Shi Xin, Geng Shuxin
China Institute of Regulation Research, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
Hospitality Institute of Sanya, Hainan Province, Sanya, 572000, China.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Aug;389:125960. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125960. Epub 2025 Jun 2.
In the context of China's dual carbon goal, enterprises' green transformation is a key path to advancing the nation's high-quality economic development. A majority of existing studies have regarded digital technology as a homogeneous variable, and the heterogeneous impact of various technologies have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, based on Chinese enterprises' data from 2012 to 2022, this study systematically examines the influence of environmental regulations (ETS) on enterprises' green transformation (GT) from the perspective of digital empowerment by employing difference-in-differences and threshold regression models. The findings reveal that digital transformation (DT) enhances the influence of environmental regulation by strengthening cost and innovation compensation effects. Further analysis indicates that different digital technologies have significant double-edged sword characteristics, wherein artificial intelligence negatively regulates both mechanisms, reflecting a lack of technological adaptability; cloud computing significantly enhances the positive impact of environmental regulation, reflecting its technological maturity; and big data technologies only positively regulate the innovation compensation effect, reflecting the enterprises' application preference. In addition, the combination of digital technologies does not create synergies, indicating firms' challenges in terms of absorptive capacity and organizational change. This study expands the theoretical research on environmental regulation and green transformation and provides a valuable reference for the government to develop targeted policies and enterprises to optimize the path of green transformation.
在中国双碳目标背景下，企业绿色转型是推动国家经济高质量发展的关键路径。现有多数研究将数字技术视为同质变量，对各类技术的异质性影响探讨不足。因此，本研究基于2012年至2022年中国企业数据，运用双重差分法和门槛回归模型，从数字赋能视角系统考察环境规制（碳排放交易体系）对企业绿色转型的影响。研究发现，数字转型通过强化成本和创新补偿效应增强了环境规制的影响。进一步分析表明，不同数字技术具有显著的双刃剑特征，其中人工智能对两种机制均产生负向调节作用，反映出技术适应性不足；云计算显著增强了环境规制的正向影响，体现了其技术成熟度；大数据技术仅对创新补偿效应产生正向调节作用，反映了企业的应用偏好。此外，数字技术组合未产生协同效应，表明企业在吸收能力和组织变革方面面临挑战。本研究拓展了环境规制与绿色转型的理论研究，为政府制定针对性政策及企业优化绿色转型路径提供了有价值的参考。
