Corporate governance and green innovation performance: a TCCM-based systematic literature review

Authors

  • Dolly Bhati School of Management, Bennett University, Greater Noida, India
  • Shikha Mittal Shrivastav School of Management, Bennett University, Greater Noida, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9224-7021

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55429/ijabf.v5i2.427

Keywords:

Corporate governance, Green innovation, ESG disclosure, Board diversity, Sustainable performance

Abstract

This study reviews and synthesizes literature linking corporate governance mechanisms to green innovation performance. It examines how board structure, ownership patterns, executive incentives, and ESG practices shape firms' pursuit of sustainability-driven innovation across institutional contexts. Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) protocol and TCCM (Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology) framework, the review analyses 213 articles published between 2015 and 2025. Bibliometric mapping and content analysis identify foundations, methodological trends, and differences in the governance-innovation nexus. Findings show that board diversity, independence, and environmental competence improve green innovation performance by supporting perspectives and stakeholder responsiveness. Ownership structure, CEO duality, and ESG disclosure influence innovation outcomes, with effects varying by institutional quality and industry context. Quantitative and single-theory approaches dominate, highlighting the need for integrated frameworks and methods. The study positions governance as both a compliance mechanism and a driver of competitiveness and value creation, providing a synthesis and a research agenda for sustainability-focused corporate governance.

References

Abbate, S., Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R., Oropallo, E., & Riccio, E. (2022, April 1). A first bibliometric literature review on Metaverse. IEEE Xplore. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEMSCONEUROPE54743.2022.9802015

Amore, M. D., & Bennedsen, M. (2016). Corporate governance and green innovation. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 75, 54-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2015.11.003

Baltagi, B. H. (2021). Econometric analysis of panel data (6th ed.). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53953-5

Chen, M., Liu, S., & Gao, L. (2024). Digital finance, financial flexibility and corporate green innovation. Finance Research Letters, 70, 106313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.106313

Chen, N., Yan, N., Xie, H., & Ou, Y. (2024). Impact of media attention on corporate green innovation: What is the role of dual environmental regulation? International Review of Financial Analysis, 96, 103-553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103553

Chouaibi, S., & Fadhli, M. (2026). Corporate governance and integrated reporting quality: Does green innovation moderate the relationship? A G20 perspective. Managerial Finance, 52(2), 356-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-11-2024-0858

Chouaibi, S., Chouaibi, J., & Rossi, M. (2022). ESG and corporate financial performance: The mediating role of green innovation: UK common law versus Germany civil law. EuroMed Journal of Business, 17(1), 46-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-09-2020-0101

Chu, S. (2024). Are women greener? Board gender diversity and corporate green technology innovation in China. International Review of Economics & Finance, 93, 1001-1020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.04.005

Connelly, B. L., Certo, S. T., Ireland, R. D., & Reutzel, C. R. (2011). Signaling Theory: A Review and Assessment. Journal of Management, 37(1), 39-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310388419

Costantini, V., Crespi, F., Marin, G., & Paglialunga, E. (2017). Eco-innovation, sustainable supply chains and environmental performance in European industries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 155, 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.038

Ding, J., Lu, Z., & Yu, C. (2022). Environmental information disclosure and firms' green innovation: Evidence from China. International Review of Economics & Finance, 81, 147-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2022.05.007

Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070

Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A., Childe, S. J., Papadopoulos, T., & Fosso Wamba, S. (2017). World class sustainable supply chain management: critical review and further research directions. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 28(2), 332-362. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-07-2015-0112

Fang, L. (2024). Corporate digitalization and green innovation: Evidence from textual analysis of firm annual reports and corporate green patent data in China. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(5), 3936-3964. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3677

Fang, Z., Kong, X., Sensoy, A., Cui, X., & Cheng, F. (2021). Government's awareness of environmental protection and corporate green innovation: A natural experiment from the new environmental protection law in China. Economic Analysis and Policy, 70, 294-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.03.003

Fei, W., Wei, F., Chunxia, Z., & Zhen, W. (2022). The impact of environmental, social, and governance, board diversity and firm size on the sustainable development goals of registered firm in China. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 36(1), 668-686. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2100438

Flammer, C., & Bansal, P. (2017). Does a long-term orientation create value? Evidence from a regression discontinuity. Strategic Management Journal, 38(9), 1827–1847. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45105062

Gur, F. A., & Greckhamer, T. (2025). Coopetition in practice: Managerial practices for navigating cooperation with competitors. European Management Journal, 44(1), 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2025.01.003

Herrera-Franco, G., Montalván-Burbano, N., Carrión-Mero, P., Apolo-Masache, B., & Jaya-Montalvo, M. (2020). Research Trends in Geotourism: A Bibliometric Analysis Using the Scopus Database. Geosciences, 10(10), 379. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10100379

Javeed, S. A., Latief, R., & Akram, U. (2023). The effects of board capital on green innovation to improve green total factor productivity. Sustainability, 15(13), 10023. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310023

Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305-360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X

Ji, H., Yu, Z., Tian, G., Wang, D., & Wen, Y. (2025). Market competition, environmental, social and corporate governance investment, and enterprise green innovation performance. Finance Research Letters, 77, 107057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107057

Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (5th ed.). The Guilford Press.

Li, J., Lian, G., & Xu, A. (2023). How do ESG affect the spillover of green innovation among peer firms? Mechanism discussion and performance study. Journal of Business Research, 158, 113648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113648

Lin, X., Yu, L., Zhang, J., Lin, S., & Zhong, Q. (2022). Board gender diversity and corporate green innovation: Evidence from China. Sustainability, 14(22), 15020. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215020

Liu, X., Cifuentes-Faura, J., Wang, C., & Wang, L. (2025). Can green finance policy reduce corporate carbon emissions? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. The British Accounting Review, 57(5), 101540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101540

Lu, Y., Zhao, Y., Liu, L., & Shi, G. (2024). ESG ratings and green innovation. Sustainability, 16(24), 10869. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162410869

Ma, J., & Chang, C. (2023). The Role of Green Finance in Green Innovation: Global Perspective from 75 Developing Countries. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 59(10), 3109-3128. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496x.2023.2210720

Mohy-ud-Din, K. (2024). ESG reporting, corporate green innovation and the interaction role of board diversity: A new insight from U.S. firms. Innovation and Green Development, 3(4), 100161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.igd.2024.100161

Mohy‐ud‐Din, K., Shahbaz, M., & Du, A. M. (2024). Corporate social responsibility and climate change mitigation: Discovering the interaction role of green audit and sustainability committee. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 32(1), 1198-1212. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.3011

Natalicchio, A., Ardito, L., Savino, T., & Albino, V. (2017). Managing knowledge assets for open innovation: A systematic literature review. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(6), 1362-1383. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2016-0516

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., McGuinness, L.A., Stewart, L.A., Thomas, J., Tricco, A.C., Welch, V.A., Whiting, P., & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Paul, J., & Rosado-Serrano, A. (2019). Gradual internationalization vs. born-global/international new venture models: A review and research agenda. International Marketing Review, 36(6), 830-858. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0280

Qin, X., Muskat, B., Ambrosini, V., Mair, J., & Chih, Y.-Y. (2025). Green innovation implementation: A systematic review and research directions. Journal of Management, 52(1), 255-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063241312656

Shabbir, M. S. (2025). Corporate Sustainability Reimagined: A Bibliometric-Systematic literature review of governance, Technology, and Stakeholder‐Driven Strategies for SDG Impact. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(7), 9203-9222. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70070

Shan, H., Zhao, K., & Liu, Y. (2024). ESG performance and the persistence of green innovation: empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Multinational Business Review, 33(2), 268-296. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbr-04-2024-0060

Shi, X., Xu, W., Cao, X., & Hou, Y. (2023). Can minority shareholders' "hand-voting" promote green innovation of Enterprises-Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1225509

Shui, X., Zhang, M., Smart, P., & Ye, F. (2022). Sustainable corporate governance for environmental innovation: A configurational analysis on board capital, CEO power and ownership structure. Journal of Business Research, 149, 786-794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.037

Singh, S. K., Chen, J., Del Giudice, M., & El-Kassar, A. N. (2020). Environmental ethics, environmental performance, and competitive advantage: Role of environmental training. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, 203-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.05.032

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Spence, M. (1973). Job Market Signaling. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 87(3), 355–374. https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010

Tan, Y., & Zhu, Z. (2022). The effect of ESG rating events on corporate green innovation in China: The mediating role of financial constraints and managers' environmental awareness. Technology in Society, 68, 101906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101906

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence‐informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Volquez, G. M., Renukappa, S., Suresh, S., Das, S., & Veenith, T. (2025). Evaluation of drivers for sustainable business model innovation: TISM and Fuzzy MICMAC approach. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/sasbe-01-2025-0016

Wang, C. (2019). How organizational green culture influences green performance and competitive advantage. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 30(4), 666-683. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmtm-09-2018-0314

Wang, J., Ma, M., Dong, T., & Zhang, Z. (2023). Do ESG ratings promote corporate green innovation? A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings. International Review of Financial Analysis, 87, 102623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102623

Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data (2nd ed.). The MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262232586/econometric-analysis-of-cross-section-and-panel-data/

Wu, J., Liu, B., Zeng, Y., and Luo, H. (2022). Good for the firm, good for the society? Causal evidence of the impact of equity incentives on a firm's green investment. International Review of Economics and Finance, 77, 435-449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2021.10.013

Xue, Y., Jiang, C., Guo, Y., Liu, J., Wu, H., & Hao, Y. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and high-quality development: Do green innovation, environmental investment and corporate governance matter? Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 58(11), 3191-3214. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2022.2034616

Yang, C., Zhu, C., & Albitar, K. (2024). ESG ratings and green innovation: A U‐shaped journey towards sustainable development. Business Strategy and the Environment, 33(5), 4108-4129. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3692

Yang, Z., Guo, B., Yuan, X., Lou, H., Gao, D., & Noda, T. (2025). Firm-level climate policy uncertainty and corporate green innovation: evidence from Chinese firms. Environment Development and Sustainability, 28(4), 10349-10371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-025-06105-7

Zhang, C., & Chen, D. (2023). Do environmental, social, and governance scores improve green innovation? Empirical evidence from Chinese-listed companies. Plos One, 18(5), e0279220. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279220

Zhang, J., & Liu, Z. (2023). Study on the Impact of Corporate ESG Performance on Green Innovation Performance-Evidence from Listed Companies in China A-Shares. Sustainability, 15(20), 14750. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014750

Zheng, M., Feng, G.-F., Jiang, R.-A., & Chang, C.-P. (2023). Does environmental, social, and governance performance move together with corporate green innovation in China? Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(4), 1670-1679. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3211

Downloads

Published

06-11-2026

How to Cite

Bhati, D., & Shrivastav, S. M. (2026). Corporate governance and green innovation performance: a TCCM-based systematic literature review. International Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance, 5(2), 88–110. https://doi.org/10.55429/ijabf.v5i2.427

Issue

Section

Review Paper
Received 2026-08-11
Accepted 2026-10-16
Published 2026-11-06

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.