Effects of Environmental Innovation on Green Revenue: The Role of Gender Diversity

ABSTRACT This study examines how environmental innovation contributes to green revenue generation in the global energy sector and investigates the moderating role of board gender diversity. Using a panel of 158 publicly listed energy firms from 33 countries between 2015 and 2024, the analysis employs a dynamic System GMM approach to address endogeneity and persistence in green revenue. Firms with higher levels of board gender diversity (around 20% or above) are associated with a stronger positive relationship between advanced environmental innovation and green revenue. The findings reveal a nonlinear, U‐shaped relationship between environmental innovation and green revenue: Initial innovation efforts are associated with neutral or negative revenue effects, while positive market outcomes emerge only after firms reach higher levels of innovative capability. By integrating insights from the Resource‐Based View, Stakeholder Theory, and Critical Mass Theory, the study contributes to the literature by providing evidence consistent with the view that environmental innovation and gender‐diverse governance may operate as complementary strategic factors. The findings have implications for corporate strategy, suggesting that the effectiveness of green innovation in generating economic outcomes may depend on governance structures, and for policymakers and investors concerned with evaluating firms' green growth potential. These results should be viewed within the context of the sample and empirical design.