Navigating Green Innovation: The Dual Influence of Environmental Ethics and Managerial Social Ties on Strategic Choices

ABSTRACT Although corporate environmental ethics are widely recognized as catalysts for green innovation, how they guide firms' strategic choices between green product and green process innovation remains unclear. Grounded in the attention‐based view and social network theory, this study develops a contingency framework linking corporate environmental ethics and green product and process innovation, moderated by different managerial social ties. Survey data from 515 Chinese manufacturing firms show that environmental ethics foster both types of green innovation, yet exert a stronger effect on process innovation. Managerial ties moderate these effects: business ties strengthen the link between environmental ethics and green product innovation, while weakening its association with green process innovation; conversely, political ties reduce the relationship between environmental ethics and green product innovation, but enhance it with green process innovation. The main contribution of this study is the integration of the attention‐based view with social network theory, providing insights into how and when environmental ethics lead to distinct green innovation outcomes in different contexts shaped by specific managerial ties.