Impact of Digital Transformation on Carbon Performance of Industrial Firms Considering Performance–Expectation Gap as a Moderator

Abstract

The swift advancement of the industrial economy has depleted resources and degraded the environment, hindering global economic growth. Digitalization provides a novel approach to decrease carbon emissions and enhance the environment. This study utilized panel data from 2012 to 2021 of listed A-share industrial enterprises as the research sample. It employed suitable measures to assess digitalization and corporate carbon performance. Furthermore, a double fixed-effects regression model was constructed to examine the correlation between digitalization and corporate carbon performance. The findings indicate that digital transformation and corporate carbon performance varied widely across different firms, but there was notable overall progress. Adopting digital transformation in the industrial sector had a substantial and favorable effect on enterprises’ carbon performance. This effect remained substantial despite multiple robustness tests. An examination of the mechanisms involved indicated that digital transformation enhances the carbon performance of industrial sector enterprises by improving the clarity and accessibility of company information. Corporations may intentionally seek difficulties and take strategic risks due to performance–expectation discrepancies. Due to the digital transformation, this behavior may improve the carbon performance of listed industrial businesses. The carbon performance of industrial businesses after digital transformation depends on elements like property rights, market rivalry, industry pollution, and capital investment.