State ownership and green innovation in family firms

Abstract This paper delves into the influence of state ownership on green innovation in family firms using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2008 to 2021. Our results show that state ownership significantly promotes family firms' green innovation performance. Intergenerational succession, CEO's green experience, and Confucian cultural atmosphere moderate this positive relationship significantly. Channel tests indicate that state ownership positively affects green innovation in family firms by enhancing their corporate social responsibility, facilitating their access to external resources, and improving their internal control quality. Cross‐sectional analysis shows that the promoting effect of state ownership on green innovation is more prominent among family firms in non‐heavily polluting industries, those with higher levels of information transparency, and those facing lower levels of market competition. These findings provide new insights into the reverse mixed‐ownership reform in China and offer valuable guidance for family firms in formulating effective green innovation strategies.