The Impact of Green Investor Entry on the High-Quality Development of Manufacturing Enterprises

Addressing climate change, pursuing green development, and achieving high-quality development are rapidly coalescing into a global strategic consensus. Against this backdrop, this paper empirically examines the impact of green investor entry on the high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises. Using a sample of A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2015 to 2023, it employs fixed-effects and mediation models. The findings reveal: (1) Green investor entry significantly promotes high-quality development in manufacturing enterprises, a conclusion that holds after endogeneity and robustness tests. (2) Mechanism effects indicate that green investors empower manufacturing enterprises to achieve high-quality development through the integration of digital and physical technologies. (3) Heterogeneity tests indicate that in eastern regions and non-heavily polluting industries, the entry of green investors exerts a more pronounced promotional effect on the high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises. (4) Green investor entry significantly promotes high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises under the negative moderation of financing constraints. These findings confirm the catalytic role of green investor entry in advancing high-quality development within manufacturing enterprises, clarify the mechanism of digital–physical integration linking the two, and provide empirical evidence and policy insights to support strategic decisions promoting high-quality development through green investor entry in China’s manufacturing sector.