Research on the Synergistic Effects of ISO 14001 Certification and Tax Incentives on Corporate Green Innovation: Evidence from China's Technology-Based Manufacturing Enterprises

Abstract

This study employs a panel Poisson regression model using China's A-share listed technology-based manufacturing companies from 2012 to 2022 as the research sample. It empirically examines the independent effects and synergistic impact of ISO14001 environmental management system certification (internal regulation) and tax incentives (external incentive) on corporate green innovation. The findings reveal: (1) Contrary to expectations, ISO14001 certification alone significantly inhibits green innovation (β = -0.309, p < 0.01), while tax incentives demonstrate a significant promotional effect (β = 0.236, p < 0.01); (2) Crucially, a significant positive synergistic effect exists between the two (interaction term β = 0.452, p < 0.01), indicating that the policy combination can produce a “1+1>2” effect; (3) Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that this synergistic effect is particularly pronounced in resource-constrained SMEs but not significant in large enterprises. The findings suggest that environmental regulations and market-based incentives exhibit complementary effects. Governments should prioritize optimizing policy combinations, particularly by strengthening coordinated “certification-subsidy” support for SMEs to more effectively stimulate corporate green innovation. This study provides theoretical insights and empirical evidence for understanding the interactions among different environmental policy instruments and designing targeted, differentiated green innovation incentive schemes.