Market orientation and green innovation: Empirical evidence from double machine learning

Amid the growing global emphasis on sustainable development, green innovation has attracted significant scholarly and practical attention in recent years. However, existing studies have largely emphasised external institutional and policy drivers, leaving a limited understanding of how internal strategic orientations endogenously foster green innovation. Grounded in dynamic capabilities theory, this study examines whether market orientation serves as an internal strategic driver of green innovation. Analysing panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2024, we apply a double machine learning framework to estimate the effects of the two core components of market orientation (customer orientation and competitor orientation) on green innovation. We find that both components significantly promote green innovation, with these findings remaining robust across several rigorous tests. Furthermore, government green subsidies positively moderate the relationships of market orientation dimensions with green innovation. Additional heterogeneity analysis indicates that these relationships are particularly pronounced in non-state-owned and high-tech firms. Overall, this study extends the green innovation literature by foregrounding internal strategic orientations and advances methodological practice in this field by applying double machine learning. It offers valuable implications for future research on green innovation and for policymakers and managers committed to promoting sustainable development.