Does media coverage influence firm green innovation? The moderating role of regional environment

In the context of the digital era, the value of news media on guiding novel green production and consumption is increasingly recognized in recent years. Despite the media coverage that has been investigated in the literature on firm behaviors, it was still poorly studied in the topic of green innovation. To address this gap, we use a sample of Chinese listed industrial firms from 2015 to 2019 to discuss the relationship between media coverage and green innovation, and the moderating effect of the regional environment on this relationship. The results indicate that both regional digitalization and environmental governance enhance the positive effect of media coverage on green innovation. Furthermore, by dividing the tone of media coverage, we find that it is positive reports that play a more important role in promoting green innovation. Based on institutional theory, this study provides a new perspective for understanding the role of media coverage on firm green innovation by introducing regional-level factors and provides fresh insights for guiding managers and policymakers to effectively implement green innovation.