The Role of CEO Power in Promoting Sustainable Innovation: The Path to China’s 2060 Carbon Neutrality Goal ^†

This study examines how CEO power influences corporate sustainable innovation in response to China’s 2060 carbon neutrality goal. Building on agency theory, resource dependency theory, stakeholder theory, upper-echelons theory, and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, we analyze both internal mechanisms and external contingencies. Using balanced panel data from 563 A-share listed heavy-industry firms (2010–2020), sustainable innovation is operationalized via R&D persistence, green patent persistence, and CSR performance; CEO power is measured using a composite index encompassing ownership, duality, tenure, and compensation. Top management team (TMT) tenure functions as an internal mediator, while government subsidies, board independence, and market competition serve as external moderators. Our fixed-effect regression and mediation/moderation analyses reveal that CEO power positively affects sustainable innovation, with TMT tenure partially mediating this relationship. Furthermore, external governance and market conditions significantly moderate CEOs’ impact. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the nuanced mechanisms through which executive authority drives sustainability-oriented innovation and provides insights for corporate leaders and policymakers to structure governance arrangements that effectively support green innovation.