Unraveling the impacts of green knowledge spillovers on SMEs’ green innovation, economic performance, and exporting: evidence from Germany

Abstract Green innovation is critical for the green transition, yet little is known about green knowledge spillovers across industries. Based on the knowledge-spillovers literature and using empirical evidence from German manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during 2009–2019, this analysis reveals that SMEs benefit from horizontal green knowledge spillovers to boost green innovation and from backward spillovers to enhance productivity and profitability. SMEs can leverage these green innovations to expand into international markets through exporting. These effects vary across industries and sub-national locations.