From Transparency to Transformation: A Critical Systematic Review of the ESG Disclosure‐Green Innovation Nexus
系统综述77篇同行评审研究，发现ESG披露与绿色创新存在相互强化的关系，但这一关系高度依赖政策密集的制度环境，且可能混淆真实转型与“报告和专利”仪式，提出制度背景作为元调节因素的整合框架。
ABSTRACT This systematic review examines how ESG disclosure and green innovation jointly shape sustainable business strategy. Applying a PRISMA‐guided approach to 77 peer‐reviewed studies, we find a virtuous but deeply contingent equilibrium in which transparency and innovation reinforce each other. However, our synthesis reveals that this documented cycle is heavily conditioned by a state‐led, policy‐intensive institutional environment and by proxies that tend to capture disclosure quantity and patent counts rather than material environmental outcomes. We identify the key mechanisms linking transparency and innovation, but argue that the observed relationship may conflate genuine transformation with a systemic “report and patent” ritual. We propose an integrative framework in which the institutional context acts as a meta‐moderator, determining whether a substantive virtuous equilibrium or a self‐perpetuating greenwashing trap prevails. The review offers actionable insights for managers and policymakers and outlines a dual‐axis research agenda that prioritizes real environmental performance, innovation quality, and comparative institutional analysis.