Wu Shaoling, Cheng Peng, Yang Fan
School of Economics and Management, Hubei University of Automotive Technology, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd, After-Market Business Division, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 1;19(8):e0306603. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306603. eCollection 2024.
Digital transformation enables small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to reduce or overcome their reliance on resources and energy, thereby minimizing their environmental impact and providing them with sustainable green competitive advantages. However, the reasons for this phenomenon are not yet clear. To further investigate this issue, we selected 391 Chinese SMEs to examine the relationships among green transformation, green innovation, government regulation, and green competitive advantages. Green innovation includes green product innovation and green process innovation, while government regulation includes incentive regulation, constraint regulation, and guidance regulation. The empirical results show that digital transformation can enhance SMEs' green competitive advantages. Additionally, the hypothesized mediating effect of green product innovation and green process innovation between digital transformation and green competitive advantages is supported, while the moderating effect of incentive regulation, constraint regulation, and guidance regulation on the relationship between digital transformation and green product innovation and green process innovation is also confirmed. The findings of this study may contribute to more effective management of digital transformation and green innovation in SMEs, thereby promoting their development.
数字化转型使中小企业能够减少或克服对资源和能源的依赖，从而将其环境影响降至最低，并为它们提供可持续的绿色竞争优势。然而，这一现象背后的原因尚不明晰。为进一步探究此问题，我们选取了391家中国中小企业，以考察绿色转型、绿色创新、政府监管与绿色竞争优势之间的关系。绿色创新包括绿色产品创新和绿色工艺创新，而政府监管包括激励性监管、约束性监管和引导性监管。实证结果表明，数字化转型能够增强中小企业的绿色竞争优势。此外，绿色产品创新和绿色工艺创新在数字化转型与绿色竞争优势之间的中介效应假设得到支持，同时激励性监管、约束性监管和引导性监管对数字化转型与绿色产品创新和绿色工艺创新之间关系的调节效应也得到证实。本研究的结果可能有助于中小企业更有效地管理数字化转型和绿色创新，从而推动它们的发展。
