Green Technology Adoption and Industrial Competitiveness in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Effect of Institutional Quality

Green Technology Adoption and Industrial Competitiveness in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Effect of Institutional Quality | 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 Article Green Technology Adoption and Industrial Competitiveness in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Effect of Institutional Quality Patrick Kodua This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8542405/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As the world faces environmental challenges and the urgent need for sustainable development, the adoption of green technology stands at the forefront in shaping the future of various industries in the world. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the impact of GTA measured through the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and Renewable Energy Consumption (REC), and Industrial Competitiveness (IC), while examining the moderating role of Institutional Quality (IQ). Using the Balance of Panel data from 24 emerging economies covering 2002 to 2021. The study employed the System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) estimator to address endogeneity concerns and Panel Quantile Regression to capture heterogeneous effects across the competitiveness distribution. The results indicate a nuanced relationship. EPI positively and significantly enhances Industrial Competitiveness, supporting the Porter Hypothesis that stringent yet well-designed environmental policies stimulate innovation and competitiveness. Conversely, REC exhibits a negative effect on Industrial Competitiveness, reflecting structural bottlenecks, transitional costs and energy system constraints within emerging economies. Further, Institutional Quality demonstrated mixed effects. Rule of law and political stability enhance competitiveness, whereas Control of corruption negatively affects it, implying that governance weakness undermines the gains associated with green technology adoption. The study underscores the need for emerging economies to strengthen the institutional framework, prioritize innovation-driven environmental policies, and address renewable energy system inefficiency. These measures are essential for leveraging green technologies to enhance industrial competitiveness and support sustainable development. Business and commerce/Economics Social science/Economics Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Social science/Environmental studies Green technology adoption (GTA) institutional quality industrial competitiveness environmental innovation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 25 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 05 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 24 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 15 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Feb, 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. 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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-8542405","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":611967616,"identity":"59ed9f45-cc57-49ff-ba97-616ae3e9907a","order_by":0,"name":"Patrick Kodua","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEElEQVRIie3PMUsDMRTA8TwCvSVw6+uiX+GOg+Jw2K+SINx0nYTSrREht1ydT/opXJwjAbsczhUcrotdHE5cihRsbhEdIucmkj8EQuDHyyPE5/uDhZRqzWd4BIX8fIzs0U4yLJTQTZ0mtNQge5GorpO7jcpEUfGehKx5pHltYHG93TagUiGDy1sk709OARXndhdDh8s8lmDHSXY/Rbh6dhKKXHdTBvEyB0vMRGI+QiiNkwxQSC2UYePH1caSj4k8fvmZMGaIJRlCRbqPaTuFjZDs3AQDRezH0gjKPK74w9lcsez8REg3GZvw7XU3w/lFsWradnqahIG5Wbd7N/ke77brLkL1FF/a/574fD7fv+0ABrpk4dEdyY0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Independent researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Patrick","middleName":"","lastName":"Kodua","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-07 14:08:36","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8542405/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8542405/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105565680,"identity":"7ff92a4d-8150-4ec2-885e-07a9ecf966dc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:54:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":497371,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"revisedGTAICMANUSCRIPThc.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8542405/v1_covered_7871bab8-8c75-4575-bcc3-357299efe1f0.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eGreen Technology Adoption and Industrial Competitiveness in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Effect of Institutional Quality\u003c/p\u003e","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":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Green technology adoption (GTA), institutional quality, industrial, competitiveness, environmental, innovation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8542405/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8542405/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAs the world faces environmental challenges and the urgent need for sustainable development, the adoption of green technology stands at the forefront in shaping the future of various industries in the world. 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