数字赋能是“生产导向”还是“环境友好”——来自企业数字化转型的微观证据

Is Digital Empowerment“Production Oriented”or“Environmentally Friendly”?Micro Evidence from Enterprise Digital Transformation

由企业推动的数字化转型是我国“十四五”时期深入推进数字中国建设的重要任务,以中国上市公司数据为研究样本,借助文本数据挖掘方法和计量经济学模型,全面探究企业数字化转型对生产效率和环境效率的影响、作用渠道及改善路径。研究发现:(1)当前中国企业的数字化转型为“生产导向”而非“环境友好”,即它能显著提升企业生产效率而不利于环境治理;(2)企业数字化转型通过提高公司治理水平、减少信息不对称和增强创新激励提升了生产效率,但数字化转型提高了企业经营成本,不利于环境效率改善;(3)异质性分析表明,企业数字化转型对生产效率和环境效率的作用效果在资源型城市、东部城市、国有企业以及高污染行业较为明显;(4)环境政策能在一定程度上改善企业数字化转型对环境的影响,其中低碳城市试点政策的改善效果最为显著;(5)稳健性检验发现,区块链技术、数字平台应用对企业生产效率提升作用较为显著,人工智能技术和大数据技术则可能成为企业规避环境披露的技术手段,数字化转型降低了环境治理行动、环境内部管理和环境监管认证的意愿;(6)国家级大数据试验区和“宽带中国”试点政策对企业呈现了趋于一致的生产效率和环境效率影响,佐证了企业数字化转型的作用效果。因此,应持续推进企业数字化转型,加强数字技术的绿色导向,增进不同城市和企业间的区域协作能力,充分发挥政策间协同效果,以实现经济增长和环境保护的双赢目标。

The digital transformation driven by enterprises is an important task to further promote the construction of digital China during the 14th Five-Year Plan period in China.Taking the data of Chinese listed companies as research samples,with the help of text data mining methods and econometric models,this paper comprehensively explores the impact of digital transformation on production efficiency and environmental efficiency,its channels of action and improvement paths.It is found that the current digital transformation of Chinese enterprises is“production oriented”rather than“environmentally friendly”,that is,it can significantly improve enterprise productivity and is not conducive to environmental governance.Enterprise digital transformation improves production efficiency by improving corporate governance,reducing information asymmetry and innovation incentives,but digital transformation increases enterprise operating costs,which is not conducive to environmental efficiency improvement.The heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of enterprise digital transformation on production efficiency and environmental efficiency is more obvious in resourcebased cities,eastern cities,state-owned enterprises and high pollution industries.Environmental policies can improve the impact of enterprise digital transformation on the environment to a certain extent,and the improvement effect of low-carbon city pilot policies is the most significant.Robustness test indicates that blockchain technology and digital platform applications have significantly improved enterprise production efficiency,while artificial intelligence technology and big data technology may become technical means for enterprises to avoid environmental disclosure.Digital transformation reduces the willingness of environmental governance actions,internal environmental management and environmental supervision certification.The national big data pilot zone and the pilot policy of“Broadband China”have shown a consistent impact on the production efficiency and environmental efficiency of enterprises,supporting the effect of enterprise digital transformation.Therefore,we should continue to promote the digital transformation of enterprises,strengthen the green orientation of digital technology,enhance the regional cooperation ability between different cities and enterprises,and give full play to the synergy effect between policies to achieve the win-win goal of economic growth and environmental protection.