Can entrepreneurship in the new era promote green innovation efficiency? evidence from manufacturing enterprises in China

Based on panel data of 398 listed manufacturing companies in China's Shenzhen – Shanghai A-shares from 2012 to 2022, this study uses the double fixed effect model to explore the direct impact and heterogeneity of entrepreneurship in the new era on the green innovation efficiency of manufacturing enterprises and utilises the intermediary effect model to investigate the indirect mechanism of entrepreneurship in the new era on the green innovation efficiency of manufacturing enterprises. Research has shown that entrepreneurship in the new era can significantly improve the efficiency of green innovation in manufacturing enterprises, especially for state-owned, technology-intensive, labour-intensive, and non-heavy polluters. The mechanism test results show that entrepreneurship in the new era increases enterprise performance, promotes the driving effect of digital transformation on manufacturing enterprises' green innovation efficiency, and is an important channel for improving this efficiency. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the driving effect of entrepreneurship in China's new era, provides a reference for the innovation practice of promoting green transformation in the manufacturing industry, and provides important theoretical and empirical evidence for expanding the research frontier of green innovation efficiency.