How corporate ESG performance drives green innovation: The roles of R&D investment and scientific expertise in the top management team

ESG practices are increasingly seen as an important force in promoting corporate green innovation, but existing research still lacks a clear explanation of how firms translate ESG commitments into green innovation. From the dynamic capability perspective, this study examines the effect of ESG performance on green innovation and its underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, drawing on the upper echelons theory, it analyzes how the top management team's scientific expertise influences this transformation process. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2020, this study conducts an empirical analysis. The results show that ESG performance significantly improves green innovation. This effect mainly works through R&D investment, reflected in higher R&D expenditure and more R&D personnel. However, public attention does not serve as a positive transmission channel. The mediating effect of media coverage is not significant, and the indirect effect through public engagement is weakly negative. Moreover, the top management team's scientific expertise strengthens the positive effect of ESG performance on green innovation. The heterogeneity results show that ESG has a significantly stronger effect on strategic green innovation than on substantive green innovation. This study deepens the understanding of how ESG affects green innovation from the perspective of internal capability building and managerial cognitive characteristics, and provides implications for corporate green transformation and policy design.