IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v147y2025ics0140988325004086.html

How does ICT agglomeration promote green technology innovation? Evidence from Yangtze River Delta in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Senmiao
  • Jiang, Wanxin
  • Wang, Jianda

Abstract

In the context of the booming digital economy and the green transformation of society, information and communication technology (ICT) agglomeration is essential for promoting green technology innovation (GTI) and achieving sustainable development. Therefore, by utilizing a balanced dataset of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta for 2006–2019, the study examines the impact of ICT agglomeration on GTI with the system-generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM). Furthermore, we discuss the mediating and moderating roles of FDI and human capital, as well as the asymmetric relationship. Our results demonstrate that ICT agglomeration significantly promotes GTI and indirectly supports GTI by increasing FDI and improving human capital levels. FDI and human capital play a positive moderating role in ICT agglomeration for GTI. Moreover, ICT agglomeration has a significant positive impact on GTI only when the level of GTI is relatively high. Finally, based on the above findings, we provide several policy implications for promoting GTI in terms of ICT agglomeration.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Senmiao & Jiang, Wanxin & Wang, Jianda, 2025. "How does ICT agglomeration promote green technology innovation? Evidence from Yangtze River Delta in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:147:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325004086
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108584
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988325004086
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108584?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Jue, 2018. "Innovation and government intervention: A comparison of Singapore and Hong Kong," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 399-412.
    2. He, Bin & Chen, Haiyang & Li, Zheng & Zhou, Xizhen, 2023. "Information and communication technology and innovation performance of firms: Evidence from Chinese listed state-owned enterprises," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 47-59.
    3. Liu, Xiping & Zhang, Xiaoling & Sun, Wen, 2022. "Does the agglomeration of urban producer services promote carbon efficiency of manufacturing industry?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Miao Wang, 2009. "Manufacturing FDI and economic growth: evidence from Asian economies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(8), pages 991-1002.
    5. Funk, Jeffrey L., 2015. "IT and sustainability: New strategies for reducing carbon emissions and resource usage in transportation," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 861-874.
    6. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    7. Cerina, Fabio & Mureddu, Francesco, 2014. "Is agglomeration really good for growth? Global efficiency, interregional equity and uneven growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 9-22.
    8. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    9. Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does ICT agglomeration affect carbon emissions? The case of Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    10. Contractor, Farok J. & Dangol, Ramesh & Nuruzzaman, N. & Raghunath, S., 2020. "How do country regulations and business environment impact foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    11. Jacques†François Thisse, 2018. "Human Capital and Agglomeration Economies in Urban Development," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 56(2), pages 117-139, June.
    12. Teece, David J., 2018. "Profiting from innovation in the digital economy: Enabling technologies, standards, and licensing models in the wireless world," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1367-1387.
    13. Du Peng & Ehsan Elahi & Zainab Khalid, 2023. "Productive Service Agglomeration, Human Capital Level, and Urban Economic Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, April.
    14. Wang, Jianda & Guo, Dongsheng, 2023. "Siphon and radiation effects of ICT agglomeration on green total factor productivity: Evidence from a spatial Durbin model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    15. Ren, Siyu & Hao, Yu & Xu, Lu & Wu, Haitao & Ba, Ning, 2021. "Digitalization and energy: How does internet development affect China's energy consumption?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    16. Shan Xu & Yu Zhang, 2023. "Impact of Manufacturing Agglomeration on the Green Innovation Efficiency—Spatial Effect Based on China’s Provincial Panel Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Ning, Lutao & Guo, Rui & Chen, Kaihua, 2023. "Does FDI bring knowledge externalities for host country firms to develop complex technologies? The catalytic role of overseas returnee clustering structures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    18. Albuquerque, Rui & Loayza, Norman & Serven, Luis, 2005. "World market integration through the lens of foreign direct investors," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 267-295, July.
    19. Yuan, Huaxi & Feng, Yidai & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Cen, Yan, 2020. "How does manufacturing agglomeration affect green economic efficiency?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    20. Dong, Kangyin & Liu, Yang & Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "Is the digital economy an effective tool for decreasing energy vulnerability? A global case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    21. Vinit Parida & Daniel Örtqvist, 2015. "Interactive Effects of Network Capability, ICT Capability, and Financial Slack on Technology‐Based Small Firm Innovation Performance," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(S1), pages 278-298, October.
    22. Geum, Youngjung & Kim, Moon-Soo & Lee, Sungjoo, 2016. "How industrial convergence happens: A taxonomical approach based on empirical evidences," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 112-120.
    23. Mourad Dakhli & Dirk De Clercq, 2004. "Human capital, social capital, and innovation: a multi-country study," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 107-128, March.
    24. De Marchi, Valentina, 2012. "Environmental innovation and R&D cooperation: Empirical evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 614-623.
    25. Fang, Jiayu & Tang, Xue & Xie, Rui & Han, Feng, 2020. "The effect of manufacturing agglomerations on smog pollution," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 92-101.
    26. Yang, Senmiao & Wang, Jianda & Dong, Kangyin & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2023. "A path towards China's energy justice: How does digital technology innovation bring about a just revolution?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    27. Sushil Kumar Haldar & Girijasankar Mallik, 2010. "Does Human Capital Cause Economic Growth? A Case Study of India," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Kavala Campus, Greece, vol. 3(1), pages 7-25, July.
    28. Wang, Zhaoxing & He, Qile & Xia, Senmao & Sarpong, David & Xiong, Ailun & Maas, Gideon, 2020. "Capacities of business incubator and regional innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    29. Gebauer, Heiko & Worch, Hagen & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Absorptive capacity, learning processes and combinative capabilities as determinants of strategic innovation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 57-73.
    30. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Qin, Shuai & Li, Yaya, 2022. "Does industrial robot application promote green technology innovation in the manufacturing industry?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    31. Debao Dai & Yaodong Fan & Guangyu Wang & Jiaping Xie, 2022. "Digital Economy, R&D Investment, and Regional Green Innovation—Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-21, May.
    32. Wonglimpiyarat, Jarunee, 2016. "The innovation incubator, university business incubator and technology transfer strategy: The case of Thailand," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 18-27.
    33. Tang, Chenghui & Qiu, Peng & Dou, Jianmin, 2022. "The impact of borders and distance on knowledge spillovers — Evidence from cross-regional scientific and technological collaboration," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    34. Wang, Lei & Chen, Yangyang & Ramsey, Thomas Stephen & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2021. "Will researching digital technology really empower green development?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    35. Feng, Suling & Zhang, Rong & Li, Guoxiang, 2022. "Environmental decentralization, digital finance and green technology innovation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 70-83.
    36. Yueqi Yu & Zhouzhou Lin & Dongxia Liu & Yuning Hou, 2024. "Exploring the spatially heterogeneous impacts of industrial agglomeration on regional sustainable development capability: evidence from new energy industries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 16657-16682, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Xiaohong & Bi, Yifan & Xu, Zhuo & Huang, Xiaoqi & Liu, Fangyu & Liu, Jiaming, 2025. "Shutting down or helping to transform? Green fiscal policy, fiscal decentralisation and investment efficiency of heavily polluting companies—A capacity utilisation-based perspective," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xing Zhao & Yuanyuan Qian, 2024. "Does Digital Technology Promote Green Innovation Performance?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 7568-7587, June.
    2. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Dev, Dhairya & Kharbanda, Aeshna, 2024. "Empowering energy transition: Green innovation, digital finance, and the path to sustainable prosperity through green finance initiatives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    3. Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does ICT agglomeration affect carbon emissions? The case of Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    4. Zhang, Qiming & Zhao, Xuan, 2024. "Can the digital economy facilitate the optimization of industrial structure in resource-based cities?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 405-416.
    5. Sun, Xianming & Xiao, Shiyi & Ren, Xiaohang & Xu, Bing, 2023. "Time-varying impact of information and communication technology on carbon emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    6. Nahiduzzaman, Md. & Sarker, Sanjoy Kumar & Kuri, Bapon Chandra & Dhar, Bablu Kumar & Roy, Partha Pratim & Karim, Rejaul, 2025. "Navigating environmental vulnerability and resource dependence: Toward equitable and sustainable growth pathways in resource-rich economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Zhang, Xiaoqian & Yao, Shujie & Zheng, Weiwei & Fang, Jing, 2023. "On industrial agglomeration and industrial carbon productivity --- impact mechanism and nonlinear relationship," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    8. Peng, Hui & Lu, Yaobin & Wang, Qunwei, 2023. "How does heterogeneous industrial agglomeration affect the total factor energy efficiency of China's digital economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    9. Saqib, Najia & Shahzad, U., 2024. "Pathways to sustainability: Evaluating the impact of green energy, natural resources, FinTech, and environmental policies in resource-abundant countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Khan, Irfan & Hou, Fujun & Le, Hoang Phong & Ali, Syed Ahtsham, 2021. "Do natural resources, urbanization, and value-adding manufacturing affect environmental quality? Evidence from the top ten manufacturing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Zi Hui Yin & Wei Ping Zeng, 2024. "Path to sustainable development: Can industrial intelligence and technological innovation balance economic growth and environmental quality in China?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 4486-4504, October.
    12. Danta, Subal & Rath, Badri Narayan, 2024. "Do institutional quality and human capital matter for innovation in case of Asian region?," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    13. Tao, Miaomiao & Wang, Jianda, 2025. "Harnessing the web: County-level perspectives on China's green economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    14. Mahuaqing Zuo & Shasha Yu, 2026. "How does government environmental attention affect green technology innovation? New evidence from cities in China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Qamruzzaman, Md & Jianguo, Wei, 2020. "The asymmetric relationship between financial development, trade openness, foreign capital flows, and renewable energy consumption: Fresh evidence from panel NARDL investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 827-842.
    16. Walid Gani, 2024. "Does Competition Spur Innovation in North Africa? Evidence from a Panel ARDL Approach," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 16(2), pages 212-230, May.
    17. Li, Yaya & Cobbinah, Joana & Abban, Olivier Joseph & Veglianti, Eleonora, 2023. "Does green manufacturing technology innovation decrease energy intensity for sustainable development?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1010-1025.
    18. Yihui Chen & Minjie Li, 2024. "How does the digital transformation of agriculture affect carbon emissions? Evidence from China’s provincial panel data," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    19. Wang, Jianda & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "Assessing the digital economy and its carbon-mitigation effects: The case of China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    20. Hongyang Yu & Jinchao Wang & Jiajun Xu & Binghao Ding, 2025. "Does digital economy agglomeration promote green economy efficiency? A spatial spillover and spatial heterogeneity perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 7379-7406, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:147:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325004086. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.