Can digital investment improve corporate environmental performance? -- Empirical evidence from China

Abstract

Enterprise environmental performance has always been the core topic of enterprise environmental management. Under the promotion of the new generation of technological revolution, whether enterprise digitalization can help improve enterprise environmental performance has become a new research hotspot. Taking Chinese A-share listed industrial enterprises as the research sample, this paper discusses the influence mechanism of digitalization on corporate environmental performance. The results show that:(1) digital investment has a significant U-shaped relationship with corporate environmental performance; (2) Technological innovation is an important intermediary channel through which digital investment promotes enterprise environmental performance: digital investment can positively promote technological innovation, and there is also a significant U-shaped relationship between technological innovation and corporate environmental performance; (3) The hometown identification degree of executives positively moderates the relationship between technological innovation and corporate environmental performance. Accordingly, we suggest that companies need to adopt hedging policies in the early stage to reduce the adverse environmental effects caused by digital technology and accelerate the digital transformation of enterprises and promote the development of technological innovation to achieve the goal of coordinated environmental protection. Finally, we hope that executives will actively participate in this activity and jointly promote the development of this cause.