How does top management’s environmental awareness influence green innovation: The moderating role of absorptive capacity and slack resources

Based on the upper echelons theory, dynamic capability theory, and resource-based view, this study explores the impact of top management’s environmental awareness (TMEA) on green innovation (GI), the moderating role of absorptive capacity (AC) and slack resources (SR). Using the data of A-shared listed manufacturing firms in China from 2010–2023, this study finds that TMEA has a significant positive effect on GI. Furthermore, AC and unabsorbed slack resources (USR) strengthen the effect of TMEA on GI, whereas absorbed slack resources (ASR) weaken the effect of TMEA on GI. The results provide a more comprehensive understanding for enterprises to implement GI, expand boundary conditions between TMEA and GI, and contribute to the improvement of research on GI.