of environmental information disclosure on the diffusion of green technology among enterprises. Enterprises should take the initiative to fully disclose high-level environmental information, uncover the information of green technology supply and demand, to promote the full flow and diffusion of green technology among enterprises.