{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T08:50:55Z","timestamp":1771923055886,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"group-title":"SSRN","reference-count":60,"publisher":"Elsevier BV","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study examines whether green mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As) foster subsequent green innovation and how ownership structure, capability constraints, and their interaction shape these innovation payoffs. Using a comprehensive dataset of Japanese listed firms from 2000 to 2021, we find a robust positive association between green M&amp;A activity and acquiring firms\u2019 subsequent green innovation. Ownership structure conditions these gains. Institutional ownership strengthens the innovation benefits of green M&amp;A activity, driven primarily by foreign investors rather than financial institutions, whereas family ownership attenuates them. We further show that the innovation gains from green M&amp;A activity are weaker among firms that historically underperform in green innovation, but stronger among firms with greater absorptive capacity and richer technological opportunities. Importantly, the ownership-related moderation effects are concentrated among firms facing green capability constraints, consistent with external governance mitigating these constraints and family control reinforcing them. Additional analyses indicate stronger effects for firms with female board representation and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) coverage, effects driven by green acquisitions rather than mergers, and benefits present in both cross-border and domestic green transactions. Green M&amp;A activity is also associated with higher market valuation but lower profitability. Overall, the findings highlight that ownership and capability constraints jointly determine whether green M&amp;A activity translates into substantive green innovation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.6297430","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T07:39:13Z","timestamp":1771918753000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Do green mergers and acquisitions foster green innovation? Evidence on ownership structure and capability constraints"],"prefix":"10.2139","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-7591-4817","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kenji","family":"Kutsuna","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9587-3207","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lars","family":"Oxelheim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0244-5460","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tianyi","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0899-4930","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jo\u00e3o Paulo","family":"Vieito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"78","reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1257\/aer.103.1.277","article-title":"Innovation and Institutional Ownership","volume":"103","author":"P Aghion","year":"2013","journal-title":"Am. Econ. 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