Executive Environmental Cognition and Corporate Green Innovation in the Digital Economy Era: A Resource Allocation and Information Environment Perspective

As environmental sustainability becomes an increasingly important component of corporate strategy, understanding the internal drivers of green innovation has become a critical research issue. This study examines how executive environmental cognition influences corporate green innovation. Drawing on upper echelons theory and the natural resource-based view, we distinguish between green technological innovation and green managerial innovation and propose that green investment serves as an important mechanism linking executive cognition to innovation outcomes. Using panel data from Chinese A-share manufacturing firms from 2014 to 2023 and a two-way fixed effects model, we find that executive environmental cognition significantly promotes both types of green innovation. Further analysis shows that green investment partially mediates this relationship. Moreover, environmental information disclosure quality strengthens the positive effect of executive environmental cognition on green innovation. By integrating managerial cognition, resource allocation, and information environment perspectives, this study contributes to the literature by revealing the micro-cognitive foundations of corporate green innovation and highlighting the heterogeneous mechanisms through which executive cognition translates into sustainability-oriented innovation.