IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v27y2025i10d10.1007_s10668-024-05643-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of digital transformation on green and sustainable innovation in business: a quasi-natural experiment based on smart city pilot policies in China

Author

Listed:
  • Lingyi Kong

    (Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics)

  • Jing Chen

    (Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

The global landscape is witnessing a seismic shift propelled by the wave of the digital economy, with digital transformation emerging as a linchpin for nations striving for high-quality development. This paper navigates the intricate nexus between policy orientation and digital transformation to steer green and sustainable innovation within Chinese enterprises. Drawing on a nuanced theoretical analysis of how digital transformation intricately shapes enterprises’ green sustainable innovation, this research systematically dissects the impact by crafting a multi-temporal double-difference model rooted in a quasi-natural experiment of the Smart City Pilot policy. The results underscore the profound influence of digital transformation in propelling the green sustainable innovation of enterprises, with a particularly accentuated effect evident in non-state-owned enterprises and firms nestled in urban locales characterized by robust industrialization levels. Furthermore, we identify government innovation support and environmental governance as significant channels through which digital transformation exerts its influence, while financing constraints play a moderating role in shaping this impact. These insights offer valuable guidance for the Chinese government in formulating policies aimed at fostering green and sustainable innovation in enterprises. Graphical abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Lingyi Kong & Jing Chen, 2025. "Impact of digital transformation on green and sustainable innovation in business: a quasi-natural experiment based on smart city pilot policies in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(10), pages 24629-24657, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:10:d:10.1007_s10668-024-05643-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-024-05643-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-024-05643-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-024-05643-w?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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:10:d:10.1007_s10668-024-05643-w. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.