LAUSR

Abstract The green innovation behavior of scientific researchers is the premise of green development, but research on the mechanism of green innovation behavior of scientific researchers has been neglected. This study aims to analyze the main internal and external factors that influence the green innovation behavior of researchers and reveal the interaction between them. To this end, based on behavioral and innovation theories, a theoretical model for the formation of green innovation behavior among scientific researchers was established. A large number of data were obtained from multiple industrial cities and different industries in China. The model was tested using hierarchical regression analysis methods. This study, therefore, provides evidence on the mechanism of how both internal and external drivers drive researchers to form the green innovation behavior. The results delicate that endogenous attitude, exogenous attitude, the injunctive norm of green innovative behavior, and the control ability of green innovation have a remarkably positive impact on green innovative intention, while descriptive norm and self-efficacy have no significant impact on green innovative intention. On the contrary, in the transition from green innovative intention to behavior, tacit knowledge commons plays the main moderating role. When the level of knowledge commons is high, it has a strong positive influence on the transition of researchers' green innovative intention to behavior. Different from the qualitative and isolated tendencies in previous research, this study sheds systematic light on the formation mechanism of green innovation behaviors of researchers from the perspective of behavioral science, and also helps to make constructive suggestions on promoting the green innovation behaviors of scientific researchers for enterprises and government.