IntroductionTighter environmental regulations and stiffer competition are subjecting an increasing number of firms to environmental performance pressure.MethodsThis study draws on the Theory of Firm Behavior, Upper Echelons Theory, and the Red Queen Effect to examine how environmental performance industry gap affects corporate green collaborative innovation, using panel data from Chinese listed firms covering 2010–2023. It further examines the moderating roles of managerial risk preference and green strategic orientation, as well as the heterogeneity across industry attributes.ResultsThe findings reveal that environmental performance industry gap significantly promotes corporate green collaborative innovation. Managerial risk preference negatively moderates this relationship, whereas green strategic orientation exerts a positive moderating effect. In addition, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that this driving effect is significant in low-carbon industries but not in high-carbon ones.DiscussionThe conclusions provide an integrated perspective for understanding the driving mechanisms of corporate green collaborative innovation and offer meaningful implications for promoting corporate green transformation and for governments to formulate differentiated environmental policies.