Dynamic Evaluation and Obstacle Factor Diagnosis of the Coordinated Development of Digital Transformation and Pollution Reduction-Carbon Reduction in Old Industrial Cities

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt; line-height: 13pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The digital transformation of manufacturing industry can promote the development of green transformation and promote the differentiation of workers’ skill structure; On the other hand, it will also hinder the green development due to the huge energy consumption generated by the application of digital technology and facilities. In addition, the green transformation of manufacturing industry will also have differentiated impacts on the employment of labour with different skills due to the innovation of green technology. The existing research has not discussed too much about the interaction among the digital transformation and green transformation in manufacturing industry and labour structure. So, this paper uses the PVAR model to examine the dynamic relationship between digital and green transformation within the industrial sector from the perspective of labour structure, specifically analyzing the impact difference across regions. The results suggest that there is a reciprocal connection between the digitization of manufacturing sector and the labour structure, particularly in the eastern region of China, but the overall interaction between the two remains weak. The interactive between the green transformation of manufacturing industry and the labour structure in the central and western areas has been delayed over periods 1-6. Digital and green manufacturing transformation reinforce each other in central and western regions. However, the digital revolution in the manufacturing industry is hindered by the green transformation in eastern region.</span></p>

Background: The goal of “peak carbon and carbon neutrality” has pointed out the direction for the digital transformation (DIT) of enterprises. Companies need to pay a price when they seek green development or fulfill environmental responsibility. Out of self-interest, enterprises may exaggerate their environmental performance (EP) and then greenwashing behavior appears. Whether DIT can curb greenwashing behavior is a topic worth discussing.Objective: This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the influence of DIT on greenwashing and further discusses how government subsidies, resource slack, and external pressure affect them. The data of China’s listed A - share companies are used to test this theoretical framework.Methods: In this paper, multiple linear regression method is used to test the theoretical mechanism, and Hausman test and instrumental variable method are used to test the correctness of the conclusions.Results: (1) DIT has an inhibitory effect on greenwashing. (2) Government subsidies, resource slack, and public pressure positively moderate the relationship. (3) The effect of DIT does inhibit symbolic behavior, but the impact on substantive behavior is not obvious. The moderating effects of various variables are also different.Discussion: It is suggested that the government take the lead in building more digital public participation platforms to improve the online monitoring and early warning ability of enterprises’ greenwashing behavior, tourge enterprises to configure more intelligent and digital cleaner production equipment and facilities, and to improve their environmental performance. Local governments are encouraged to seize the trend of enterprises’ digital green transformation, introduce more government subsidy policies for DIT, improve digital infrastructure and digital intellectual property protection, and escort enterprises’ green DIT. The government and the banks should cooperate to give more green preferential loans, tax relief, and other measures to enterprises undergoing green DIT.

At present, China’s manufacturing industry is urgently in need of a transition, as well as an upgrade from low- to high-end production. Concurrently, as digital technology continues to advance, the enterprise-level digital transformation is anticipated to emerge as a new “engine” driving technological innovation. This study is centered on China’s A-share listed manufacturing enterprises, as we aim to explore the impact of digital transformation on technological innovation. Employing a fixed-effect model, the instrumental variable method, and propensity score matching, combined with a difference-in-differences approach, threshold regression, and a quantile regression model, we empirically examine the influence of digital transformation on technological innovation within the manufacturing sector. Our findings reveal the following: (1) Digital transformation enhances technological innovation. (2) Mediation analysis indicates that digital transformation boosts technological innovation by mitigating cost stickiness. (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of digital transformation on technological innovation is more pronounced in larger enterprises, particularly those with lower technological intensity, lower asset intensity, and stronger innovation capabilities. The outcome of this study provides a decision-making reference for governments and enterprises, whereby the government can formulate industrial and fiscal policies, as well as helping enterprises to carry out digital transformation through policy guidance and support. Enterprises can formulate differentiated transformation strategies based on their own characteristics, optimize their cost structure through digital transformation, release resources for technological innovation, and improve their own technological innovation capabilities.

Digital transformation, intelligent device utilization, and carbon emission reduction

This study is rooted in the necessity to gain a thorough comprehension of organizational capabilities essential for embedding dynamic capabilities (DC) according to the technology‐organization‐environment (TOE) within the landscape of digital transformation (DT). We have observed a surge in recent research focused on DC in the context of DT, however, there is still ample room for exploration to address the complex barriers, drivers, and routines associated with each DC capability, all crucial for achieving successful DT. Our approach employs a qualitative study involving interviews with 18 banking professionals based in Indonesia. Our study's findings have identified six DCs based on the TOE framework that can be effectively employed to facilitate successful DT including the technology capability for the technology dimension, strategy, organizational, and innovation capability for the environment perspective, and environment factor consisting of ecosystem and governance‐risk management‐ compliance (GRC). Delving into these six capabilities, we have explored the barriers, drivers, and routines linked with each. Additionally, our study has facilitated the alignment of DT benefits with expected performance outcomes, thus empowering companies to prioritize DT initiatives in alignment with their performance objectives. From a theoretical standpoint, this research contributes by offering an extensive comprehension of the factors and routines intrinsic to DC based on the TOE framework within the context of DT. From a managerial perspective, it provides guidance to companies as they navigate the realm of DT through a comprehensive lens focused on the DC.

The urgent global challenge of mitigating climate change has intensified the need to reduce carbon emissions. China significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, placing substantial pressure on its industrial sector to shift toward a low-carbon economy. However, current efforts have not yet achieved adequate progress in emission reduction. Digital Transformation (DT), involving the integration of digital technologies into business operations, offers a promising pathway for sustainable practices and emission reduction in Chinese industrial enterprises. This study investigates the impact of DT on Carbon Emissions Intensity (CEI) using data from listed companies (2013–2022) and explores the moderating role of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Findings reveal that DT significantly reduces CEI, with green technological innovation (GTI) acting as a key intermediary. ESG moderates both the direct relationship between DT and CEI and indirectly influences intermediary variables like GTI, further affecting CEI. Heterogeneity analysis shows DT effectively curbs CEI in capital- and technology-intensive industries in China’s eastern and western regions, though its impact is weaker elsewhere. The study recommends that policymakers promote DT through targeted incentives, boost GTI, and strengthen ESG oversight and disclosure. These measures can help industrial enterprises leverage digitalization and sustainability to advance China’s carbon neutrality goals. The insights also provide valuable recommendations for other developing nations facing similar environmental challenges and seeking sustainable development pathways.

Green development and the digital economy are receiving increasing attention among scholars, practitioners, and policy makers, as the link between the two remains unclear, and exploring the study of the mechanisms at play between the two to achieve quality economic development is an urgent issue to be addressed. This study addresses this gap and aims to provide clarity by analyzing examples of business practices in developing countries. Using a total of 20,283 datasets from 2049 listed manufacturing firms from China from 2007 to 2020 as the study sample, the mechanism of digital transformation’s impact on firms’ green technological innovation capability is empirically examined and the mediating role of firms’ green dynamic capabilities is verified. This study finds that: (1) Digital transformation significantly enhances the level of green technology innovation of enterprises. (2) There is a partial mediating effect of green dynamic capabilities in the process of digital transformation positively affecting enterprises’ green technology innovation. (3) Digital transformation by state-owned, central and western regions and by medium-sized enterprises is more significantly effective in promoting green technology innovation than non-state-owned, eastern regions and small and large enterprises. (4) The analysis of economic consequences shows that digital transformation can mitigate the incremental costs incurred in the process of digital transformation by empowering enterprises to achieve green development and cost reduction through green technology innovation.

Digital technologies have great potential to improve the global environment. To investigate the issue, this research takes Chinese A-share listed industrial firms as the observation object to explore the influence of digital transformation (DT) of industrial enterprise on carbon reduction. The results show that digital transformation can promote carbon reduction and provide strong support for achieving sustainable economic development. Digital transformation reduces carbon emissions through promoting green technology innovation, improving internal control quality, and easing financing constraints. The carbon-reducing role of digital transformation of state-owned industrial companies is more obvious than that of others. The influence of digital transformation on carbon emissions in firms with low energy consumption and low emissions is linear, whereas in firms with high energy consumption and high emissions, the digital transformation has an inverted U-shaped influence. The effect of digital transformation on carbon reduction has area heterogeneity, among which the eastern area in China is the most obvious, followed by the northeast and central regions; the western region is not significant. The research conclusions provide important theoretical support and practical experience for in-depth analysis of the driving mechanism of industrial carbon emission reduction and for seeking policy optimization paths in order to contribute wisdom to promoting sustainable development.

ABSTRACTDigital transformation has become a crucial strategic initiative to advance high‐quality development among small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. However, existing research lacks a comprehensive analysis of the complex causal mechanisms underlying successful digital transformation in SMEs. This study aims to uncover the drivers of digital transformation in SMEs and identify effective pathways for their digital adoption. Utilizing the push–pull–mooring (PPM) theory, this research applies necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of SMEs to investigate the influencing factors and pathway choices for digital transformation in China. The findings indicate that digital infrastructure, technological innovation capability, digital talent, and market competitive pressure are essential conditions for advancing digital transformation in SMEs. Two primary pathways to elevate digital transformation levels in SMEs are identified: the “Fully Element‐Driven Type” and the “Push–Mooring Effects‐Oriented Type.” Comparative analysis of different pathways reveals substitution effects among certain drivers of digital transformation. This study contributes to understanding the complex causal interplay of factors influencing digital transformation in SMEs, providing actionable insights and pathway guidance for enterprises seeking to implement digital transformation.

In the era of digital economy, the implementation of innovation-driven development strategies necessitates the participation of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative (SRDI) SMEs. Digital transformation has injected robust momentum into enhancing the innovation efficiency of SRDI enterprises. This study empirically examines the relationship between digital transformation and the innovation efficiency of SRDI SMEs, along with its underlying mechanisms, using a sample of 405 SRDI enterprises listed on China’s A-share market from 2010 to 2022 and employing a fixed-effects model. The findings reveal that digital transformation significantly enhances the innovation efficiency of SRDI enterprises. Mechanism analysis confirms that digital transformation achieves this by alleviating financing constraints, and these conclusions remain robust after a series of rigorous tests. Further research demonstrates heterogeneous effects across ownership types and regional distributions: the incentive effect of digital transformation on innovation efficiency is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and those located in central and western regions. These conclusions deepen the understanding of the nexus between corporate digital transformation and innovation efficiency. Accordingly, this study proposes recommendations such as advancing digital strategic transformation, strengthening policy guidance, optimizing financial supply structures, and fostering digital ecosystems, providing empirical insights for enterprises to explore digital innovation pathways.

Global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions seriously threatens a region’s sustainable environmental and socioeconomic development. Promoting industrial restructuring and strengthening technological innovation have become an important path to achieving pollution and carbon reduction as well as the green transformation of economic structure. This paper explored the mechanism of the mediating effect of technological innovation on industrial restructuring and carbon reduction while accounting for the direct effect of industrial restructuring on carbon emissions. Then, based on China’s provincial panel data from 2001 to 2019, we estimated the carbon emission intensity using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s methods and analyzed its spatiotemporal evolution characteristics. Finally, we constructed a fixed-effect model and a mediating effect model to empirically analyze how industrial restructuring and technological innovation affect carbon emission intensity. The results are as follows: (1) From 2001 to 2019, China’s carbon emission intensity showed a continuous downward trend, with a pronounced convergence trend; there were obvious differences in carbon emission intensity between eastern, central, and western regions (western region > central region > eastern region) due to the unbalanced industrial structure. (2) In terms of direct effects, industrial restructuring can significantly reduce carbon emission intensity. The intensity of the effect is inversely proportional to the level of industrial restructuring, and the results of sub-regional tests are similar. Nevertheless, there is an obvious regional difference in the size of the carbon emission reduction effect of industrial restructuring in the east, central, and western regions. (3) In terms of indirect effects, industrial restructuring can reduce carbon emission intensity by enhancing technological innovation, and it acts as a mediating variable in the process of industrial restructuring to reduce carbon emission. Finally, we put forward recommendations for promoting industrial restructuring, strengthening green technological innovation, and properly formulating carbon reduction measures to provide a reference for countries and regions to achieve the goals of carbon neutrality, carbon peaking, and high-quality economic development.

Under the dual pressures of global climate change and environmental governance, achieving coordinated pollution reduction and carbon reduction has become a key pathway to promoting high-quality economic development and sustainable transformation. Resource-based cities, characterized by high energy consumption and high pollution in their industrial structures, are not only focal areas for carbon emission and pollution control but also face formidable challenges in achieving green transformation. This study, using a sample of 110 prefecture-level resource-based cities from 2010 to 2022, systematically examines the role and threshold effect of digital transformation on coordinated pollution and carbon reduction. The findings indicate that： ① Digital transformation contributed to promoting coordinated pollution and carbon reduction. ② Heterogeneity analysis revealed that digital transformation had the most significant effect on coordinated pollution and carbon reduction in eastern and growing cities, with the effect also evident but slightly lower in central, western, mature, and regenerating cities and weakest in northeastern and declining cities. ③ In the process by which digital transformation influenced coordinated pollution and carbon reduction, green technology innovation and the advancement of industrial structure acted as mediating factors. ④ There was a significant threshold effect in the impact of digital transformation on coordinated pollution and carbon reduction at different levels of energy efficiency. When energy efficiency was below the threshold of 12.030, the role of digital transformation was constrained by the consumption of high-energy infrastructure, resulting in weaker pollution and carbon reduction effects. However, as energy efficiency surpassed 12.030 and progressively increased to 12.299, the positive impact of digital transformation significantly strengthened. The article suggests measures such as improving energy efficiency, formulating targeted green transformation strategies, and establishing a unified emission monitoring and early warning platform.

Tax Incentives, Marketization Level, and Corporate Digital Transformation

Under the "dual-carbon" strategic framework, corporate digitalization emerges as a pivotal driver for advancing sustainable development and facilitating high-quality economic and social development. This investigation employs a dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies (2014-2023) to systematically examine the mechanism through which digital transformation enhances sustainability. The empirical analysis found that digital transition elevates sustainable development outcomes through dual mediation pathways: green technological innovation and greening transformation. Specifically, digital transformation fosters the development and adoption of green technologies and promotes organizational and operational changes, which in turn enhance sustainability performance. Heterogeneity analysis reveals significant differential impacts that digital transformation exerts a greater dominant effect on the sustainability performance of state-owned firms, heavily polluting industry firms, and those in the central and western regions. These findings provide empirical evidence for optimizing digital transformation pathways, theoretical references for the implementation of sustainable development strategies, and actionable insights for enterprises to achieve carbon neutrality through technological innovation and green transformation.

How digital transformation facilitate synergy for pollution and carbon reduction: Evidence from China