The Level of Regional Economic Development, Green Image, and Enterprise Environmental Protection Investment: Empirical Evidence from China

Abstract

Does green image impact enterprise environmental protection investment? How does the green image affect enterprise environmental protection investment? In order to solve the above problems, this paper uses an empirical analysis to explore the relationship among regional economic development level, green image, and enterprise environmental protection investment based on the empirical data of A-share manufacturing listed companies from 2007 to 2015 in China. The research results show that good green image has a positive role to promote enterprise environmental protection investment, and regional economic development level partially mediates green image and enterprise environmental protection investment. The article confirms that a good green image can send positive signals to stakeholders and increase their loyalty and satisfaction with the enterprise’s products or services. The level of regional economic development provides opportunities for the green development of enterprises. With the improvement in the level of regional economic development, stakeholders’ awareness of environmental protection has increased, and they have become more sensitive to enterprise environmental protection investment behaviors. The research results also show that the environmental awareness of corporate stakeholders plays an important role in actively fulfilling, and it provides new ideas for companies to conduct production and management in a green-oriented model.