How Can Green Innovative Enterprises Break out of the“Green Trap”: The Roles of Serendipity and Green Legitimacy

Abstract

Abstract: Green innovative enterprises often fall into the“green trap”, but the existing research literatures seldom pay attention to how to break out of the“green trap”. Therefore, taking 206 manufacturing enterprises in the eastern coastal area as samples, this paper constructs a mechanism model of the impact of green innovation on enterprise performance by combining the serendipity and the green legitimacy. Then it analyzes the adjusting role of the orientation of means in it. The findings show that green innovation has no direct impact on corporate performance, but it can indirectly exert a positive effect on corporate performance by promoting serendipity. The orientation of means plays a positive moderating role between green innovation and serendipity. Under the effect of green legitimacy, green innovation can bring about the improvement of corporate performance. This research conclusion can promote the development of the serendipity theory in China, and provides important enlightenment on how companies can break out of the “green trap”.

Key words: green innovation, serendipity, enterprise performance, green legitimacy, orientation of means

WANG Jian, HUANG Qunhui. How Can Green Innovative Enterprises Break out of the“Green Trap”: The Roles of Serendipity and Green Legitimacy[J]. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY FINANCE AND ECONOMICS, 2023, 0(2): 123-133.

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