Factors Affecting Green Innovation with an Emphasis on Digital Finance: A Case Study of OPEC Member Countries
Keywords:
Green innovation, digital finance, OPEC, panel data, fixed effects, sustainable development, green technologyAbstract
This study aimed to examine the factors affecting green innovation with emphasis on the role of digital finance in selected OPEC member countries during the period 2005–2024. This quantitative, applied, and ex post facto study was conducted using panel data from selected OPEC member countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The data covered the period from 2005 to 2024 and were collected from secondary international sources, including the World Bank, World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund databases, OECD-related innovation data, and other official statistical reports. The main dependent variable was green innovation, measured through environmentally related technologies or green patents. The key explanatory variable was digital financial services, while GDP per capita, gross national expenditure, research and development expenditure, and industry value added were used as control variables. Data were analyzed using descriptive screening, augmented Dickey–Fuller stationarity testing, Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality testing, variance inflation factor analysis, autocorrelation tests, Chow test, Hausman test, and fixed-effects panel regression. The inferential results showed that all variables were stationary at level according to the augmented Dickey–Fuller test, with probability values below 0.05. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test confirmed the normal distribution of the variables, and VIF values ranging from 1.008 to 1.284 indicated no serious multicollinearity. First- and second-order autocorrelation tests were not significant, confirming the absence of serial correlation. The Chow test was significant , supporting the use of panel-data estimation, and the Hausman test was significant , confirming the superiority of the fixed-effects model. The model was statistically significant , with . Digital financial services , GDP per capita , gross national expenditure , and industry value added had positive and significant effects. The results indicate that digital finance, economic development, national expenditure capacity, and industrial value added play significant roles in strengthening green innovation among selected OPEC member countries.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Farah Hameed Fakhir Alhashimi; Seyed Kamal Sadeghi , Mohsen Ebadalahan Kavich (Author)
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