Lead briefing

Cross-border E-commerce and Corporate Green Innovation: Empirical Findings from Chinese Listed Companies

The latest study published in Frontiers in Sustainability, based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2023, identifies firms' cross-border e-commerce participation through text analysis and employs a difference-in-differences model to find that participating in cross-border e-commerce significantly increases firms' green patent output. In terms of mechanisms, cross-border e-commerce promotes green innovation by alleviating financing constraints and driving digital transformation, with environmental information disclosure playing a positive moderating role. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the promoting effects are more pronounced among high-tech firms, heavily polluting firms, large state-owned enterprises, and firms in central and western regions.