Research on the Impact of the "Dual Pilot" Policy on Corporate Green Technological Innovation: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on Low-Carbon City Pilots and Intellectual Property Demonstration Initiatives

Abstract

Amid dual pressures from internal and external economic and environmental factors, stimulating corporate green technological innovation is pivotal to achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals while advancing industrial upgrading. Existing research predominantly examines the impact of individual policies on corporate green innovation, with limited attention to policy synergies. Using Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2022 as the research sample, this study treats the intellectual property demonstration city and low-carbon city pilot policies as quasi-natural experiments. Employing a progressive difference-in-differences model, it systematically examines the impact and mechanism of dual pilot policy synergies on corporate green technological innovation. Findings reveal that the synergistic dual pilot policies significantly enhance corporate green technological innovation levels, with a more pronounced effect on substantive green innovation. The primary pathways of this effect involve strengthening executives' environmental and innovation awareness, increasing corporate R&D intensity, and improving regional legal environments. Policy effects exhibit significant heterogeneity, with more pronounced positive impacts on high-profile enterprises without environmental backgrounds, as well as firms in highly competitive industries and economically developed regions. Overlaying the IP demonstration city pilot on the low-carbon city pilot more effectively stimulates corporate green innovation vitality. These findings provide crucial empirical evidence and policy references for deepening the synergy between intellectual property protection and environmental regulation policies, thereby precisely advancing corporate green technological innovation.