School of Business, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jul;29(32):48937-48952. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-19270-3. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
The concept of green development has gradually penetrated into the enterprise. Green mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have gradually become a means for heavily polluting enterprises to achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction and embark on the path of green transformation. Heavily polluting enterprises have acquired clean technology and resources through green M&A, and whether they will promote their green innovations after green M&A has not yet been explored. Based on the data of M&As of China's heavy polluting enterprises from 2010 to 2018, this study empirically tests whether the M&As of heavy polluting enterprises can promote green innovation. The results show that M&As by heavily polluting enterprises can promote green innovation, and this impact is promoted with the support of government subsidies. In addition, older or higher paid CEOs negatively moderate this effect. Therefore, our study believes that most of the M&As of heavy polluting enterprises are taking the initiative to take environmental protection responsibilities and embarking on the path of green transformation. The government can issue relevant policies to encourage heavily polluting enterprises to conduct green M&A in order to achieve their goal of green transformation. Our study has enriched the relevant literature on green investment and green innovation, and can be used as a reference for the government to introduce policies for the green transformation of heavily polluting enterprises.
绿色发展理念逐渐渗透到企业中。绿色并购（M&A）逐渐成为重污染企业实现节能减排目标、走上绿色转型道路的一种手段。重污染企业通过绿色并购获得了清洁技术和资源，那么它们在绿色并购后是否会推动绿色创新，这一点尚未得到探讨。基于 2010 年至 2018 年中国重污染企业的并购数据，本研究从实证角度检验了重污染企业的并购是否能够促进绿色创新。结果表明，重污染企业的并购可以促进绿色创新，而这种影响在政府补贴的支持下得到了提升。此外，年长或薪酬较高的首席执行官会对这种效应产生负向调节作用。因此，我们的研究认为，大多数重污染企业的并购都是在主动承担环保责任，走上绿色转型的道路。政府可以出台相关政策，鼓励重污染企业进行绿色并购，以实现其绿色转型的目标。本研究丰富了绿色投资和绿色创新的相关文献，可为政府出台重污染企业绿色转型政策提供参考。
