Strategic Pathways to Green Innovation Capacity and ESG Performance: Driving Sustainable Value Creation in Asian Economies

ABSTRACT Drawing on the Resource‐Based View (RBV) and Stakeholder Theory, this study examines how green innovation contributes to firm value, emphasizing the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and the moderating role of corporate reputation. Using panel data from 593 environmentally sensitive manufacturing firms across Asian economies between 2014 and 2023, the proposed relationships are tested with the Baron and Kenney mediation approach and IV‐2SLS estimation to address potential endogeneity. The results demonstrate that green innovation directly enhances firm value and significantly improves ESG performance. ESG performance itself exerts a positive effect on firm value, and mediation analysis reveals that ESG partially transmits the impact of green innovation on financial outcomes. Robustness checks strengthen these findings: The Variance Accounted For (VAF) ratio shows that 41.2% of the total effect of green innovation on firm value operates through ESG, while the Sobel test ( Z = 3.462, p < 0.001) and the Z ‐test of mediation ( Z = 3.291, p < 0.01) confirm the significance of the indirect pathway. These results provide consistent evidence that ESG is an important, though partial, channel linking innovation to value creation. Furthermore, corporate reputation is found to strengthen the effect of green innovation on firm value, suggesting that reputational capital amplifies the benefits of sustainability engagement. The study contributes to theory by integrating RBV and Stakeholder perspectives and offers practical insights for Asian manufacturing firms, where aligning innovation strategies with ESG improvements and reputation management is crucial for sustainable competitiveness.