Empirical Analysis of the Carbon Accounting Information Disclosure (CAID) Affecting R&D Investment and Sustainable Development in State-Owned and Non-State-Owned Enterprises

As a topic of interest, the quality of Carbon Accounting Information Disclosure (CAID) provides necessary support to enhance sustainability and investment in Research and Development (R&D). Does improving the quality of CAID have an impact on the R&D investment? Does the sustainability of enterprises play a moderating role in the quality of CAID and R&D investment? These are questions that deserve attention and discussion. This paper extracted 1407 samples from China’s markets from 2019–2021, carried out descriptive statistical analysis, analyzed the impact of CAID on R&D investment using multiple linear regression, verified the moderating effect of sustainability on the role of both, and finally conducted a robustness test. The study showed that the higher the quality of CAID, the greater the R&D investment of listed companies; the stronger the sustainability, the stronger the promotion of CAID quality on R&D investment. The findings were also applicable in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), while the effect is not significant in non-State-Owned Enterprises. This paper made several recommendations. First, to enhance the company’s R&D investment, listed companies should enhance their CAID capability. Second, listed companies should improve their sustainability to ensure the effective performance of CAID. Third, the government should strengthen supervision and policy guidance to promote the continuous improvement of the CAID system to guide listed companies on the road to developing a low-carbon economy.