Market competition, environmental, social and corporate governance investment, and enterprise green innovation performance

This study examines the interaction between market competition; environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investments; and corporate green innovation results using data from publicly traded companies spanning 2011–2022. Based on the research hypotheses, a series of panel models are constructed. Through a series of empirical analyses such as descriptive statistics, basic regression analysis, mediating effect analysis, moderating effect analysis, heterogeneity analysis, robustness tests, and endogeneity tests, the following results are obtained. The results reveal a beneficial correlation between market competition and corporate green innovation initiatives’ success, demonstrating that ESG investment significantly enhances corporate green innovation outcomes. Further analysis confirms that investor attention is a mediating variable that connects market competition and green innovation outcomes, while research and development investment is a moderating factor between the two. Moreover, the study reveals significant disparities in how market competition affects green innovation performance between state-owned and private enterprises. These revelations offer fresh insights into the interaction of market competition and ESG investment in driving corporate green innovation, with considerable importance for policymakers and business executives. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.