The impact of enterprise digitalization on green total factor productivity: evidence from Chinese provinces

Digitalization optimizes production processes by promoting information sharing and collaborative operations, thereby enhancing resource allocation efficiency and significantly improving production efficiency. Based on a review of the literature on enterprise digital transformation and regional GTFP, this study employed a panel data model to analyze the impact of enterprise digitalization on regional GTFP from a microeconomic perspective. After conducting robustness and endogeneity tests, we further examined the mechanisms through which enterprise digitalization influences regional GTFP and explored the heterogeneity of these effects. Using panel data from China’s provinces from 2007 to 2022, we arrived at the following conclusions: (1) Despite the tendency for enterprises to make contingent decisions in the digitalization process, enterprise digitalization fundamentally has a significant positive impact on GTFP, as confirmed by robustness and endogeneity tests. (2) The impact of enterprise digitalization on GTFP operates through a moderating effect, where green patents, environmental regulations, and an advanced industrial structure positively reinforce this effect. (3) The effect of enterprise digitalization on GTFP exhibits heterogeneity, with the most pronounced impact being in western China followed by the eastern region, while the effect in the central region is not statistically significant.