Pathways to corporate green technological innovation: An analysis from the perspective of dynamic capabilities

Green technological innovation has become a pivotal tool for driving economic restructuring and achieving environmental sustainability. However, in the face of complex and volatile market and policy environments, a critical question remains: how can enterprises effectively select and implement innovation pathways to address environmental turbulence? Drawing on data from 14,751 Chinese listed companies from 2012 to 2022, this study employs dynamic capabilities theory and a fixed-effects panel model to examine the impact of dynamic capabilities on firms’ choice of green innovation pathways. Results show a significant positive influence of dynamic capabilities on green innovation, although this effect varies depending on the research and development model and the level of environmental turbulence. Firms with high dynamic capabilities tend to favor independent research and development, with an effect coefficient of 0.778 (p<0.01); firms with moderate dynamic capabilities benefit more from cooperative research and development, with a coefficient of 0.045 (p<0.01); and firms with lower dynamic capabilities primarily pursue green innovation through technology transactions, with a coefficient of 0.052 (p<0.01). Furthermore, environmental turbulence significantly moderates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and green innovation negatively, with an interaction coefficient of -0.088 (p<0.05), indicating that environmental uncertainty weakens the positive impact of dynamic capabilities.These findings suggest that firms can select suitable research and development models aligned with their level of dynamic capabilities and adopt flexible innovation strategies to effectively manage environmental turbulence. This study proposes the following policy recommendations: enterprises should strengthen their dynamic capabilities, particularly in knowledge acquisition, resource integration, and adaptability to environmental changes, to enhance their green innovation capacity. Additionally, the government should increase policy support for green technological innovation by offering financial subsidies, tax incentives, and intellectual property protections, helping enterprises maintain their innovation momentum amid environmental turbulence.