How Does Industrial Robot Application Promote Sustainable Green Innovation of Enterprises?

As digital technologies continue to evolve, intelligent manufacturing technology represented by industrial robots has been increasingly integrated into various stages of enterprise production and operational activities. This trend has created new opportunities for enterprises to advance green transformation and enhance the level of sustainable green innovation. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms, this study empirically examines the effect of industrial robot application on sustainable green innovation of enterprises. The study finds that industrial robot application significantly enhances sustainable green innovation of enterprises. The underlying mechanisms mainly operate through the optimization of human capital structure and government-specific subsidies. Meanwhile, industrial robot application exhibits significant peer spillover effect, which can generate demonstration and pressure transmission effects among enterprises within the same industry and region, thereby promoting the coordinated improvement of sustainable green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the promoting effect of industrial robot application on sustainable green innovation is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, labor-intensive enterprises, enterprises whose executives have an environmental background, and enterprises in regions with stricter environmental regulation. Furthermore, the establishment of regional environmental courts can strengthen the positive effect of industrial robot application on sustainable green innovation of enterprises. The results of the extended analysis further demonstrate that the contribution of industrial robot application to sustainable green innovation mainly stems from its ‘’leverage effect’’ on overall corporate innovation activities, rather than from the ‘’crowding-out effect’’ caused by compressing other technological innovation activities. This study not only enriches the literature on the environmental effects of industrial robot application but also provides new insights into how enterprises can leverage intelligent technologies such as industrial robots to achieve green transformation.