Abstract

Using a sample of A-share listed food-related firms in China from 2008 to 2023, this study investigates the impact of voluntary food safety information disclosure (VFSID) on firm innovation. Employing the philosophy–action–outcome framework, we apply large language model (LLM)-based text analysis to evaluate disclosure practices and construct a comprehensive VFSID index. Our results indicate that VFSID significantly enhances firm innovation, with a one-standard-deviation increase in disclosure quality associated with a 21% increase in patent output. Mechanism analyses reveal that VFSID operates through signaling effects by alleviating financing constraints and improving firms’ human capital structures. The innovation-enhancing effect of VFSID is stronger for firms that disclose more substantive content, are non-state-owned, exhibit lower ESG rating divergence, and operate outside agricultural product processing sectors. Additional analysis shows that VFSID enhances both green innovation and innovation persistence. By developing a stakeholder-centric evaluation framework for voluntary safety disclosure, this study provides stronger support for the signaling theory-based explanation than for the competing legitimacy theory-based explanation on the innovation-enhancing effect of VFSID.