Enhancing ESG performance through digital transformation: Insights from China's manufacturing sector

Xiaowei Ding, Darko B. Vuković, Boris I. Sokolov, Natalia Vukovic and Yali Liu

Technology in Society, 2024, vol. 79, issue C

Abstract: This study uses sustainability and stakeholder theories to examine how corporate digital transformation (DIT) impacts ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) performance, focusing on listed Chinese manufacturing firms from 2015 to 2020. The analysis employs two-stage least squares model (2SLS) and propensity score matching-differences in differences (PSM-DID) technique to address endogeneity, and a series of robustness checks to validate the results. Findings reveal that DIT enhances ESG performance by fostering green innovation, encouraging risk-taking, and optimizing resource allocation. Economic policy uncertainty and executives' gender diversity impede these benefits, while party organization embeddedness shows no moderating effect. Additionally, the study identifies spatial spillover effects of DIT on ESG performance, with synergistic effects observed among companies within the same locality and industry. These insights offer profound implications for governmental efforts to improve the business environment and promote green development, ensuring the equitable distribution of "digital dividends” among stakeholders.

Keywords: Corporate digital transformation; ESG performance; Impact mechanisms; Two-way fixed effects model; Spatial spillover effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L60 Q01 Q55 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X24003014
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24003014

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102753

Access Statistics for this article

Technology in Society is currently edited by Charla Griffy-Brown

More articles in Technology in Society from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().