Green innovation efficiency of polluting industries in China: the role of external technological sourcing

Improving green innovation efficiency (GIE) in polluting sectors is vital to ecological environment protection and high-quality economic development. However, few studies have explored how external technological sourcing affects the GIE of these industries in China. By employing the network DEA method, we decompose the GIE of polluting sectors into R&D efficiency and commercialization efficiency. Furthermore, we employ panel Tobit and system GMM models to analyze how two external technological sourcing channels—domestic technology procurement and foreign technology importation—contribute to the improvement of GIE in polluting industries. Our analysis of the data indicates an upward trajectory in the GIE of China’s polluting sectors between 2012 and 2020. Nonetheless, the overall mean GIE remained relatively low at 0.5407, a phenomenon largely attributable to a markedly low R&D efficiency of 0.4265. Domestic technology procurement significantly boosts the GIE in polluting industries through enhanced R&D efficiency. Conversely, foreign technology importation hampers the GIE of polluting industries, as it negatively affects R&D efficiency. Therefore, boosting the GIE of polluting sectors in China primarily depends on enhancing their R&D efficiency. Achieving this goal requires the promotion of domestic technology procurement and a reduced dependence on foreign technology. This paper not only helps to clarify the underlying reasons for the changes in GIE of polluting industries in China but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanism by which external technological sourcing affects the GIE of polluting industries.