Can heterogeneous media attention invigorate green technological innovation: A moderating role of chief executive officer narcissism

Abstract The current study contemplates the mechanism of heterogeneous media attention affecting green technological innovation (GTI) amid moderation of chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism. Based on the accumulated data of 1545 listed Chinese firms over the period from 2014 to 2018, we have demonstrated that media attention imposes a significant positive effect on GTI; the negative coverage is greater than positive media coverage in effecting GTI whereas CEO narcissism positively moderates the effect of media attention on GTI. The results also show the regional media coverage is greater than national media coverage in effecting GTI, while the CEO narcissism more strongly moderates the effect of negative coverage on GTI and the effect of regional media coverage on GTI. This study provides new insights into the existing literature by deconstructing media attention and enriches the studies in the context of media attention‐GTI relationship from a point of view of the particular personality trait of a CEO.