Qihua Yin

1 Introduction Environmental sustainability has become a global imperative amid accelerating industrialization. Heavy-polluting enterprises have historically driven economic growth in China, but their operations have also exacerbated environmental degradation and resource depletion (Ye et al. 2025). Enhancing green innovation capabilities within these firms is pivotal to China's transition toward a green economy, as such innovation improves environmental, economic, and social outcomes (Pan et al.