Green innovation dynamics in Chinese manufacturing enterprises: a new institutional and stakeholder theory inquiry

While green practices are widely recognized to promote environmental health, the context of ‘manufacturing enterprises’ green innovation’ (MEGI) and the interplay of factors influencing such practices have received limited attention in the literature. This study explored the dominant factors and mechanisms of manufacturing enterprises’ green innovation practices in China from the lens of the new institutional and the stakeholder theories. The study utilized hierarchical regression and correlation techniques to analyze dataset obtained from 214 Chinese manufacturing companies. The results of the study show that: (1) green innovation normative and green innovation imitation correlate positively with enterprises’ green practices; (2) both innovative resources and capabilities have a strong positive correlation with enterprises’ green innovation; (3) pressure from major stakeholders and secondary stakeholders have a moderate positive effect on green innovation; (4) the executives’ environmental awareness positively regulates the relationship between green innovation normative and green imitation pressure, innovative resources, stakeholder pressure, secondary stakeholder pressure, and enterprise green innovation; and (5) the interaction between enterprise innovation capabilities and executive environmental awareness has a significant negative effect on manufacturing enterprises green innovation initiatives. Theoretically, the findings of this study deepen the strand of empirical studies on green innovation and build a rigorous foundation for the application of the new institutional and stakeholder theories. The study also proffers practical insights for managerial decision-making on green innovation.