Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study of the Chain-Mediating Effects of Green Ambidextrous Innovation

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The marginal contribution of this article needs to be clarified. At present, the available information cannot tell the reader the specific details of the contribution of this article. Moreover, the marginal contribution summarized in this paper is rough.

2. Language. The author is advised to polish the necessary language. Many sentences need to be improved, and their logic and expression are not rigorous and professional.

3. Lines 500-505. Please confirm the accuracy of the following statement. We can see that Figures 2, 3, and 4 are very different. Of course, the implications of the parallel trend behind the test are also different. However, this paper claims that the three graphs can reach similar conclusions. This is not true. Taking Figure 1 as an example, it shows that the regression coefficients before the policy's implementation all fluctuate around 0 and are not significant. This indicates that the dependent variables of the treatment group and control groups' dependent variables before and after the policy's implementation do not show substantial trend differences, satisfying the parallel trend hypothesis. With the deepening of the implementation of the policy, for example, after the first year, the impact on consumers began to be significant. However, a comparison of Figure 3 and Figure 4 shows that the effect on suppliers and the supply chain after implementing the policy is insignificant.

4. Placebo Test. Please confirm the accuracy of Figures 5-7. This article does not seem to be entirely correct for the placebo test. The picture is not quite right.

5. PSM-DID Test. This paper needs to provide the kernel density function graph before and after the propensity score matching between the treatment and control groups.

 

6. Results. The discussion of the conclusions should show a dialogue with the existing literature, for example, whether the findings of this study are consistent with or different from the existing research. What is the reason?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The author is advised to polish the necessary language. Many sentences need to be improved, and their logic and expression are not rigorous and professional.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1

 

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciations of  your letter and constructive comments concerning our article entitled “Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green ambidextrous innovation” (Manuscript No: sustainability-3444859 ). These comments are all valuable and helpful for improving our article. According to your comments, we have made extensive modifications to our manuscript and supplemented extra data to make our results convincing. In this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text. Point-by-point responses to you are listed below this letter.

Comments 1: The marginal contribution of this article needs to be clarified. At present, the available information cannot tell the reader the specific details of the contribution of this article. Moreover, the marginal contribution summarized in this paper is rough.

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out,we have revised the relevant section to address this concern.Specifically:

1. We have restated the marginal contribution of this paper; please see page 4-5, line 194-208 for details.

 

Comments 2: Language. The author is advised to polish the necessary language. Many sentences need to be improved, and their logic and expression are not rigorous and professional.

 

Response 2: Thank you for pointing this out, we have tried our best to re-polished and revised the following sentences. Specifically:

1. Please see page 1, line 28-31.
2. Please see page 3, line 147-148.
3. Please see page 4, line 159-163.
4. Please see page 3, line 147-148.
5. Please see page 3, line 185-188.
6. Please see page 7, line 338-340.
7. Please see page 8, line 381-383.
8. Please see page 25, line 877-879.
9. Please see page 26, line 921-923.

 

Comments 3:Lines 500-505. Please confirm the accuracy of the following statement. We can see that Figures 2, 3, and 4 are very different. Of course, the implications of the parallel trend behind the test are also different. However, this paper claims that the three graphs can reach similar conclusions. This is not true. Taking Figure 1 as an example, it shows that the regression coefficients before the policy's implementation all fluctuate around 0 and are not significant. This indicates that the dependent variables of the treatment group and control groups' dependent variables before and after the policy's implementation do not show substantial trend differences, satisfying the parallel trend hypothesis. With the deepening of the implementation of the policy, for example, after the first year, the impact on consumers began to be significant. However, a comparison of Figure 3 and Figure 4 shows that the effect on suppliers and the supply chain after implementing the policy is insignificant.

Response 3: Thank you for pointing this out，we have revised the relevant section to adress this concern. Specifically:

1. We have modified the statement of Lines 500-505 as follows; the controllability of green enterprise customers has been significantly improved, the controllability of green enterprise supply chains has been slightly improved, but the controllability of suppliers has not been significantly improved. For details, please see page 13-14, line 565-575.
2. Comparing Figure 2 and Figure 4, the impact of the policy on the controllability of the supply chain is not as great as the impact on customers. The reason may be that the controllability of suppliers has not been significantly improved after the policy. We have also proved this point by reviewing the literature. For details, please see page 14, line 572-575.
3. We have supplemented the relevant literature. For details, please see page 28, line 1055-1056.

 

Comments 4: Placebo Test. Please confirm the accuracy of Figures 5-7. This article does not seem to be entirely correct for the placebo test. The picture is not quite right.

 

Response 4:Thank you for pointing this out，we have revised the relevant section to address this concern. Specifically:

1. We have readjusted the images of Figure 5-7 of the placebo test. Please see page 15-16, line 594-599 for details.

 

Comments 5: PSM-DID Test. This paper needs to provide the kernel density function graph before and after the propensity score matching between the treatment and control groups.

 

Response 5:Thank you for pointing this out，we have revised the relevant section to adress this concern. Specifically:

1.We have added the kernel density function plots before and after propensity score matching between the treatment group and the control group, as shown in Figure 8-13. For details, please see page 17-19, line 625-638.

 

Comments 6: Results. The discussion of the conclusions should show a dialogue with the existing literature, for example, whether the findings of this study are consistent with or different from the existing research. What is the reason?

 

Response 6:Thank you for pointing this out, We have added relevant sections to show the dialogue with existing literature, as follows;

1. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the benchmark regression results analysis section, please see page 12 line 535-538 for details.
2. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Carbon trading policy → green exploratory innovation" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21, line 686-691 for details.
3. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green exploratory innovation → Green exploitative innovation" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21,line 697-702 for details.
4. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green ambidextrous innovation → Green enterprise's controllable ability over customers" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21, line 710-714 for details.
5. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green ambidextrous innovation → Green enterprise's controllable ability over suppliers" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21 line 721-729 for details.
6. Added relevant literature, please see page 28 line 1053-1056 for details.

 

We hope our responses and revisions address all concerns raised by the you. Please feel free to contact us if there are additional questions or suggestions.Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Yisong Yang

 

Business College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The analysis of the article allows us to conclude that the manuscript is a complete study on a relevant topic. The authors demonstrated a clear research methodology with relevant data, the authors' conclusions correlate with the results of the calculations. The article requires minor revision in terms of strengthening the justification for its relevance and clarifying the terminology.

1. In the Introduction, please show the regional context more clearly. What is the specificity of the carbon trading problem in China? What are the specific mechanisms of carbon trading policy? Can this problem be considered as typical for other countries?

2. In the first or second section of the article, the authors should clearly formulate what they mean by autonomy and controllability of green enterprises. Similar work should be done with respect to the specific term "green ambidextrous innovation".

By eliminating the first and second remarks, you will most likely increase the volume of the References list, which requires some improvement in the current version.

3. In the Conclusion, it is necessary to emphasize the theoretical contribution of the article.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2

 

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciations of  your letter and constructive comments concerning our article entitled “Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green ambidextrous innovation” (Manuscript No: sustainability-3444859 ). These comments are all valuable and helpful for improving our article. According to your comments, we have made extensive modifications to our manuscript and supplemented extra data to make our results convincing. In this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text. Point-by-point responses to you are listed below this letter.

 

Comments 1: In the Introduction, please show the regional context more clearly. What is the specificity of the carbon trading problem in China? What are the specific mechanisms of carbon trading policy? Can this problem be considered as typical for other countries?

 

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out，We have added the following content to the introduction;

1. Traditional carbon governance policies in China and Europe and the United States, please see page 2 , line 67-75 for details.
2. The particularity of China's carbon trading issues and the specific mechanism of carbon trading policies, please see page 2, line 76-95 for details.
3. Added relevant literature, please see page 27, line 971-972 for details.

 

Comments 2: In the first or second section of the article, the authors should clearly formulate what they mean by autonomy and controllability of green enterprises. Similar work should be done with respect to the specific term "green ambidextrous innovation".

 

Response 2: Thank you for pointing this out,we have revised the relevant section to address this concern. Specifically:

1. Added the explanation of "the autonomy and controllability of green enterprises" in the introduction, please see page 1, line 40-50 for details.
2. Added the explanation of "green ambidextrous innovation" in the introduction, please see page 3, line 102-112 for details.

 

Comments 3: In the Conclusion, it is necessary to emphasize the theoretical contribution of the article.

 

Response 3: Thank you for pointing this out,We emphasize the theoretical contributions and applied innovations of this paper in the Summary and Discussion sections, see page 26, line 931-947 for details.

 

We hope our responses and revisions address all concerns raised by the you. Please feel free to contact us if there are additional questions or suggestions.Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Yisong Yang

 

Business College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The reviewed article addresses a significant topic: "Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green Ambidextrous Innovation", which fits into the leading scientific areas of the journal. Regarding the structure of individual sections, and editorial requirements of the journal, the manuscript submitted for review was prepared correctly, and no glaring shortcomings were noticed. The literature review includes 47 bibliographic notes, more than half referring to the last 5 years.

The authors formulated 8 research hypotheses, which they verified. In Figure 1, they graphically presented the "Hypothesis Model", and in points 2.1-2.4 they justified the selection of individual hypotheses in detail. In point 3, the research methodology was properly described, in particular, the authors, based on data from 126 listed ecological companies in China, attempted to construct a chain mediation framework based on the logic of "Carbon Trading Policy - Green 15 ambidextrous innovation - Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises". Based on the DID methodology, they analyzed and assessed the impact and mechanism of the carbon dioxide emission trading policy on the autonomy and controllability of the studied ecological enterprises. The research period covered the years 2008-2022. The presented models and research results do not raise any serious objections, they testify to the excellent workshop and scientific maturity of the authors. The presentation of the results, enriched with numerous graphs and tables, strengthens the empirical values ​​of the assessed manuscript. I propose to improve point 5. In separate points, present a discussion of the results and conclusions. In the conclusions, emphasize the innovative and application nature of the conducted research, as well as the research gap and methods of its verification.

In connection with the above, I recommend the publication of the article.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 3

 

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciation of your support and constructive comments concerning our article entitled “Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green ambidextrous innovation” (Manuscript No: sustainability-3444859 ). These comments are all valuable and helpful for improving our article. According to your comments, we have made extensive modifications to our manuscript and supplemented extra data to make our results convincing. In this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text. Point-by-point responses to you are listed below this letter.

 

Comments 1: I propose to improve point 5. In separate points, present a discussion of the results and conclusions. In the conclusions, emphasize the innovative and application nature of the conducted research, as well as the research gap and methods of its verification.

 

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out，We highlight the innovative and application nature of the conducted research, as well as the research gap and methods of its verification in the Summary and Discussion section, see page 26, line 931-947.

 

We hope our responses and revisions address all concerns raised by you. Please feel free to contact us if there are additional questions or suggestions. Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Yisong Yang

 

Business College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article is written on a relevant topic. The authors present the theoretical and practical aspects of the development of green supply chains in a circular economy. A special place in the article is devoted to the neutralization of the carbon footprint throughout the value chain. The carbon trading policy has attracted widespread scientific and public attention in all countries of the world, offering a new approach to expanding opportunities for the development of green enterprises. Based on data from 126 publicly listed green companies in China, the authors' study acts as a chain mediation based on the methods and logic of the principles "Carbon Trading Policy — Green two—way innovation - Autonomy and manageability of green enterprises."

 

Comments on the article:

1. The abstract and the introduction do not specify the purpose, objectives, hypothesis of the article, its scientific novelty.

2. There is no explanation of abbreviations in formulas 1-6.

3. Prescribe the PSM-DID Test algorithm in the research methodology.

4. Give the author's definitions of the concepts: Carbon Trading Policy → Green Exploratory Innovation

5. In conclusion, indicate how the conclusions obtained by the authors are consistent with the results of already published studies, how do they complement /develop them?

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 4

 

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciations of  your support and constructive comments concerning our article entitled “Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green ambidextrous innovation” (Manuscript No: sustainability-3444859 ). These comments are all valuable and helpful for improving our article. According to your comments, we have made extensive modifications to our manuscript and supplemented extra data to make our results convincing. In this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text. Point-by-point responses to you are listed below this letter.

 

Comments 1:The abstract and the introduction do not specify the purpose, objectives, hypothesis of the article, its scientific novelty.

 

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out，We have added the research object, research objectives, scientific innovation and significance of this article to the abstract. Please see page 1, line 14-19 for details.

 

Comments 2: There is no explanation of abbreviations in formulas 1-6.

 

Response 2: Thank you for pointing this out，We have repositioned the explanations of the abbreviations in formulas 1-6. For details, please see page 10, line 476-492.

 

Comments 3:  Prescribe the PSM-DID Test algorithm in the research methodology.

 

Response 3:Thank you for pointing this out，We have added an explanation of the PSM-DID test algorithm. For details, please see page 16-17, line 602-626.

 

Comments 4:Give the author's definitions of the concepts: Carbon Trading Policy → Green Exploratory Innovation

 

Response 4:Thank you for pointing this out, We have added an explanation of “Carbon Trading Policy → Green Exploratory Innovation” in the theoretical hypothesis section. For details, please see page 6, line 264-270.

 

Comments 5:In conclusion, indicate how the conclusions obtained by the authors are consistent with the results of already published studies, how do they complement /develop them?

 

Response 5: Thank you for pointing this out，We have added relevant sections to show the dialogue with existing literature, as follows;

1. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the benchmark regression results analysis section, please see page 12 line 535-538 for details.
2. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Carbon trading policy → green exploratory innovation" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21, line 686-691 for details.
3. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green exploratory innovation → Green exploitative innovation" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21,line 697-702 for details.
4. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green ambidextrous innovation → Green enterprise's controllable ability over customers" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21, line 710-714 for details.
5. Added a dialogue with the existing literature section in the "Green ambidextrous innovation → Green enterprise's controllable ability over suppliers" mechanism analysis section, please see page 21 line 726-729 for details.
6. Added relevant literature, please see page 28 line 1053-1056 for details.

 

 

We hope our responses and revisions address all concerns raised by the you. Please feel free to contact us if there are additional questions or suggestions.Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Yisong Yang

 

Business College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004

Reviewer 5 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors

Congratulations on the article. I read it with great interest. In my opinion, the issue raised about the benefits achieved by companies related to the implementation of environmental protection policy is very important. The structure of the manuscript, the research methodology and the presentation of research results are correct. In my opinion, the article in its current form can be published.

It would be possible to expand the methodological part of the article with detailed explanations of the variables used in the econometric models. However, I understand that a more detailed methodology is presented in the cited works.

Best regards

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 5

 

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciations of  your support and constructive comments concerning our article entitled “Does Carbon Trading Policy Enhance the Autonomy and Controllability of Green Enterprises in Supply Chains? A Study on the Chain Mediating Effects of Green ambidextrous innovation” (Manuscript No: sustainability-3444859 ). These comments are all valuable and helpful for improving our article. According to your comments, we have made extensive modifications to our manuscript and supplemented extra data to make our results convincing. In this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text. Point-by-point responses to you are listed below this letter.

 

Comments 5:It would be possible to expand the methodological part of the article with detailed explanations of the variables used in the econometric models. However, I understand that a more detailed methodology is presented in the cited works.

 

Response 5:Thank you for pointing this out, Some scholars may have a deeper study on carbon trading policies, ambidextrous innovation , and Autonomy and Controllability such as using a multi-point DID benchmark regression model or a triple difference method to explore the impact mechanism of carbon trading policies, and explore the moderating variables between green ambidextrous innovation and Autonomy and Controllability. In the future research process, we will continue to update data and expand model methods, and continue to enhance the analysis of carbon trading policies on Autonomy and Controllability of enterprises. At the same time, based on existing research, we will continue to subdivide ambidextrous innovation types, expand the boundaries of ambidextrous innovation research, and continuously enrich and improve existing results.

 

We hope our responses and revisions address all concerns raised by you. Please feel free to contact us if there are additional questions or suggestions.Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Yisong Yang

 

Business College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors solved the problem well. Acceptance of the paper is recommended.