Impact of CEO's IT Background on Green Technology Innovation: Evidence From China

ABSTRACT Research Question/Issue Considering the important role of CEO's background characteristics in formulating firms' innovation strategy decisions, we investigate the relationship between the CEO's information technology (IT) background and corporate green technology innovation. Research Findings/Insights We find that the CEO with an IT background results in an addition of 19.6% in corporate green technology innovation outputs. The result is robust to identification tests, including 2SLS, PSM, DID, and system GMM. The channel test shows that the CEO's IT background positively affects green technology innovation by promoting firms' digital transformation. And the financial‐industrial integration strengthens the positive relationship between the CEO's IT background and corporate green technology innovation. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the relationship is pronounced in state‐owned enterprises, mature enterprises, and non‐high‐tech enterprises. Theoretical/Academic Implications The findings of this paper not only enrich the research literature on antecedent variables of green technology innovation but also provide theoretical support for listed companies to improve the background configuration of the executive team. Practitioner/Policy Implications Against the backdrop of China's booming digital economy, our results provide important insights for practitioners, suggesting that they should employ more IT professionals to improve their green technology innovation capabilities and gain a sustainable competitive advantage.