Abstract Green innovation is a key pathway through which enterprises address environmental management challenges. As an essential external financing channel for enterprises, there is still significant debate regarding how venture capital influences corporate green innovation decisions. Moreover, it remains unclear whether syndicated venture capital, as a distinct form of venture capital, can effectively drive green innovation. Using a dataset of 1425 companies in China from 2011 to 2022, our study investigated the impact of syndicated venture capital on green innovation and examined the moderating role of the urban innovation environment. The results show that, first, syndicated venture capital significantly enhances corporate green innovation. An increase of one unit in syndicated venture capital leads to a 4.23-unit improvement in the level of green innovation. It indirectly promotes green innovation by facilitating R&D investment and alleviating financing constraints. Second, the urban innovation environment serves as a powerful catalyst. Specifically, regional R&D subsidies and human capital levels amplify the positive effects of syndicated venture capital on green innovation. Moreover, the influence of syndicated venture capital on green innovation is particularly pronounced in large, state-owned enterprises. Further analysis reveals that syndicated venture capital also promotes the quality of green innovation and fosters green innovation collaboration.
Xie et al. (2026) studied this question.