How Does Digital Transformation Drive Green Innovation? The Key Roles of Green Dynamic Capabilities and Environmental Munificence

Renpu Liu, Mengchen Xie and Yu Li ()
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Renpu Liu: School of Business Administration, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China
Mengchen Xie: School of Business Administration, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China
Yu Li: School of Business Administration, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-28

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the global integration of green transformation and the digital economy, how manufacturing enterprises leverage digitalisation to drive green innovation has become a focal point for both academic and industrial sectors. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), this study constructs a moderated mediation model to explore the internal mechanism through which digital transformation influences green innovation via green dynamic capabilities and examines the boundary role of environmental munificence. Questionnaire data, collected in two stages from 312 Chinese manufacturing enterprises using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0, was analysed, and the empirical results indicate that digital transformation not only directly promotes green innovation but also exerts an indirect influence through the three dimensions of green dynamic capabilities: insights into the capability of green opportunities, green resource integration, and green resource reconstruction. Furthermore, environmental munificence significantly and positively moderates the relationship between green dynamic capabilities and green innovation, suggesting that this relationship is strengthened in resource- and opportunity-rich environments. Path analysis of the three green dynamic capability dimensions reveals that back-end capabilities (resource integration and reconfiguration) have a more pronounced impact on green innovation than front-end capabilities (opportunity insights). From the dual perspectives of capability building and contextual fit, this study elucidates the mechanism and boundary conditions of digital transformation driving green innovation, enriches green innovation theory, and offers practical insights into the digital-green transformation of manufacturing enterprises.

Keywords: digital transformation; green innovation; green dynamic capabilities; environmental munificence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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