Altruistic motivation or instrumental motivation: The spatial spillover effect of corporate social responsibility on corporate green innovation

In recent years, the concept of corporate social responsibility has gained more attention from investors, and green innovation has become a key factor in China’s economic growth. Despite this, regional disparities still remain, and the impact of corporate social responsibility on green innovation in local and surrounding areas is worth exploring. This article uses a Spatial Durbin Model to analyze the spatial spillover effect and mechanism of corporate social responsibility on green innovation of A-share listed companies in China from 2010 to 2020. The results show that corporate social responsibility behavior motivated by "tools" has a negative effect on local enterprises’ green innovation, while also having a negative spillover effect on surrounding areas, thus affecting the spatial pattern of green innovation. Further research suggests that fulfilling corporate social responsibility can attract investors, alleviate financing constraints, and change corporate resource investment strategies, thus promoting cross-regional resource flow and enhancing green innovation. The results of this study remain consistent when the matrix and variables are changed. This article provides new insights into corporate social responsibility and green innovation, and offers policy recommendations to improve green innovation in enterprises.