The Impact Of Board Independence On Corporate Green Innovation

Based on the data of A-share listed companies in China from 2007 to 2021,this paper makes a regression analysis by constructing a two-way fixed effect model and concludes that the independence of the board of directors plays a significant positive role in promoting the green innovation of enterprises.In addition,this paper uses the propensity score matching method(PSM)for endogenous analysis,which proves that the independence of the board of directors has a significant positive effect on the green innovation of enterprises.This conclusion is still valid after excluding endogenous problems.In this paper,the executive compensation incentive is taken as a mechanism variable,and the mechanism by which the independence of the board of directors positively affects the green innovation of enterprises is investigated.The results of this paper show that the positive contribution of the independence of the board of directors to the green innovation of enterprises is realized through the salary incentive of management.The stronger the independence of the board of directors,the more equity compensation will be adopted to motivate the management,thus promoting the green innovation activities of enterprises.In this paper,the samples of listed companies are divided into state-owned enterprises and private enterprises to analyze the heterogeneity of ownership.The results show that the green innovation activities of state-owned enterprises are not related to the independence of the board of directors,while the green innovation activities of private enterprises are positively promoted by the independence of the board of directors.In addition,this paper analyzes the heterogeneity of the pollution attributes of heavily polluting enterprises and non-heavily polluting enterprises,and the results show that the independence of the board of directors plays a significant positive role in promoting the green innovation of heavily polluting enterprises and non-heavily polluting enterprises.The innovations and shortcomings of this paper are detailed in the introduction.From the research results of this paper,the agency theory is more in line with the reality of listed companies in China,and this paper suggests the following: At the government level,the relevant government departments should strengthen the supervision mechanism to promote the independence of the board of directors of listed companies,thus promoting the green innovation of enterprises.For enterprises,they should pay attention to the independent characteristics of their board of directors,improve their management,and solve the principal-agent problem through equity incentives to promote green innovation and enhance their competitive strength.