ESG‐oriented analysts and corporate green innovation

Abstract This paper investigates whether and how analysts' ESG orientation affects corporate green innovation in China. We find that ESG‐oriented analysts in brokerage firms with strong ESG performance significantly stimulate the target firms' green innovation. Mechanism analyses suggest that ESG‐oriented analysts enhance the anticipated benefits of corporate environmental risk management, and reduces the costs associated with managerial myopia and financial frictions. The effect could not be fully explained by analysts' competence. Our findings are robust to propensity score matching and difference‐in‐differences analyses. We provide valuable insights into the crucial role of analysts' ESG values in driving innovation‐oriented corporate sustainability.