Academic Workstations and Corporate Green Innovation

The academic workstation is a government-led industry–university–research collaborative platform that integrates intelligence and financial capital from academicians, firms, and local governments to facilitate innovation. We find a significant increase in the number of green patents and inventions following the establishment of academic workstations in China. In addition, we find that this positive relationship is strengthened by less financial constraints, stricter environmental regulations, and a better business environments. Further analyses identify environmental awareness and resource integration as channels through which academic workstations affect corporate green innovation. Our findings extend our understanding of the determinants of corporate green innovation and the real effects of academic workstations on corporate sustainable growth.