The impact of risk-taking level on green technology innovation: Evidence from energy-intensive listed companies in China

The impact of company risk on green technology innovation (GTI) has seldom been explored in previous studies. In this study, the relationship between level of risk taking and GTI is empirically investigated and green biased technological progress is examined by dividing the process of GTI into GTI intention and GTI performance: energy-intensive listed companies operating in China from 2011 to 2017 are taken as the research objects. The results show that the level of risk taking negatively affects GTI performance and green biased technological progress. The most important factor acting is the intensity of industrial competition. Various external factors, e.g. environmental regulation, government R&D subsidy, and region are found to significantly influence the GTI intention of the companies. Moreover, these factors determine the GTI performance together with the level of risk taking and R&D input. Finally, suggestions are proposed from a risk perspective to promote the GTI of companies.