The impact of digital transformation on corporate green governance under carbon peaking and neutrality goals: Evidence from China

Abstract

Digital transformation, as a significant shift in optimizing enterprise resource allocation and enhancing information connectivity, offers the opportunity to stimulate the endogenous dynamics of corporate green governance. Employing a sample of 3,002 listed companies in China, a fixed-effects model, and the entropy power method to formulate a green governance index system, this study examines how digital transformation affects corporate green governance concerning carbon peaking and carbon neutrality objectives. According to these findings, the implementation of the digital transformation improves corporate green governance, each unit increase in digital transformation correlates with a 1.91% enhancement in green governance. Moreover, an examination of the mechanisms shows that green governance can be promoted by addressing information asymmetry and enhancing operational efficiency. Additionally, the association between corporate green governance and digital transformation is moderated favorably by strategic aggressiveness. Furthermore, our results indicate that digital transformation contributes significantly to the advancement of green governance within enterprises located in areas with high digital financing and strong technology integration capacities. Digitalization has a stronger effect on promoting green governance for enterprises in pilot regions than in non-pilot regions in terms of carbon emission trading. This study not only assists enterprises in elucidating the developmental trajectory of digital transformation amid carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals but also provides a reference for decision-making on how digital technology can empower corporate green governance and promote sustainable economic growth.