The moderate level of digital transformation: from the perspective of green total factor productivity

Abstract

<abstract> <p>In the context of accelerated development of the digital economy, whether enterprises can drive green total factor productivity (GTFP) through digital technology has become the key to promoting high-quality development of the economy and achieving the goal of "dual-carbon", However, the relationship between digital transformation and GTFP is still controversial in existing studies. Based on the data of 150 listed companies in China's A-share energy industry from 2011 to 2021, this study empirically analyzes the impact of digital transformation on GTFP using a fixed-effect model. The study shows an inverted U-shaped nonlinear effect of digital transformation on enterprises' GTFP, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that enterprise investment efficiency and labour allocation efficiency play a significant mediating role in the above inverted U-shaped relationship, in which the inverted U-shaped relationship between digital transformation and GTFP mainly stems from the influence of enterprise investment efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis finds that the inverted U-shaped relationship between digital transformation and GTFP of enterprises is more significant in large-scale enterprises, new energy enterprises and enterprises in central and western regions. The study's findings provide important insights for enterprises to promote digital transformation and realize the green and high-quality development of the energy industry.</p> </abstract>