The escalating global imperative for carbon neutrality demands a fundamental transformation in how we drive green technology innovation. This systematic review addresses a critical gap in understanding how institutional drivers, mediated through New Quality Productive Forces (NQPFs), catalyze green technology innovation (GTI). Through a comprehensive analysis of 80 peer-reviewed studies, we identify and validate a “Three-Engine” mechanism operating at micro (enterprise incentives), meso (resource allocation), and macro (ecosystem synergy) levels. Our findings reveal that institutional drivers operate through four distinct instrumental channels—supply-side policies (digital foundation push), demand-side policies (market pull validation), environmental regulations (institutional push), and market-based mechanisms (allocation and pricing)—each activating different dimensions of NQPFs. This research demonstrates that the integration of these mechanisms produces synergistic effects stronger than any single channel, with substantial implications for both theory and policy. This work extends the Porter Hypothesis into the digital era and provides policymakers with evidence-based guidance for designing integrated policy mixes that simultaneously accelerate green innovation and ensure inclusive technological transformation.
Liu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.