Is Digital Transformation a Burden or a Help? From the Perspective of Enterprise Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainability has become increasingly critical to the development of modern companies. As it emphasizes the generation of value across three dimensions—economics, the environment, and society—sustainable development underscores its significance. Based on the value that a company delivers at a particular stage of the sustainable development process, this study proposes revenue as a measure to quantify stakeholder interest. Utilizing a fixed effects model with 2211 listed companies in 11 years, this study explores how organizations’ economic, environmental, and social inputs influence the creation of sustainability value on these three pillars, alongside the impact of four major digital technologies (artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data). The study reveals that companies’ contributions in these dimensions significantly enhance the output of values. Each of the four digital technologies exerts a distinct moderating influence. We provide a thorough look at the “input-output” relationship of sustainable value creation. Our research highlights the varying effects on sustainable development of companies’ contributions to the economy, the environment, and society, as well as companies’ adoption of digital technologies.