Digital technology application and enterprise competitiveness: the mediating role of ESG performance and green technology innovation

With the continuous advancement of the digital economy development strategy and the concept of green transformation, the impact of digital technology application (DTA) on enterprise competitiveness (EC) has attracted widespread academic attention. Based on the dynamic capabilities theory and stakeholder theory, this study proposes a theoretical framework that elucidates how enterprise DTA contributes to EC through potential mediating variables such as environmental, social, and governance performance (ESGP) and green technology innovation (GTI), as well as potential moderating variables such as enterprise scale (ES) and cash holdings (CH). The study collects data from 1,089 listed companies in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China between 2018 and 2020, both of which are crucial growth poles of the Chinese economy. The study examines the impact of DTA on EC and finds that DTA enhances EC. The study also finds that there is the suppressing effect of ESGP and GTI in DTA on EC, with ESGP serving as a mediator between DTA and GTI. Furthermore, the study explores the effects of DTA on EC and GTI on EC, using ES and CH as moderating variables. The results show that ES negatively moderates the relationship between DTA and EC, while CH does not have a moderating effect. The study also conducts comparative analyses of companies in the YRD and PRD, revealing some differences between the two regions' enterprises, but these differences are not significant. This study not only contributes to the expansion of EC-related theories but also enhances the understanding of the interaction between DTA and EC, and helps analyze the practical impact of DTA on EC in different regions' enterprises. On the one hand, DTA can enhance ESGP, GTI, and EC to achieve sustainable development for enterprises in the context of twin transitions. On the other hand, the government can effectively encourage small-scale enterprises to enhance the actual effects of DTA, thereby enhancing EC.