Can CEO education promote environmental innovation: Evidence from Chinese enterprises

Inspired by the importance of environmental innovation to corporate sustainable development, this study investigates whether and how the education levels of chief executive officers (CEOs) promote corporate environmental innovation. Using a panel sample of listed nonfinancial Chinese enterprises from 2008 to 2017, we provide robust evidence that enterprises with highly educated CEOs are likely to engage in environmental innovation, especially when they operate in regions with strict environmental pressures. The heterogeneity analysis also shows that the promotion effect of CEO education is heterogeneous in terms of corporate ownership, industry attributes, and CEO characteristics. By exploring potential mechanisms, we confirm that the promotion effects of CEO education on corporate environmental innovation are driven by corporate green research and development investment and environmental responsibility. Our findings contribute to the clean and sustainable development literature by providing a new driver for corporate environmental innovation from the perspective of CEO education and revealing the role of corporate internal and external factors on green production.