Green financial innovation and digital transformation of new energy enterprises: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment.

Abstract

As a representative of clean energy enterprises, the digital transformation of new energy enterprises is crucial to achieving green development. Digital transformation has a green economic effect, enabling green finance to provide intrinsic incentives and strategic resources for the digital transformation of new energy enterprises. Based on a quasi-natural experiment in the Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone, this paper analyses the impact of green finance innovation on the digital transformation of new energy enterprises and the mechanism effect of supply chain discourse and dynamic capabilities using data from Chinese A-share new energy enterprises from 2008 to 2022 using a double difference model. It is found that green financial innovation can significantly promote the digital transformation of new energy enterprises, and the promotion effect has strong stability and continuity. The impact of green financial innovation on digital transformation is heterogeneous across different types of new energy enterprises. This driving effect is more obvious in new energy enterprises with lower labour factor input levels, ESG levels and audit quality, and smaller enterprise scale. From the perspective of supply chain voice, green financial innovation can effectively promote the digital transformation of new energy enterprises by facilitating their voice to suppliers and customers. From the perspective of dynamic capabilities, green financial innovation can promote the digital transformation of new energy enterprises by promoting the dynamic capabilities of enterprises such as absorptive capacity, innovative capacity and adaptive capacity. This study provides theoretical support and policy insights for improving the green financial innovation system and guiding the digital transformation of new energy enterprises.