Digital Transformation and ESG Performance—Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

Hantao Liu, Xiaoyun Zhang () and Yang He
Additional contact information
Hantao Liu: School of Business, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Xiaoyun Zhang: School of Business, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Yang He: College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: The rapid advancement and broad adoption of digital technologies have infused ESG practices with new dimensions and significance. Drawing on panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning from 2012 to 2023, this paper aims to explain the impact of digital transformation on corporate ESG performance, explore its mechanisms and external regulatory effects, and provide systematic ideas and methods for improving corporate ESG performance from the perspective of digital transformation. The key findings of this study are summarized as follows: (1) Digital transformation (DT) has a significant positive effect on corporate ESG performance, and this association remains statistically robust following multiple robustness tests and a correction for potential endogeneity. (2) An analysis of the entire operational process reveals that DT improves ESG performance through enhancing environmental information disclosure quality, strengthening the integration of digital and physical industry technologies, and bolstering supply chain resilience. (3) The implementation of the “Broadband China” strategy exerts a positive moderating effect on the linkage between DT and ESG performance. (4) A heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of DT on ESG performance is more significant and stable in non-state-owned enterprises, eastern regions, less-polluted areas, and growth stage enterprises. These findings offer theoretical and empirical insights for understanding ESG performance drivers. However, the focus on Chinese A-share firms and the use of Sino-Securities ratings may limit generalizability, warranting further improvement.

Keywords: digital transformation; ESG performance; “Broadband China” strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/6165/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/6165/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:6165-:d:1695163

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().