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1572The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasizes that “high-quality development is the primary task in building a modern socialist country”. This concept encompasses not only economic benefits but also environmental sustainability. The “industrial chain leader institution”, an innovative industrial policy aimed at enhancing and optimizing industrial chains for high-quality development, helps balance economic and environmental goals while effectively coordinating internal and external resources. It provides enterprises with a viable path to achieve both economic success and environmental responsibility.
Taking China’s A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2013 to 2020 as the sample, this paper uses a DID model to empirically analyze how the “industrial chain leader institution” affects the economic and environmental performance of enterprises. The results indicate that this institution improves both economic and environmental performance, leading to a “win-win” situation. The findings still hold true after robustness checks and endogeneity controls. Mechanism testing shows that this promotion effect is mainly achieved by leveraging the pivot effect of chain leader enterprises, enhancing enterprises’ discourse power in the industrial chain, fostering cooperation between the government and market entities, and encouraging collaborative emission reductions among upstream and downstream enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis reveals significant variations in how this institution affects high-quality development across different enterprises based on financing constraints, innovation capabilities, ownership structures, and industry types.
This paper broadens perspectives on industrial policy tools while providing empirical evidence for local governments aiming to coordinate industrial chains effectively. Its conclusions offer valuable insights for optimizing China’s industrial policy framework and promoting high-quality development of enterprise while contributing to a fair competitive environment within industrial chains.
