Executive social responsibility and enterprise green innovation: an Upper Echelons Theory perspective

Purpose Driven by global sustainable development goals, this study addresses a gap in understanding the core motivation of Executive social responsibility (ESR) for enterprise Green innovation (GI), which has been overlooked in prior institutional and resource-based view studies. In addition, the present research explores the insufficiently investigated interaction between ESR and external stakeholders' pressure. Design/methodology/approach Based on Upper Echelons Theory and Stakeholder Theory, this study empirically examines the proposed mechanism using survey data collected from 283 manufacturing enterprises. The study specifically analyzes the mediating effect of Green knowledge acquisition (GKA) and the moderating effect of external stakeholder pressure (e.g. government regulation, customer demand, competitor behavior). Findings The research findings are presented as follows: (1) executives' sense of social responsibility significantly drives enterprise GI; (2) GKA partially mediates the relationship between ESR and enterprise GI; (3) environmental pressure from external stakeholders strengthens the promotional effect of ESR on GI through GKA. Originality/value This research provides a novel theoretical basis for integrating motivation and stakeholder perspectives in GI studies, and offers practical guidance for enterprises to enhance their GI capabilities by cultivating executives' social responsibility and strategically responding to stakeholder demands.