The Role of Financial Constraints and R&D in Moderating the Relationship between Green Credit Guideline and Green Innovation Efficiency

The Role of Financial Constraints and R&D in Moderating the Relationship between Green Credit Guideline and Green Innovation Efficiency | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Role of Financial Constraints and R&D in Moderating the Relationship between Green Credit Guideline and Green Innovation Efficiency Lingyan Du, Abdul Rais Abdul Latiff This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9206502/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The manufacturing industry, recognized as a primary sector for resource consumption and pollution emissions, is in urgent need of transformation and upgrading to achieve enhanced environmental benefits. Existing studies mostly focus on national/provincial macro levels, lacking insights into city-level relationships and regional heterogeneity. Therefore, from a unique city-level perspective, comprehensively considering the role of corporate financial constraints and R&D investments, this study explores the impact of green credit policies on green innovation efficiency. Based on China's A-listed company data from 2007 to 2022, the results found that green credit can significantly promote the green innovation efficiency of listed manufacturing companies. Regarding the adjustment mechanism, companies with greater R&D investment intensity respond significantly to green credit, but financing constraints are not significant, indicating that for companies that rely heavily on external financing, the incentive effect of green credit on green innovation efficiency is not obvious. By analyzing the effectiveness of green credit policies in alleviating financing difficulties for enterprises, this study aims to provide policy recommendations for city-government and relevant institutions. Such recommendations can facilitate the optimization of financial support measures, thereby enhancing the specificity and effectiveness of these policies. green credit green innovation efficiency DID model moderation effect Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 08 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 28 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 23 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9206502","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622171293,"identity":"c2620c48-262c-4065-8562-b6a1a2a0dd9f","order_by":0,"name":"Lingyan Du","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Sains Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lingyan","middleName":"","lastName":"Du","suffix":""},{"id":622171294,"identity":"237e841c-b867-4058-8b70-e7b0e0a0c57b","order_by":1,"name":"Abdul Rais Abdul Latiff","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAu0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCQYDhgcMDDwM7A2kaEkAaeE5QKIWICOBSB38s5u3SSTusZORn/nG+NMNhm2JBN0ncedYmUTCs2Qeg9s5ZtI5DLcJa2G4kWMmkXCAmcdAOseMmSgt8hAt9TzyM88YfyZKiwFEy2Eehhsgi4jRYnjnWLFFwoHjPAZn0sqkcwxuGxPUIne7eeONDweq7eXbD2/+nFNxW5agFnR3MjiSqoWBwZ5kHaNgFIyCUTDsAQCwOD6a80GMKwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Sains Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdul","middleName":"Rais Abdul","lastName":"Latiff","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-24 04:10:34","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9206502/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9206502/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107481982,"identity":"3789e250-b423-49cd-a069-67a2f911f71e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:21:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":397722,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9206502/v1_covered_d565b8c6-8cf9-42b0-9274-6533c0be093a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Role of Financial Constraints and R\u0026D in Moderating the Relationship between Green Credit Guideline and Green Innovation Efficiency","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"green credit, green innovation efficiency, DID model, moderation effect","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9206502/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9206502/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe manufacturing industry, recognized as a primary sector for resource consumption and pollution emissions, is in urgent need of transformation and upgrading to achieve enhanced environmental benefits. 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