The impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance: based on the perspective of corporate green technology innovation

Abstract

Enterprises are important subjects in the transformation of national green development, while financial support is an important thrust to promote the fulfillment of environmental responsibility. In the dual context of building a digital inclusive financial system and green transformation of corporate production, this paper explores the impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance and its mechanism of action through theoretical and empirical analyses using data of Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2011 to 2020. It is found that the development of digital inclusive finance significantly contributes to the improvement of corporate ESG performance, and the impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance has a marginal decreasing effect, while corporate green technology innovation has a marginal increasing effect on corporate ESG performance. The mechanism analysis found that corporate green technology innovation has a mediating effect. The development of digital inclusive finance can enhance the green technology innovation ability of enterprises, and the green technology innovation of enterprises enhances the green sustainability ability of enterprises and improves the ESG performance of corporates. Further research shows that the effects of digital inclusive finance and corporate green technology innovation on corporate ESG performance are industry heterogeneous and pollution degree heterogeneous. How to promote financial services to better promote the combination of corporate green development and fulfillment of social and environmental responsibility is the most direct research implication of this paper.

Digitalization, Spillover and Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance: Evidence From China

“…There is an interactive effect between the digitalization of enterprises and ESG performance, and the marginal effect of the digitalization of enterprises on ESG performance is more obvious, which is relatively advantageous in the mutual promotion relationship between the two. The innovative development and application of the new generation of digital information technology represented by "artificial intelligence," "blockchain," "cloud computing," and "big data" have provided effective technical means to enhance the ESG practice capability of enterprises and become an important technical force to promote the development of ESG (Li & Pang, 2023;Moro-Visconti, 2022;Ren et al, 2023).…”

The Role of Digital Transformation, Corporate Culture, and Leadership in Enhancing Corporate Sustainable Performance in the Manufacturing Sector of China

“…The operational environment significantly impacts the organizational ethos of a company. Before this investigation, most research examining the long-term relationship between corporate culture and performance [194][195][196][197][198] primarily ignored the factors that interact with culture.…”

How does digital transformation affect the ESG performance of Chinese manufacturing state-owned enterprises?—Based on the mediating mechanism of dynamic capabilities and the moderating mechanism of the institutional environment

“…Compared with the literature [ 21 , 52 ], the impact of digital transformation on ESG performance is empirically examined from the perspective of manufacturing SOEs. Compared with the literature [ 2 , 19 , 20 ], different mechanisms of digital transformation affecting ESG performance are discussed based on the dynamic capability theory and institutional environment theory. Therefore, this study has important theoretical and practical implications, as follows.…”

“…The UN 2030 Agenda highlights the potential of digital technologies to improve sustainable development performance [ 17 ], and there are also studies suggesting that digitalization may have a positive impact on ESG. However, most of the current research on the mechanisms by which digital transformation affects ESG focuses on internal control [ 18 ], green innovation [ 19 , 20 ], and financing constraints [ 2 ], which is not yet sufficiently comprehensive and in-depth [ 21 ].…”