From bytes to green: The impact of digital transformation on carbon performance

In the context of promoting the dual carbon approach, carbon emission performance has become a crucial metric for assessing the efficacy of green transformation. This research investigates the influence of corporate digital transformation on carbon emission performance. Research indicates that digital transformation markedly improves business carbon emission performance, a finding corroborated by many robustness tests. Green technical innovation, reduced financial limitations, and enhanced internal control skills mediate the link between digital transformation and carbon emission performance. Regulatory distance negatively moderates this link, but the extent of digital economic progress positively moderates it. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that this effect is especially significant among non-Western firms, big enterprises, and those with substantial pollution levels. This research enhances comprehension of the micro-level integration mechanism between digitalization and green development, offering theoretical foundations and policy implications for establishing a green, low-carbon, high-quality development framework.