Assessing the Effects of Urban Digital Infrastructure on Corporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance: Evidence from the Broadband China Policy

Zhai, Chenchen; Ding, Xinyi; Zhang, Xue; Jiang, Shaoxiang; Zhang, Yue; Li, Chengming

doi:10.3390/systems11100515

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Firstly, the channel by which economy digitalization facilitates ESG performance is complex. Existing papers have suggested some possible impact mechanisms, including encouragement of innovation, promotion of corporate governance, reductions in information asymmetry [26], and promotion of energy efficiency [27]; we found that the digital economy facilitates ESG performance by promoting the digital transformation of enterprises, but the impact mechanism behind the promotion effect of the digital economy on ESG still needs further investigation. Future studies can examine the relationship between economy digitalization and ESG in terms of other possible channels in order to open the black box of the promotion effect of economy digitalization on ESG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…However, few studies explore the relationship between the digital economy and ESG performance; this paper expands on related research on sustainable development and provides valuable research insights. Some studies have directly examined the relationship between the digital economy and ESG; for example, Zhai et al [26] find that the digital economy promotes ESG performance by encouraging innovation, improving corporate governance, and reducing information asymmetry. Zhou and Liu [27] suggest that the digital economy can promote energy efficiency, which can then facilitate ESG performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can Digital Economy Development Facilitate Corporate ESG Performance?

Kong,

Goh,

Cao

2024

Sustainability

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As ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) is consistent with the spirit of sustainable development, it is useful to elevate ESG performance to realize the sustainable development of enterprise and society. Using the data of Chinese A-share listed firms in the period of 2011 to 2019, this paper takes the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the difference-in-differences method to assess the effect of digital economy development on ESG performance. This paper reveals the following: (1) the digital economy can facilitate ESG performance; (2) digitalization of the economy helps enterprises to propel digital transformation, which in turn lifts ESG performance; (3) digital economy development has a deeper impact on private enterprises, especially for those in China’s capital cities; and (4) digital economy development moderates the inhibiting effect of ESG performance on corporate financial constraints. The findings of this paper indicate that digitalization of the economy can help to achieve sustainable development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Digital Economy Development Facilitate Corporate ESG Performance?

Kong,

Goh,

Cao

2024

Sustainability

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“…At present, digitalization is integrating into all aspects of the economy and society, and accelerating digital empowerment has become a global consensus (Li et al,2023a;Zhai et al, 2023). In the digtal era, commercial banks are scrambling to carry out fintech innovation to improve their ability to serve the real economy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitalization and the “Too Big to Fail” Dilemma: Mechanisms and Asymmetric Effects of Banks’ Fintech Innovation on Total Factor Productivity

Li,

Zhang,

2024

Technological and Economic Development of Economy

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Fintech is driving the revolution of finance and profoundly affecting the development of the financial sector. However, few studies examined how commercial banks’ fintech innovation affects total factor productivity (TFP). To build up the fintech index of commercial banks, we use web crawler technology to accumulate news related to the fintech innovation of commercial banks in Baidu news. We use the panel data of 72 banks in China from 2010 to 2020 to explore the impacts and mechanisms of fintech on commercial banks’ TFP. The results show that fintech innovation effectively improves TFP after a series of robustness tests. Further, we find that fintech innovation can improve commercial banks’ TFP by promoting innovations of financial products, increasing risk control capability, reducing cost, and improving profit. Also, the utility of fintech is more significant in banks with more assets, facilities, and human capital, which means that fintech innovation creates a “bigger is better” mindset. Meanwhile, the result of quantile regression shows that the higher the fintech innovation, the more significant the increase in TFP, which further reveals that there is ‘too big to fail’ among commercial banks under digitalization.

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“…They found that urban digital infrastructure can significantly increase corporate mergers and acquisitions. Zhai et al (2023) [7] conducted an empirical analysis based on comprehensive panel data of A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021. The study found that urban digital infrastructure can promote corporate ESG performance by increasing research and development investment, enhancing corporate management, and improving information transparency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Impact of Urban Digital Infrastructure on Land Use Efficiency Based on 279 Cities in China

Wang,

Zhai,

Zhang

2024

Land

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The development and application of urban digital infrastructure can alter land use patterns and facilitate the aggregation of factors such as labor and capital, thereby influencing the land use efficiency in cities. Based on statistical data from 279 cities in China spanning from 2004 to 2019, this study employs fixed-effects and mediation models to analyze the impact of urban digital infrastructure on land use efficiency. The findings reveal that the construction of urban digital infrastructure significantly promotes the enhancement of land use efficiency, with technological innovation levels and industrial structural transformation serving as mediators between urban digital infrastructure and land use efficiency. The impact of urban digital infrastructure on land use efficiency exhibits heterogeneity across different city scales, urban tiers, geographic locations, and policy implementation batches. Its effects are more pronounced in larger-scale cities, higher-tier cities, those located in the central and western regions, and the first two batches of pilot cities. The research findings contribute to providing theoretical references and a decision-making basis for enhancing land use efficiency, advocating for increased investment in urban digital infrastructure construction, encouraging technological innovation levels, and facilitating the upgrading of industrial structural transformation.

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Assessing the Effects of Urban Digital Infrastructure on Corporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Performance: Evidence from the Broadband China Policy

Cited by 5 publications

References 45 publications

Can Digital Economy Development Facilitate Corporate ESG Performance?

Can Digital Economy Development Facilitate Corporate ESG Performance?

Digitalization and the “Too Big to Fail” Dilemma: Mechanisms and Asymmetric Effects of Banks’ Fintech Innovation on Total Factor Productivity

Evaluating the Impact of Urban Digital Infrastructure on Land Use Efficiency Based on 279 Cities in China

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