How green technological innovation ability influences enterprise competitiveness

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How green technological innovation ability influences enterprise competitiveness Guangpei Li∗, Xiaoyu Wang, Shibin Su, Yuan Su School of Economics & Management, Fuzhou University, N0.2 Xueyuan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350116, China

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Keywords: Green technological innovation ability Product differentiation Enterprise competitiveness Enterprise scale

Can an enterprise's green technological innovation ability enhance its competitiveness? This topic has not been studied extensively, there is no consensus in the existing literature, and there is no clear indication of the underlying mechanism and processes. In this research, we establish a conceptual framework to describe the effect of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability on enterprise competitiveness. This model uses product differentiation as the mediating variable and the enterprise scale as the moderating variable. This study is based on a hierarchical regression analysis of the energy conservation and environmental protection data from enterprises listed in China from 2011 to 2016. Our findings show that, in general, the green technological innovation ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on the enterprise's competitiveness, but different components have different effects on enterprise competitiveness. Product differentiation has a mediating effect on the relationship between an enterprise's green technological innovation ability and competitiveness, and its mediating effect differs depending on the components of the green technological innovation ability. The enterprise scale positively moderates the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation. This research provides a new analytical framework to understand the mechanism underlying the effect of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability on enterprise competitiveness, and it also provides useful insights into the development of green technological innovation competitiveness and the establishment of new policies by the government to improve the regulatory framework for green development.

1. Introduction As the economic development of the past decades has brought about severe environmental problems, the Chinese government has endorsed the idea that clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. From the perspective of enterprises, the application of green technological innovation can be used to transform green technologies and green products into competitive advantages for enterprises. Whether an enterprise can utilize green technological innovation to continuously increase its competitiveness is a topic worth studying in the context of green development. However, in this aspect, there is no consensus in the subsequent discussions that follow the “Porter hypothesis”, nor is there any clear explanation of the relationship between an enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness [1]. A review of the relevant literature yields the following findings: First, green technological innovation has positive impacts on enterprise competitiveness, profitability and enterprise performance. For example, the findings of Marchi (2010) [2] show that competitive

∗

advantages can be improved if a company incorporates environmental protection into its strategy formulation. Dixon et al. (2013) [3] posit that corporate responsibility in environmental protection is beneficial to corporate financial performance. Küçükoğlu and Pınar (2015) [4] also believe that green technological innovation has a positive effect on the enterprise's performance and competitive advantage. Second, green technological innovation by an enterprise has a negative effect on the enterprise's profitability, competitive advantage, performance, etc. Based on a large-scale literature review, Jaffe et al. (1995) [5] found that there was no consensus regarding the impacts of any environmentally responsible activities, including green technological innovation, on enterprise performance and competitive advantage. Through an empirical analysis, Climent and Soriano (2011) [1] discovered that instead of having a positive impact on an enterprise's financial performance and competitiveness, corporate environmental responsibility negatively affects an enterprise's financial performance and competitiveness. This finding may be attributable to increased investments by enterprises in environmental management

Corresponding author. School of Economics and Management, Fuzhou University, N0.2 Xueyuan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350116, China. E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Li).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.04.012 Received 5 February 2019; Received in revised form 15 April 2019; Accepted 25 April 2019 0160-791X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Guangpei Li, et al., Technology in Society, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2019.04.012

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because of the pressure from the environmental policies of the government. Third, the different dimensions of green technological innovation have different influences on enterprise performance. Sezen and Cankaya (2013) [6] studied the impacts of green technological innovation on the financial performance, environmental performance and social performance of enterprises. Their findings showed that green manufacturing has a significant positive effect on environmental performance and social performance. In addition, green process innovation may have a significant positive effect on the sustainability of enterprises, but green product innovation does not have a significant effect on any type of performance. Cheng et al. (2014) [7] studied the relationship between three types of green innovation, and their research outcomes showed that green organization innovation has the largest impact on enterprise performance, followed by green product innovation. Green process innovation does not have a significant impact on enterprise performance. The above studies of the existing literature provide an overview of the different views on the relationships between green technological innovation and enterprise performance and competitiveness. However, the following limitations have yet been addressed: (1) all existing studies have used either innovative investment or innovative production values as the measurement for the independent variable, i.e., the level of green technological innovation; (2) most studies have focused on the direct relationships between green technological innovation and enterprise performance or enterprise competitiveness, but how does an enterprise's green technological innovation ability affect its competitiveness? What factors influence this effect? There is no clear conclusion on the underlying mechanism; (3) the green technological innovation ability of an enterprise is a multidimensional construct, and there is lack of category analysis in the existing research, which may also contribute to the lack of consensus in the research findings. While few studies have analyzed the impact of the various dimensions of green technological innovation activities on enterprise performance, enterprise performance has different economic implications than competitiveness [8]; therefore, it is necessary to explore the complicated relationship between the various components of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, as well as the underlying mechanism. The term ‘green technological innovation ability’ has gradually received more attention in the academic field; it refers to the innovation ability of enterprises or other organizations to reduce pollution and conserve energy in their core business activities [9]. From the perspective of input and output, it includes the enterprise's green technological innovation input ability and green technological innovation output ability [10,11]; the input ability includes the costs and personnel associated with green research and development (R&D), while the output ability includes green patents and green products. In comparison with other ways to measure green technological innovation, this concept closely reflects the resource endowment related to the competitive advantages emphasized in the Natural Resource-Based View; therefore, this study uses the enterprise's green technological innovation ability as the key variable in our research. Product differentiation is an important strategy to differentiate an enterprise's own products from other competitors' products to gain consumer preference, thereby enhancing its competitiveness [12]. The R&D costs and personnel invested by companies in the promotion of the implementation of a green innovation strategy can strengthen the enterprise's green innovation ability, such that it produces a differentiated product that better satisfies its consumers. A product differentiation strategy, in turn, stimulates the enterprise's green development and strengthens its environmental protection efforts [13]. In addition, it creates an entry barrier for potential new competitors [14]; therefore, this research has chosen product differentiation as the mediation variable. Furthermore, the scale of an enterprise, to a certain extent, determines the available and allocable resources for an organization's

innovation process [15] and the knowledge flow within the organization, which, in turn, contribute to solving innovation challenges or increasing the enterprise's ability to seize business opportunity [16]. Hence, we have chosen to use the enterprise's scale as the moderating variable, and we evaluate its effect on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness. The energy conservation and environmental protection industry is an industry that provides the basic materials and technological support for energy conservation, development of the circular economy and protection of the ecological environment; it includes technology equipment, products and services for environmental protection [17]. As the threat from environmental problems intensifies, China has included the energy conservation and environmental protection industry as one of the key developments among the seven emerging industries. Currently, more than one hundred companies of the energy conservation and environmental protection industry are listed on the stock exchange. These companies are invaluable to the promotion of the green development strategy in China. Therefore, this research uses these listed companies as the representative samples in our empirical analysis to study the complex mechanism underlying the impact of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability on enterprise competitiveness. Based on the discussion above, the research questions we pose in this paper are as follows: How do the various components of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability affect enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation? What is the moderation effect of the enterprise scale? When the enterprise scale differs, how does it affect the enterprise's green technological innovation ability's effect on enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation? To answer these questions, we have created a theoretical model and have chosen to use the energy conservation and environmental protection companies listed in China as the samples in our empirical research. The two main contributions we aim to achieve in this research are as follows: (1) The use of “green technological innovation ability” instead of “green technological innovation” provides more clarity and a comprehensive indication for the independent variable, and by choosing product differentiation, enterprise scale, enterprise competitiveness as the mediating variable, moderating variable and dependent variable, respectively, we establish the basic hypothesis that the enterprise's “green technological innovation ability” drives “product differentiation”, which affects “enterprise competitiveness”, and we discover and validate the efficiency effect of “enterprise scale” on the transfiguration between various variables. Therefore, this research solves the limitations of previous studies that have ignored the processing mechanism, which is useful for enriching and refining the theoretical relationship between green technological innovation and enterprise competitiveness from a micro mechanism perspective, and consequently provides a new analytical framework for future studies. (2) We distinguish the effects of different types of green technological innovation abilities on product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness and explore the effects of factors (e.g., enterprise scale) that reflect the enterprise's developmental phase, which breaks through the limitations of the existing research that assessed the economic impact of green technological innovation only from a broader perspective. Our research may serve as a more targeted guidance for companies in cultivating their competitiveness through their green technological innovation ability. 2. Theoretical foundation and hypothesis development 2.1. Green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness Since 2

the

emergence

of

the

Porter

hypothesis,

several

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interpretations have been made, and disagreements remain among scholars on the relationship between green innovation and competitiveness [1]. Although the acquisition of a competitive advantage is seen as the main motivation for an enterprise's green innovation [18], academics who doubt or disagree with this view are still concerned with the “unrecoverable costs” caused by green investments [19]. Intrinsically, “unrecoverable costs” are related to the efficiency and effectiveness issues during the initial development phase of green technology, as well as the problem of internalization of environmental technology externality, which must be solved by environmental regulations and by protecting green intellectual properties. From the development trends in environmental governance, trade regulations and the intellectual property protection system globally and in different nations, it is obvious that the increasing threat to the ecological environment has led to more stringent environmental regulations, which are conducive to increasing green barriers in international trade [20] and the gradual refinement of the green patent system. From a longterm perspective, objectively speaking, these trends provided the environmental conditions to overcome the challenge of the “unrecoverable costs” associated with green innovation. Therefore, from the perspective of Natural Resource-Based View, the future competitive advantages of enterprises must depend on the resources and the abilities of enterprises to promote environmental sustainability [21]. In particular, continuous investment in capital and personnel for green R& D is necessary for the promotion of environmental efforts in the company's products, processes and end treatment, such that full coverage of the green management, R&D, production and sales chain can be materialized at the organizational level [22] to effectively solve and control pollution problems, manage products and achieve clean production and, consequently, the benefits from it [23]. As the regulatory conditions and market environment mature, corporations can avoid severe penalties from rigid environmental regulations; in addition, incentivebased environmental regulations can promote internalization of the positive externality of green innovation [24]. More importantly, by increasing green patents that have both functional and environmental benefits, corporations can raise their intangible assets [25]. Corporations could acquire higher market competitiveness by proactively taking actions to meet the increasing demands for green consumption [26], creating a green brand image and thus gaining consumer trust [27]. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:

environmental benefits and create a new green market [30]. It creates additional value to the consumers and the corporation [31] and brings discernible environmental benefits [32]. The characteristics and roles of green technological innovation discussed above show that the concept of green consumption has become widely accepted, and consumers have begun to focus more on the environmental protection-related information of the products that affect their health and the environment [33]. As the green and environmental protection characteristics of products have increasingly become the key criterion in the consumers' evaluation of products [34], in comparison to traditional products, green products or services that are supported by green technology can better match the values and preferences of consumers, as they tend to be safer, healthier, more efficient, more environmentally friendly, less expensive, etc. [35]; therefore, they can better meet the new requirements of consumers for product quality. Furthermore, with the support of green technology, the use of materials conserves more resources, the consumption and emission of the production processes are low, and waste is harmless. All these highlight the awareness of corporate social responsibility [36] and create an environmentally friendly brand image for the enterprise, which is advantageous to improving the public perception of the enterprise's products through green product differentiation. In summary, the more capital and personnel that are invested in the green development, the higher is the enterprise's output ability to produce green patents and green products; in turn, the environmental indicators of the enterprises' operation are improved, and consequently, it materializes or strengthens the recognition of product differentiation by consumers. Based on the discussion above, the following hypotheses are proposed: H2. Green technological innovation ability has a significant positive effect on product differentiation; H2a. The input ability of green R&D expenses has a significant positive effect on product differentiation; H2b. The input ability of green R&D personnel has a significant positive effect on product differentiation; H2c. The output ability of green patents has a significant positive effect on product differentiation; H2d. The output ability of green products has a significant positive effect on product differentiation.

H1. The green technological innovation ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness;

2.3. Product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness

H1a. The green R&D expenses input ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness;

Enterprise competitiveness refers to a set of core technologies and skills within an organization that are unique, difficult to duplicate and valuable [37]. The direct goal of product differentiation is to avoid lowlevel homogeneous competition [38]. As consumers seek diversity, individualization, capriciousness, etc. in products, product differentiation has increasingly become the primary source of enterprise competitiveness [39]. On the other hand, as global climate change and the deterioration of the ecological environment accelerate, the concept of green consumption has been popularized and has become a global trend in consumption [40]. The increasing environmental awareness and value of consumers have greatly affected their preference for green products [41]. Therefore, in the evaluation of product differentiation, the greenness and environmental friendliness of the product has become an important cognitive dimension for consumers [34], and the practice of large-scale green certification of enterprises has also shown that differentiation through an environmental strategy can ultimately improve the enterprise's market competitiveness [42]. Based on the above, we propose the following hypothesis:

H1b. The green R&D personnel input ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness; H1c. The green patent output ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness; H1d. The green product output ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness. 2.2. Green technological innovation ability and product differentiation Compared to traditional technological innovation, green technological innovation demonstrates its unique pro-environment characteristics in product design, the production process, consumption experience, market positioning, etc. [28]. In particular, it concerns the green improvement of the existing product and its production process and process methods, which can lead to energy conservation or a reduction in environmental damage and lowers the environmental liability of the corporation [29]. In addition, developing environmental and socialfriendly technology, processes or products can incorporate

H3. Product differentiation has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness. 3

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2.4. The mediation effect of product differentiation

green consumer needs and achieve effective market positioning, thus enhancing their ability to meet the consumers' demands for green consumption and consequently achieving a better growth rate and profitability. The findings of Hofer et al. (2012) [49] showed that a corporation's size has a significant effect on the performance of corporate environmental activities. The less intense market competition faced by large enterprises is also conducive to magnifying the market competition effect of their own green innovation achievements and strengthening the market competition status. As a product's green characteristics have increasingly become important criteria used by consumers to evaluate products [34], equipped with their brand influence, distribution channels and superiority in marketing, large enterprises can more effectively amplify the market effect through the dissemination of information about their green innovation ability-based product differentiation to the consumer groups that are concerned with personal health and the environmental impacts of the products they use [33]; thereby, large companies can achieve further recognition and effectively enhance their enterprise competitiveness. Based on the above, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Differentiation based on innovation is necessary for maintaining competitiveness (Akis, 2015) [43]. An enterprise can create a unique product to differentiate itself from its competitors, thus winning the competition through product differentiation. In light of increasing environmental awareness, enterprises can create differentiation through green product innovation; they can also utilize green technology and process innovation to create differentiation, thus achieving differentiation through the provision of high-quality products or services. These differentiation strategies could contribute to the strengthening of the enterprise's competitive advantage, and they are unachievable without the support of green technological innovation ability. Therefore, through green technological innovation, the enterprise can differentiate its product from those of its competitors by leveraging the product's green characteristics, thereby acquiring the advantage of differentiation, satisfying the green preference of consumers and securing a high market share [44]. In summary, strengthening the enterprise's green technological innovation ability is advantageous for product differentiation, and successful product differentiation is the key to enterprise competitiveness. The following hypotheses are proposed based on the points discussed above:

H5. The enterprise scale has a positive moderation effect on the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation. As the enterprise scale increases, the moderation effect becomes stronger.

H4. Product differentiation mediates the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness;

The research framework used in this article is shown in Fig. 1

H4a. Product differentiation mediates the relationship between the enterprise's green R&D expenses input ability and enterprise competitiveness;

3. Research methodology 3.1. Variable measurement

H4b. Product differentiation mediates the relationship between the enterprise's green R&D personnel input ability and enterprise competitiveness;

We have chosen enterprise competitiveness as the explained variable in this research. For the measurement of enterprise competitiveness, the evaluation system proposed by a Chinese researcher, Jin Bei, is widely accepted. Jin and Gong (2014) [50] postulates that asset contribution rate reflects the profitability of the enterprise's assets; it is also one of the key indicators of enterprise operational capability and profitability, and to a great extent, it also reveals the level of enterprise business performance and competitiveness. It has been used as the measurement method in many similar studies, such as Li and Liu (2017) [36]. Therefore, we opt to use this method in our study.

H4c. Product differentiation mediates the relationship between the enterprise's green patent output ability and enterprise competitiveness; H4d. Product differentiation mediates the relationship between the enterprise's green product output ability and enterprise competitiveness. 2.5. The moderation effect of enterprise scale

Enterprise competitiveness = (Total profit + total tax + total interest)/Average total assets

First, the enterprise scale reflects the number of employees in an enterprise. In general, the larger the scale of an enterprise is, the more capable it is of attracting and retaining high-quality technical talents; in turn, the valuable human capital reserves required for enterprise innovation are available [45]. From the perspective of a knowledge-based structure, to a certain extent, the enterprise scale determines the breadth and depth of the knowledge base that forms the foundation of an enterprise's innovative competitiveness. Large enterprises are better positioned to have the structural advantages of both breadth and depth of a knowledge base [46], and they are more capable of grasping and utilizing innovation outcomes [47]. In addition, from the perspective of industrial organization theory, in the market of large enterprises, market competitions between different players are relatively less intense [48]. The above characteristics of different enterprise scales may affect the enterprise's green innovation activities, as reflected in the following: using their advantages in human capital and knowledgebased structure, large enterprises are better equipped to utilize their green technological innovation ability in green product development, design and manufacturing, they can use their accumulated multidisciplinary knowledge (including environmental knowledge) to solve complex environmental challenges that deviate from traditional innovation and production, as well as system-related problems, such as economic integration. They are able to more accurately identify diverse

The explanatory variable of this research is the green technological innovation ability. Based on the research of Li et al. (2017) [51], to analyze the relationships between green technological innovation and environmental protection and ecology from the perspective of input and output, we segregated the green technological innovation ability of enterprises into the following two dimensions: green technological

Fig. 1. Theoretical model of the research. 4

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innovation input ability and green technological innovation output ability. Of these investments, the input in green R&D expenses is an important indicator of the input ability of green technological innovation. Here, we use the ratio of green R&D expenses to operating income to measure the input ability of green technological innovation. R&D personnel are responsible for the innovations within an organization, so the number of personnel working in the R&D division of the enterprise is another important indicator of the input ability of an enterprise's green technological innovation. Based on the recommendation of Li (2017) [52], we use the ratio of green R&D personnel to the total employees of the enterprise to measure the input ability of personnel in green technological innovation. In the measurement of the output ability of technological innovation, researchers frequently use indicators such as new products and patents. From the input phase to its utilization, green technological innovation is characterized by its green, low carbon target; therefore, in the evaluation of green output, we should focus on new green products and green patents, as these green outputs can reduce the negative impacts on the environment and promote energy conservation. The specific measurement indicators of the explanatory variable of this study, i.e., green technological innovation ability, are shown in Table 1. With reference to the evaluation methods of the objective weights of the technological innovation capability [53] and green technological innovation [54], using the entropy method, we assign weights to four measurement indicators of green technological innovation ability to obtain a relatively objective and accurate evaluation of the total green technological innovation ability. As the regular entropy method is mainly used for cross-sectional research data, to compare data from different years, this paper has adopted the modified entropy method that was revised by Yang and Sun. (2015) [55]. The time variable is also included so that our analysis outcomes are more coherent. The modified entropy method of evaluation is shown below:

Xtij =

Xtij

Yij ln(Ytij ) of which , k > 0, k = 1/ln(n) i

ej

wj = gj /

gj

BASIi, t =

0

+

1 TIAi, t

BASIi, t =

0

+

1 RDEIi, t

(5)

j

TIAti =

(4)

(2)

i

k

gj = 1

(3)

3.2.1. Construction of the mediation effect model of product differentiation To validate the relationships between green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, green technological innovation ability and product differentiation, product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness, and the mediation effect of product differentiation on the relationship between green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, based upon the validation procedure of the mediation effect [58] and the validation method of the mediation effect of the multidimensional independent variable in a multicomponent situation [59], the following models are constructed. First, to validate the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, based on H1 and H1a-H1d, the following two models are constructed.

(1)

min{Xtij }

Xtij t

t

3.2. Construction of the regression model

min{Xtij }

max{Xtij }

Ytij = Xtij / ej =

year, i indicates the sample enterprise, j indicates the number of indicators, Y indicates standardized data, W indicates the weight of each variable, and TIA indicates the green technological innovation ability. Product differentiation is seen as a mediation variable. The findings of Lin and Wei (2007) [56] showed that the amount invested in production materials affects the service quality of the enterprise, and the level of product differentiation is closely related to various enterprise investments. In its commercial marketing activities, an enterprise uses product innovation, service innovation, etc. as the means to improve its image and enhance its brand influence, such that its product can be differentiated from other substitute products and be seen as unique; in turn, it can be preferred by the consumers and shape the preference of consumers. Therefore, compared to enterprises that produce homogeneous products, an enterprise that seeks to differentiate its product may invest more efforts in its marketing and services, such that its cost is relatively higher. Hence, with reference to the measurement method of product differentiation [57], we use the ratio of the costs of sales to operating income as the measurement of product differentiation. The moderating variable used in this study is the enterprise scale. Based on the existing literature, we have chosen to use the total number of employees of the enterprise as the measurement of the enterprise scale. To meet the requirement of this research, we obtain the logarithm of the total number of employees of the enterprises prior to the data analysis, that is, the natural logarithm of the total number of employees is used to measure the enterprise scale.

(wj Xtij )

(7)

i, t

+

2 RDPIi, t

+

3 PAVi, t

+

4 NPi, t

+

i, t

(8)

Second, to further validate the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and product differentiation, based on H2 and H2a-H2d, the following models are constructed.

(6)

j

+

The entropy calculation method shown in (1)–(5) consists of the following steps: (1) standardize the indicators; (2) calculate the fixed indicator weight; (3) calculate the indicator entropy of item j; (4) calculate information entropy redundancy; (5) calculate the indicator weight; (6) based on the acquired weight, calculate the weighted average of green technological innovation ability. Here, t indicates the

PDi, t =

0

+

1 TIAi, t

+

PDi, t =

0

+

1 RDEIi, t

(9)

i, t

+

2 RDPIi, t

+

3 PAVi, t

+

4 NPi, t

+

i, t

(10)

Third and finally, using enterprise competitiveness as the dependent variable and the green technological innovation ability and product differentiation as independent variables, we evaluate the mediation

Table 1 Measurement indicators of the explanatory variable. Source of data: Compiled by author. Dimension

Indicator

Measurement Method

Input ability of green technological innovation

Green Green Green Green

Green R&D expenses input/Operating income Green R&D personnel input/Total employees Number of green patents granted/number of green R&D personnel Increase in green product profit this year/Total green product profit last year

Output ability of green technological innovation

R&D expenses input ability R&D personnel input ability patent output ability product output ability

5

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effect of product differentiation on the relationship between green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, i.e., we validate H4 and H4a-H4d. Combining Models 1–4, we obtain Model 5 and 6 as shown below.

BASIi, t =

0

+

1 TIAi, t

+

BASIi, t =

0

+

1 RDEIi, t

2 PDi, t

+

+

(11)

i, t

2 RDPIi, t

total data disclosed by the companies; on the other hand, in its main business operations, the energy conservation and environmental protection industry must adhere to a green environmental philosophy, such that the innovation input and output within the industry are distinctly characterized and led by a green attribute [51]. Furthermore, the basic data on technology innovation input and output disclosed in the financial reports of these listed companies are more complete; therefore, they meet the data requirements of this research.

+

3 PAVi, t

+

4 NPi, t

+

5 PDi, t

+

i, t

(12) In the models, TIA denotes the green technological innovation ability, PD indicates product differentiation, BASI indicates enterprise competitiveness, RDEI indicates the green R&D expenses input ability, RDPI indicates the green R&D personnel input ability, PAV indicates the green patent output ability, NP indicates the green product output ability, indicates the random disturbance term, i indicates the individual sample, and t indicates the year.

3.3.2. Source of data By December 2017, there were 235 companies within the energy conservation and environmental protection industry listed in China. These 235 companies were listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges (A-share). To ensure the completeness and reliability of our data analysis, the following guidelines were used in our sample selection: (1) to ensure a sufficient sample size, we included the energy conservation and environmental protection enterprises listed prior to 2011; (2) as there is a gap between the number of patent applications and the number of patents granted, and the public data on patents granted in 2017 were incomplete, only the data before 2017 were used. At the same time, we excluded companies with missing information on their patent acquisitions between 2011 and 2016; (3) to ensure each indicator has a complete data set, we excluded companies with missing financial information between 2011 and 2016; and (4) we excluded ST (special treatment), ST* - type listed companies. Based on the criteria for sample selection described above, this research included 128 energy conservation and environmental protection companies listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges (Ashare). The financial data for the companies were primarily obtained from the annual reports of listed companies published at www.cninfo. com.cn, in the Da Zhihui database and in the Resset database. Patent data were mainly acquired from www.baiten.cn and China intellectual property right net (www.cnipr.com) and included patent applications of the parent company, subsidiaries and majority-owned subsidiaries.

3.2.2. Construction of the model of the moderation effect of the enterprise scale To validate the moderation effect of the enterprise scale on the relationship between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation, i.e., to validate the mediated moderation effect, this study uses the validation procedure designed by Ye and Wen (2013) [60] to validate H5, and constructs Models 7, 8 and 9, as shown below:

BASIi, t = PDi, t =

BASIi, t =

+

0 0

+ 0

+

1 TIAi, t

1 TIAi, t

+

+

+

1 TIAi, t

+

2 SCAi, t

2 SCAi, t

+

2 SCAi, t

2 PDi, t × SCAi, t +

+

+

3 TIAi, t

× SCAi, t +

3 TIAi, t

× SCAi, t +

3 TIAi, t

× SCAi, t +

i, t

(13) (14)

i, t

1 PDi, t

(15)

i, t

Where TIA denotes the green technological innovation ability, BASI indicates enterprise competitiveness, and SCA represents the enterprise scale. In Models 7 and 9, TIA*SCA represents the moderation effect of the enterprise scale on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness. In Model 8, TIA*SCA represents the moderation effect of the enterprise scale on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and product differentiation, PD indicates product differentiation, and PD*SCA represents the moderating effect of the enterprise scale on the relationship between product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness, indicates the random disturbance term, i indicates the individual sample, and t indicates the year.

4. Data analysis 4.1. Descriptive statistics Table 2 shows the descriptive statistic results of each variable and the coefficients of correlation between these variables; it reveals that the overall green technological innovation ability of the environmental protection industry in China is not very strong. Furthermore, the output capacity of green products remains volatile and it is still in the initial stage of development, which shows that our green environmental protection technology and product R&D are still lagging behind those of developed nations, the conversion rate of core technology achievement is still relatively low, and the capacity of large-scale industrialization is weak. Possible explanations for these issues are the late start of China's environmental protection as well as the lack of emphasis on green development and ecological and environmental protection during the initial economic development stage, which led to a low overall green

3.3. Sample selection and data source 3.3.1. Sample selection This research targets listed companies within the energy conservation and environmental protection industry. The reasons for this sample choice are as follows: on the one hand, even among listed companies, it is still impossible to clearly segregate the data for green technological innovation input and green technological innovation output from the Table 2 Descriptive statistics analysis and the coefficients of correlation between variables. Source of data: Compiled by author. Variable

N

Min. value

Max. value

Mean value

Standard deviation

BASI

RDEI

RDPI

PAV

NP

PD

SCA

BASI RDEI RDPI PAV NP PD SCA

768 768 768 768 768 768 768

−0.321 3.11E-06 0.001 3.59E-11 −128.853 0.001 5.063

0.322 0.349 0.539 0.831 17.515 0.469 10.584

0.068 0.039 0.147 0.019 −0.237 0.056 7.462

0.054 0.034 0.097 0.069 5.369 0.053 0.951

1 0.260∗∗∗ 0.523∗∗∗ −0.002 0.161∗∗∗ 0.353 0.293∗∗∗

1 0.415∗∗∗ −0.076∗ −0.306∗∗∗ 0.139∗∗∗ 0.110∗∗∗

1 −0.213∗∗∗ 0.015 0.407∗∗∗ 0.195∗∗∗

1 0.002 −0.006 0.004

1 0.117∗∗∗ 0.005

1 0.463∗∗∗

1

Note: ***, **, * respectively denote the 1%, 5% and 10% levels of significance (the same applies to all tables below). 6

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technological innovation ability in China and inadequate investment in green R&D. In addition, from the perspective of enterprise scale, based on the sample analysis performed in this research, the current environmental protection industry in China consists of predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises; thus, there is still a lack of top enterprises that can lead the industry's advancement. Due to the limited availability of samples, sampling error, etc., the correlation significance between variables may be affected; therefore, the correlation between two variables is not the necessary condition for the causal relationship between the variables, and in the correlation coefficient matrix, there may be collinearity if the correlation coefficient between two variables exceeds 0.75. The research outcomes shown in Table 2 show that all coefficients are smaller than 0.75; therefore, there is no collinearity between variables.

Table 4 Panel data cointegration test. Source of data: Compiled by author. Test Model

Test Hypothesis

ADF statistics

Significance

Test Result

Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model

H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1 H0:ρ = 1

−4.700 −5.252 −4.166 −5.344 −3.302 −5.440 −4.572 −4.759 −4.158

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated Cointegrated

4-1 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-5 4-6 4-7 4-8 4-9

4.4. Regression analysis

4.2. Unit root test for panel data

4.4.1. Mediation effect of product differentiation Table 5 shows the results of the mediation effect test of product differentiation. Based on the mediation test procedure, we analyze the relationships between green technological innovation ability, product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness. Model (1) reveals a significant positive correlation between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness; hence, H1 is supported. Model (3) shows a significant positive correlation between the technological innovation ability and product differentiation; hence, H2 is supported. In Model (5), where the mediation variable is included, there is a significant correlation between product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness; presuming H3 is supported, the regression coefficient of the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness is 0.466, and it is significant at the 1% level, which indicates that product differentiation has a mediation effect on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, i.e., the enterprise's green technological innovation ability not only directly influences enterprise competitiveness but also indirectly affects enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation; thus, H4 is supported. The outcome of this study shows that listed companies within the energy conservation and environmental protection industry that actively seek to enhance their green technological innovation ability could be rewarded by the market. Of course, since the samples used in this research are listed companies in the energy conservation and environmental protection industry, they are naturally paying more attention to green activities and environmental protection, and compared to other industries or businesses, green environmental protection enterprises are more capable of managing green technological innovation, as such, the empirical result obtained for “green technological innovation ability – enterprise competitiveness” is more encouraging. For other industries to obtain a competitive advantage by product differentiation through green environmental protection and to benefit from the subsequently increased enterprise competitiveness, more emphasis needs to be placed on green

To avoid pseudo regression in the regression results in the later section of the research, prior to regression analysis, we perform a unit root test on the collected panel data. The unit root test can be performed in various ways, but each of these methods has its own shortcomings, and there may be substantial differences in the results obtained using different methods. Therefore, to increase the robustness of the unit root, we have chosen three evaluation methods, as shown in Table 3. The research outcomes show that at zero-order difference, all variables reject the assumption of “unit root existence” (all variables pass the 1% significance test); thus, the zero-order difference is stable, and all variables are zero-order integrated. 4.3. Cointegration test for panel data From the previous section, it is evident that all variables are zeroorder integrated, and based on this premise, we need to determine whether there is a long-term equilibrium in the relationships between variables. Therefore, we perform a cointegration test to check the cointegration between variables. The Kao test is used to test the cointegration of the model; the results are shown in Table 4. The results show that the test statistics rejected the null hypothesis, and there is a long-term equilibrium in the relationships between the independent variables and dependent variables in the nine models used in this study. In the model evaluation, we use the likelihood-ratio (LR) test to choose between a mixed effect or a fixed effect; if the fixed effect is chosen, the Hausman test is performed to choose between the fixed effect and random effect. The test results are shown in Table 5 at the end of the corresponding model. The LR tests of all the models passed at the 1% significance level, with the exception of the mixed effect models. Aside from Model 2, where the random effect is chosen, the fixed effect model is chosen for the rest of the models.

Table 3 Unit root test for panel data. Variable

ZBASI ZRDEI ZRDPI ZPAV ZNP ZTIA ZPD ZSCA

Levin-Lin-Chu (LLC) test

Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test

Phillips–Perron (PP) test

Statistical value

P value

Statistical value

P value

Statistical value

P value

−26.3182 −27.3688 −23.7999 −5.67437 −76.3052 −53.7825 −6.28976 −20.0059

0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001

478.596 594.524 567.064 367.641 635.185 585.246 497.305 575.202

0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001

839.716 824.947 816.509 594.353 736.465 818.682 750.393 826.670

0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001

Note: Data starting with “Z” are standardized data (the same applies to all tables below). 7

Validation outcome (whether the sequence is stable)

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

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Table 5 Results of the mediation effect test. Source of data: Compiled by author. Variable

C ZTIA ZRDEI

Model (1)

Model (2)

Model (3)

Model (4)

Model (5)

Model (6)

ZBASI

ZBASI

ZPD

ZPD

ZBASI

ZBASI

−7.62E-12 (0.016) 0.571∗∗∗ (0.026)

6.32E-10 (0.036)

6.77E-12 (0.019) 0.360∗∗∗ (0.031)

−8.27E-12 (0.015) 0.466∗∗∗ (0.028)

5.51E-10 (0.015)

ZRDPI ZPAV ZNP ZPD R2 DW LR test Hausman test Model

0.614 2.311 1.200∗∗∗ 3.817∗ Fixed

0.108 (0.034) 0.495∗∗∗ (0.034) 0.118 (0.030) 0.182∗∗∗ (0.031) 0.315 1.922 2.056∗∗∗ 7.042 Random

0.432 2.373 1.909∗∗∗ 5.474∗∗ Fixed

R&D and innovation. Based on the following steps, we analyze the relationships between the four components of green technological innovation ability and product differentiation, as well as enterprise competitiveness, as follows: Model (2) shows that the effect of the green R&D expenses input ability on enterprise competitiveness is not significant; thus, H1a is not supported. On the other hand, Model (4) shows that a significant positive correlation between the green R&D expenses input ability and product differentiation, so H2a is supported. Therefore, it can be concluded that product differentiation has no significant mediation effect on the two variables; thus, H4a is not supported. Model (2) shows a significant positive correlation between the green R&D personnel input ability and enterprise competitiveness, supporting H1b. Model (4) shows that there is a significant positive correlation between the green R&D personnel input ability and product differentiation; thus, H2b is supported. After the inclusion of the mediation variable in Model (6), there is significant positive correlation between product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness, as well as significant positive correlation between the green R&D personnel input ability and enterprise competitiveness, which indicates that product differentiation is the mediation variable in the effect of the green R&D personnel input ability on enterprise competitiveness, and product differentiation mediates the relationship between the green R&D personnel input ability and enterprise competitiveness, supporting H4b. From Model (2), we can see that H1c is not supported, as the green patent output ability does not have a significant effect on enterprise competitiveness. Model (4) shows that the effect of the green patent output ability on product differentiation is not significant; thus, H2c is not supported. As such, product differentiation does not have a significant mediation effect on the two variables; thus, H4c is invalid. Model (2) shows that there is a significant positive correlation between the green product output ability and enterprise competitiveness, which supporting H1d. From Model (4), we can see a significant positive correlation between the green product output ability and product differentiation; thus, H2d is supported. After the mediation variable is included in Model (6), there is a significant positive correlation between product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness, and there is also a significant positive correlation between the green product output ability and enterprise competitiveness. Thus, we can conclude that product differentiation is the mediation variable in the effect of green product output ability on enterprise competitiveness, i.e., product

0.050∗∗ (0.026) 0.366∗∗∗ (0.028) −0.080 (0.022) 0.083∗∗∗ (0.025) 0.486 2.324 1.541∗∗∗ 12.529∗∗ Fixed

0.147∗∗∗ (0.023) 0.683 2.266 1.903∗∗∗ 9.614∗∗∗ Fixed

0.061 (0.021) 0.429∗∗∗ (0.024) 0.122 (0.018) 0.138∗∗∗ (0.023) 0.096∗∗∗ (0.022) 0.673 2.301 2.059∗∗∗ 19.137∗∗∗ Fixed

differentiation mediates the relationship between the green product output ability and enterprise competitiveness. In other words, the green product output ability not only directly affects enterprise competitiveness but also indirectly affects enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation; therefore, H4d is valid. 4.4.2. The moderation effect of the enterprise scale To validate H5, first, we need to test the moderating variable, i.e., enterprise scale; subsequently, we test the mediation variable, i.e., product differentiation. Therefore, the next empirical analysis includes a gradual regression analysis of the following three models. The regression results of the mediated moderation effect are shown in Table 6. Based on the evaluation procedure of the mediated moderation effect, first, we test whether the coefficient of the cross product term of the green technological innovation ability and enterprise scale in Model (7) is significant. We proceed to the next step if the result is significant; otherwise, the evaluation is ended. Table 6 shows that the coefficient of the cross product term (ZTIA*ZSCA) between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise scale is positive, and it is significant at Table 6 Test results of the moderation effect of the enterprise scale. Source of data: Compiled by author. Variable

C ZTIA ZSCA ZTIA*ZSCA ZPD

Model (7)

Model (8)

Model (9)

ZBASI

ZPD

ZBASI

−0.002 (0.015) 0.506∗∗∗ (0.025) 0.185∗∗∗ (0.019) 0.016∗ (0.027)

−0.014 (0.017) 0.318∗∗∗ (0.028) 0.351∗∗∗ (0.020) 0.107∗∗∗ (0.033)

0.714 2.287 2.187∗∗∗ 13.363∗∗∗ Fixed

0.582 2.368 1.442∗∗∗ 7.685∗ Fixed

−0.009 (0.018) 0.485∗∗∗ (0.030) 0.168∗∗∗ (0.022) −0.016 (0.033) 0.056∗∗ (0.027) 0.025 (0.024) 0.690 2.260 2.057∗∗∗ 17.568∗∗∗ Fixed

ZPD*ZSCA R2 DW LR test Hausman test Model

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the 10% significance level, which indicates that the enterprise scale has a positive moderation effect on the impact of the green technological innovation ability on enterprise competitiveness. This finding shows that the relatively low level of market competition faced by large enterprises is also beneficial in amplifying the market competitiveness effect of their green innovation outcomes, thereby strengthening their position in the market competition. We proceed to the next step of the evaluation procedure of the mediated moderation effect; in Model (8), the regression coefficient of the cross product term between the green technology innovation ability and enterprise scale is significantly positive. Having added the product differentiation factor in Model (9), the regression coefficient of product differentiation and enterprise competitiveness is also significantly positive. Therefore, we can conclude that the mediated moderation model is valid. The regression coefficient of the cross product term between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise scale is not significant; thus, it can be derived that the moderation effect of the enterprise scale is realized by the mediation variable, i.e., product differentiation. As such, H5 is supported, or in other words, the enterprise scale positively moderates the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation, and the moderation effect becomes stronger as the scale of the enterprise increases.

The effect of the green patent output ability on enterprise competitiveness is also not significant; furthermore, the mediation effect of product differentiation between the two variables is also not significant. The reason may be the lack of focus on green patents among Chinese enterprises, which leads to the inability to fully commercialize the green development, and in addition, the awareness and protection of green intellectual property are still inadequate. The enterprise scale has a positive moderation effect on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, and product differentiation has a mediation effect on the moderation effect of the enterprise scale. This finding indicates that under effective environmental regulations, large enterprises with first-mover advantages and innovation subsidies, etc. can better meet the green consumption experience demanded by today's consumers, which creates high returns for these enterprises and thus compensates for the additional costs incurred due to the increase in green R&D. Therefore, under such circumstances, there is a strong correlation between an enterprise's green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness. When the enterprise size is excessively small, the positive correlation between the enterprise's green technological innovation ability and its competitiveness is correspondingly weak. After the product differentiation factor is included, the result indicates that product differentiation has a mediation effect on the moderation effect of enterprise scale. In our samples, large enterprises tend to have strong green technological innovation abilities. Using their own advantages in innovation ability and resources, these enterprises relentlessly grow in their technological domain, increase inputs in green R&D and continuously enrich their green products; consequently, they achieve great product differentiation advantages, which lead to sound improvements in their competitiveness.

5. Conclusions and implications 5.1. Main conclusion Overall, the green technological innovation ability of an enterprise has a significant positive effect on enterprise competitiveness. In addition, it also has a significant positive effect on product differentiation; at the same time, product differentiation also has a significant mediation effect on the relationship between the green technological innovation ability of an enterprise and enterprise competitiveness. This finding indicates that there is market value in the improvement of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability. The more focus an enterprise places on green technological innovation inputs and outputs, the more it is equipped to meet the green consumption demands from their consumers; consequently, its competitive advantage is improved through product differentiation. This research shows that the four components of green technological innovation ability have different effects on enterprise competitiveness. Similarly, the mediation effect of product differentiation on the various dimensions of an enterprise's green technological innovation ability tends to differ. Of these dimensions, the green R&D personnel input ability not only directly affects enterprise competitiveness but also indirectly affects enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation. This finding shows that an increase in the green R&D personnel input may enrich the enterprise knowledge reserves, which may provide the relevant knowledge and technical supports required in the acquisition of a competitive advantage through green product differentiation, thus safeguarding the implementation of the enterprise's green technological innovation strategy and the enhancement of the enterprise's green technological innovation ability. Likewise, the green product output ability not only directly influences enterprise competitiveness but also indirectly affects enterprise competitiveness through product differentiation. This finding indicates that the commercialization of the green technological innovation output may manifest and verify the green differentiation advantages of an enterprise through its green products, thereby allowing the enterprise to achieve a superior market status. The green R&D expenses input ability does not significantly affect enterprise competitiveness; furthermore, the mediation effect of product differentiation on the two variables is also not significant. The possible explanation for this outcome is the complexity and difficulty in the process of green technological innovation compared to traditional innovation; it is often riskier, and the development cycle is long. Thus, the realization of market benefits is relatively slow.

5.2. Suggestions for management The aforementioned findings may provide some guidance in the formulation of an enterprise's technology innovation strategy, rational allocation of innovation resources, improvement of market competitiveness through green development and the creation of a positive regulatory environment to better support “green technological innovation – enterprise competitiveness” from the perspective of the national innovation policy. First, compared to those in developed nations, green R&D input among Chinese enterprises remains inadequate, and the overall levels of green technology and green competitiveness are still lagging; thus, more financial and personnel investments are required. Human capital is the crucial resource of innovative activities, and enterprises need to cultivate and bring in more personnel who have green environmental protection awareness and competency in green R&D. Green innovation synergy can be achieved by continuously improving its green technological innovation human capital base, while providing an effective reward system, actively directing R&D personnel to focus on green technological innovation and encouraging open exchanges and collaboration between R&D personnel on matters related to green innovation. Providing support to R&D expenses and the improvement of R&D efficiency and effectiveness are also important. The results of our analysis show that there is no significant relationship between an enterprise's green R&D input ability and enterprise competitiveness; to change this situation, more monetary supports can provide enterprises with financial and tax benefits, for example, the government may consider a tax reduction for R&D expenses on a weighted basis. In addition, to create a conductive policy environment that supports enterprises in better utilizing green development, we need to strive for maximum funding support from the government and financial institutions to expand the funding sources for green R&D inputs. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of green R&D, efforts in continuous learning and the inclusion of advanced experiences from other countries, selectively bringing in multinational corporations and providing 9

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better policy supports to green multinational corporations are required. To strengthen the awareness of green innovation and green competitiveness among Chinese enterprises and to benefit from the spillover effect of the acquisition of the green technological ability from multinational corporations, the government needs to encourage collaborations and exchanges between multinational corporations and Chinese enterprises in technological R&D, product design, etc. to drive green development. Second, enterprises require an in-depth analysis of the market green demands and precise green market positioning to increase the market conversion rate of the enterprise's green products, such that the enterprise's green R&D activities receive a measurable business return. Some studies propose that enterprises should choose a product domain that can be commercialized within 5 years; create a presence in that domain; invest in R&D, production, logistics, sales and marketing, etc.; establish efficient collaborations with suppliers and distributors; and promote the commercialization of green products [61], such that they can rapidly generate profits, expand their market share and improve their enterprise competitiveness. The government can also provide appropriate supports for green products. In addition to boosting the market competitiveness of green products through government procurement, the government can also create a mainstream culture of green consumption through various channels. By strengthening market supervision and fostering the market participants' attention for green development, we can create a situation where the enterprise's green product innovation ability and market shares are closely related and mutually reinforcing. At the same time, there are needs to regulate the mechanism of green product certification, to support social organizations in establishing the green enterprise reputation record and to support enterprises in preserving their green branding privileges. Third, regarding the research finding of the non-significant effect of the green patent output ability on enterprise competitiveness, we believe that this calls for attention from Chinese enterprises and relevant divisions. Currently, most countries in the world are racing to develop a green economy, and government actions are necessary for the transformation of the traditional economy into a green economy. Of these actions, the establishment of a comprehensive and speedy review mechanism of green patents and a key protection system for green patents should be a priority of the Chinese government, as well as a policy choice of various local governments [62]. Fourth, enterprises should strengthen the coordinated management of their green technological innovation input ability and output ability to create a conductive innovation environment for the coordinated development of the two, such that their enterprise competitiveness improves progressively. In addition to focusing on various internal abilities and resources coordination, forming a collaborative network between enterprises is useful in promoting the sharing of capabilities and resources and the creation of win-win situations between enterprises; therefore, it is also an essential source of enterprise innovation [63], which helps drive green technological innovation ability and, in turn, promotes enterprise competitiveness. Fifth, green product characteristics are an important source of product differentiation that may influence the consumers' purchasing decisions. How do we enhance the green differentiation characteristic of products? First, the government should vigorously promote and disseminate knowledge related to green environmental protection, popularize the concept of green consumption and supervise the fulfillment of corporate environmental responsibility. Second, marketing is the bridge between the market, the needs of consumers and the enterprises' environmental services, technologies and products [64]; therefore, enterprises need to adopt appropriate green marketing strategies. On one hand, enterprises must adjust their own green product R&D strategies to meet the national green environmental protection policies, adapt to the transformations in green product standards and consumer demands, as well as the changes in green strategies in market competition and supply channels. On the other hand, the enterprise needs to build green

product promotion and sales channels that differ from those of traditional products, such as green public welfare activities, green stores and green product fairs, to highlight the green environmental characteristics of the enterprise's products and establish the overall green image of the enterprise. The conclusions of this paper are drawn in the context of China's development. The development level of China's current market mechanism, green consumption practices and corresponding legal environment (such as intellectual property protection) is the realistic basis for building the theoretical model of this paper and basically passing the empirical test. In other words, it will be difficult for the backward developing countries to apply this development pattern under limitations of traditional industrialization, consumption level, bad market mechanism and legal environment. On the contrary, for the newly industrialized countries, the theoretical model and its conclusions in this paper are also of reference value. There are two limitations to this research. First, in view of the objective factors, such as limitation in data collection, this study only selects the corresponding data for listed companies in the energy conservation and environmental protection industry in the years from 2011 to 2016. Therefore, the sample data only cover a relatively short period of time. To evaluate the long-term effects between variables, it is necessary to expand the time period of the sample data in future research such that the research can draw more accurate inferences. Second, considering the nature of the industry, the availability of data, the competitive situation and other factors, this paper selected listed companies within the energy conservation and environmental protection industry in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges as the research samples. Our sample size was limited, as we have included only enterprises within the energy conservation and environmental protection industry, and complete information on R&D expenses was unavailable in some instances, which may affect the degree of accuracy of this research. Future research can consider conducting comparative studies on different industries to reveal the performance differences across different industries in the context of a multivariable complex relationship of the green technological innovation ability and enterprise competitiveness, which may provide more targeted guidance for enterprises to enhance their green technology-based competitiveness. Compliance with ethical standards Author Guangpei Li declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Xiaoyu Wang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Shibin Su declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Yuan Su declares that she has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Username:[email protected]. Acknowledgement This work was supported by Fujian Provincial Social Science Planning Project (FJ2017B111); Fujian Provincial Soft Science research project of China (2018R0056). References [1] F. Climent, P. Soriano, Green and good? The investment performance of US environmental mutual funds, J. Bus. Ethics J. 103 (02) (2011) 275–287. [2] V.D. MarchiI, Cooperation toward green innovation: an empirical investigation, Paper to Be Presented at the DRUID–DIME Academy Winter, 2010 Ph D Conference, R, 2010. [3] R. Dixon-FowleH, D.J. Slater, J.L. Johnson, et al., Beyond “Does it pay to be green?” A meta-analysis of moderators of the CEP–CFP relationship, J. Bus. Ethics J. 112 (02) (2013) 353–366. [4] M.T. Küçükoğlu, R.İ. Pınar, Positive influences of green innovation on company performance, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, J. 195 (2015) 1232–1237. [5] A.B. Jaffe, S.R. Peterson, P.R. Portney, et al., Environmental regulation and the

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