Does Green Transition promote Green Innovation and Technological Acquisitions?
Our study explores the implications of technological shifts towards greener and sustainable innovations on acquisition propensity between firms with different technological capacities. Using a dataset of completed control acquisition deals over the period of 2009-2020 from 23 OECD countries, we find that green acquirors (i.e., firms with green patents) are more inclined to enter into acquisition deals with green firms due to their technological proximity and informational advantages. However, after the Paris Agreement, green acquisitions by non-green acquirors increased especially from those in climate policy-relevant sectors and based in countries with low environmental standards. We also find that green acquisitions after the Paris Agreement do not show any significant impact on their post-acquisition innovation performances, raising concerns related to greenwashing behaviour by investing firms.
BOSE Udichibarna;
GREGORI Wildmer;
MARTINEZ CILLERO Maria;
2023-05-25
European Commission
JRC133600
Additional supporting files
File name | Description | File type | |