HOW DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AFFECT ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE ENTERPRISES’ PERFORMANCE? THE MAIN SOURCES AND INTERNAL MECHANISMS

Abstract

Digital transformation is a core weapon to promote the sustainable development of environmental service enterprises. This research presents a pioneering analysis of the primary sources and internal mechanisms underlying the performance impact of digital transformation in Chinese listed environmental service companies from 2009 to 2019. The empirical results show that digital transformation can significantly improve firm performance. Furthermore, digital products, digital operations and digital talent were found to have the most significant effect, while digital services and digital marketing have a weaker effect. The mediating effect demonstrates that digital transformation can indirectly promote the performance of environmental service enterprises by improving the green technology innovation, and this influence tends to strengthen. In addition, this performance effect is affected by different enterprise types, with the effect being more pronounced in state-owned enterprises than in private enterprises. These findings have important guiding significance for the intelligent development of environmental service industry.