Enhancing the competitiveness of multi-agent cooperation for green manufacturing in China: An empirical study of the measure of green technology innovation capabilities and their influencing factors

Although green technology innovation (GTI) under multi-agent cooperation has become a mainstream innovation mode for green manufacturing, it is difficult to implement in practice. This study empirically investigated the measure of GTI capability and its influencing factors to enhance the capability of GTI and competitiveness of multi-agent cooperation. First, a questionnaire survey was used to construct an evaluation index system of GTI capability for manufacturing enterprises under multi-agent cooperation (MEUMC). Second, the evaluation model based on consistency and decision-making trials and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) model were combined to measure the capability and influencing factors of GTI. The key empirical results are as follows. The evaluation system of GTI capability for MEUMC should take into account four aspects: input elements, technology output, economic output, and social effect of GTI. The proportion of green R&D expenditure in the total R&D expenditure and the share of new green products in the total number of new products are the core factors affecting the GTI capability of MEUMC; the direct influencing factors comprise the proportion of green technology transformation and regulatory incentives. The proportion of green technology transformation, acceptance of green technology products by users, market driving factors, and regulatory incentive factors are the most important factors. A fusion of subjective and objective methods can be adopted to evaluate the capability of GTI. The evaluation results obtained by single-evaluation methods can be combined based on compatibility and consistency. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.