How Digitalization and Sustainability Promote Digital Green Innovation for Industry 5.0 through Capability Reconfiguration: Strategically Oriented Insights

Abstract

As environmental pressures intensify and digital technology advances rapidly, many countries, including China, are looking to more effectively heed social and environmental responsibilities by effectively integrating digital technology with traditional industries. Digital green innovation is gradually becoming a necessary direction for enterprises in various countries as they strive for high-quality development. How enterprises can achieve digital green innovation through the duality of digitalization and sustainability has become a crucial research question. However, existing research rarely addresses the mechanisms that lead to the formation of digital green innovation within enterprises. This study uses a sample of 305 manufacturing enterprises in China. Based on strategic orientation theory, this study introduces the concept of digital sustainability orientation, integrating both digital and sustainability orientations. A model is constructed to examine the impact of digital sustainability orientation on digital green innovation in enterprises, analyzing the mechanism of action through the mediation of capability reconfiguration and the moderation of environmental scanning. The study finds that digital sustainability orientation significantly positively impacts digital green innovation, highlighting the integrated effect of digital and sustainability orientations. The findings indicate that digital sustainability orientation significantly positively impacts digital green innovation, whereas a single strategic orientation does not effectively promote digital green innovation; capability reconfiguration partially mediates the relationship between digital sustainability orientation and digital green innovation in enterprises; and environmental scanning positively moderates the relationship between digital sustainability orientation and capability reconfiguration and further influences the mediating role of capability reconfiguration. This study contributes to the advancement of digital sustainability theory in the field of digital green innovation; moreover, the results of this study offer significant practical insights for enterprises aiming to successfully implement digital green innovation.