Does the Patent Pledge Policy Fuel Green Innovation Bubbles? Evidence from China

With the rapid expansion of green innovation and the increasing emphasis on innovation quality, concerns have emerged regarding whether firms engage in symbolic green innovation activities rather than substantive technological advancement. Understanding how policy interventions can curb green innovation bubbles (GIB) has therefore become an important research issue. Using data on Chinese listed companies from 2005 to 2024, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of the patent pledge policy (PPP) on green innovation bubbles and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that the patent pledge policy reduces green innovation bubbles by restraining the TMT promotion focus (TMTpro), strengthening the TMT prevention focus (TMTpre), and alleviating financing constraints (FC). Heterogeneity analyses further indicate that the inhibitory effect of the patent pledge policy on green innovation bubbles is more pronounced among firms located in eastern regions, central region, non-heavily polluting firms, and firms in the mature stage and decline stage of the life cycle. This study extends research on the economic consequences of the patent pledge policy from the perspectives of green innovation authenticity and resource allocation efficiency and provides theoretical implications for improving intellectual property finance policy, optimizing green innovation evaluation systems, and enhancing the quality of corporate green technological innovation.