Abstract:
Low-carbon technology innovation (LTI) engenders environmental protection and socioeconomic development. Hence, low
carbon innovation of enterprises becomes a crucial policy arena for national development and climate mitigation strategy. LTI
is now associated with enhanced reputation and competitive edge of enterprises. We constructed a framework to empirically
explore the impact of simmelian ties (ST) on LTI, testing the moderating effect of stakeholder pressure in this relationship.
We used a sample of 385 employees from industrial enterprises in China through a structured questionnaire. The study results
show that: first, when the enterprise is in a strong ST, the top managers' awareness of environmental benefits has a significant
positive impact on LTI. Second, when the enterprise is in a weak ST, top managers' awareness of environmental risk has a
significant positive impact on LTI. Third, pressure of key stakeholders and pressure of secondary stakeholders positively
moderate the interaction between ST and top managers' environmental awareness (TMEA) on the impact of LTI. Fourth, the
moderating effect of key stakeholders’ pressure was observed to be stronger than that of secondary stakeholders’ pressure.
Theoretically, this paper contributes to literature by developing a framework to investigate interaction between ST, TMEA
and LTI under different stakeholder pressures. Based on this framework, we provide a theoretical reference for enterprises
to choose the appropriate and optimal TMEA for competitive edge.
