Digital Economy and Enterprise Green Innovation

The burgeoning growth of the digital economy has increasingly prominent implications for enterprises. Utilizing the principal component analysis method, this study derives a comprehensive index of urban digital economy development, which is then matched with data pertaining to A-share listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period spanning 2011 to 2019. An empirical analysis is subsequently conducted to evaluate the impact of the digital economy on the green innovation of enterprises. The research findings demonstrate that, after considering endogeneity issues, the regional digital economy has significantly elevated the level of green innovation among enterprises. The results remain robust even after a series of rigorous tests. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of the digital economy on the green innovation of enterprises varies. Specifically, the digital economy has a substantial impact on promoting green innovation among enterprises in the eastern region, while in the central region, it only improves green invention patents, and has no significant effect on enterprises in the western region. The influence of the digital economy is more noticeable in large enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Mechanism analysis suggests that the digital economy can stimulate green innovation of enterprises by alleviating corporate financing constraints. This paper contributes to existing research on the influence of the digital economy on enterprises and the factors influencing corporate green innovation, thereby providing theoretical and empirical evidence for the potential of the digital economy to serve enterprise development.