How do enterprises’ green collaborative innovation network locations affect their green total factor productivity? Empirical analysis based on social network analysis

Green collaborative innovation plays an increasingly prominent role in improving enterprises' green total factor productivity (GTFP). Using China's listed manufacturing enterprises' panel data from 2011 to 2022, this paper uses social network analysis to construct green collaborative innovation networks based on the data of joint applications for green patents. This paper then performs an empirical analysis to explore the impact of enterprises' green collaborative innovation network locations on their GTFP and the associated impact mechanism. The results show that (1) enterprises in the core position of a green collaborative innovation network can enhance their GTFP, and this conclusion remains robust after replacing explanatory variables and changing the sample selection scope and the estimation of instrumental variables; (2) differences in green collaborative innovation type, enterprise ownership structure and time stage lead to heterogeneity in the influence of green collaborative innovation network location on GTFP; and (3) enterprises in the core location of a green collaborative innovation network indirectly promote their GTFP through improving their technological innovation level and resource allocation efficiency. This paper provides a practical and feasible path for the promotion of GTFP and high-quality economic development from the perspective of a green collaborative innovation network.