The impact of green innovation on manufacturing small and medium enterprises corporate social responsibility fulfillment: The moderating role of regional environmental regulation

Abstract Researchers have found that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are also socially responsible, but corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature has been predominantly examined of larger enterprises. Besides, SMEs experience mo re difficulty than larger enterprises in CSR fulfillment. Based on resource‐based theory and green innovation theory, this paper contributes to CSR literature by examining the impact of SMEs’ green innovation on their CSR and the moderating roles of governmental regulations. By analyzing the questionnaire data from 269 manufacturing SMEs, we empirically find that: (1) There is an inverse U‐shaped curve between green innovation and manufacturing SMEs CSR; (2) Command‐and‐control environmental regulations and market‐based environmental regulations both have a moderating effect on the relationship between green innovation and manufacturing SMEs CSR fulfillment. The conclusions can effectively guide the executives of SMEs to fulfill their CSR and guide the formulation of relevant environmental policies for local government.