The Impact of National Big Data Pilot Zones on the Persistence of Green Innovation: A Moderating Perspective Based on Green Finance

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript, from the perspective of green finance regulation, explores the impact of the national big data pilot zones on the sustainability of green innovation, which aligns with recent research hotspots and trends. The research angle of green finance is relatively novel, making it an excellent topic. However, there are several areas that could be enhanced:

 

1. The introduction seems to lack a review of green finance. Since green finance is emphasized in the title, it must be a key point of the study. It would be appropriate to summarize the relevant literature accordingly.

 

2. In section 4.2, the analysis of the basic regression results should be more in-depth, especially the results of the core explanatory variables. It should go beyond mere description.

 

3. In section 4.4, the content from lines 613-620 is recommended to be moved to the very beginning of this section, that is, to swap positions with the preceding analysis. The same suggestion applies to sections 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.5.3, etc. It is advised to describe the results before delving into specific analyses.

 

4. In the policy recommendations section, it would be beneficial to identify policies based on the conclusions of this paper. For instance, how can the regulatory variables selected in this paper, especially green finance highlighted in the title, influence the role of big data pilot zone reform policies on the sustainability of green innovation.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors The paper examines the impact of national-level big data pilot zone reforms on the persistence of corporate green innovation. The empirical data collection and analysis provide valuable insights. While the regression analysis is detailed, the authors still need to address the following points:  

1. The focus of the paper is on the persistence of corporate green innovation, defined by the total number of green invention and utility model patent applications. The authors should clarify how they classify green inventions and what classification scheme (taxonomy) is used.

 

2. Although the national-level big data pilot zones positively influence the persistence of green innovation, they likely impact other types of innovation as well. A key question is whether the pilot zones have a stronger positive effect on green innovation persistence compared to the persistence of other innovations. The authors can apply the same definition of innovation persistence by considering all patents, not just green innovations. It is important to determine whether the correlation between the pilot zones and green innovation persistence is specifically related to the "greenness" of the innovation.

 

3. The authors use patents to define innovation persistence, which differs from Yu's definition based on inputs/outputs (cited as reference 117, though it likely should be reference 33). The authors should verify whether these two definitions yield similar results regarding general innovation persistence.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf