Governing Digital‐Green Transitions: A Configurational Synthesis of Employment Outcomes

Abstract

Digital transformation and environmental sustainability are often framed as mutually reinforcing, yet their employment effects remain uneven across institutional and economic contexts. This study examines why digital transformation produces divergent employment outcomes in green transitions. Positioned within public affairs scholarship, this analysis examines how government policy, public‐sector digitalization, firm‐level green innovation, and citizen‐worker outcomes intersect in the digital‐green employment nexus. Drawing on a systematic review and configurational synthesis of 50 studies published between 2015 and 2025, the analysis distinguishes digital transformation across firm‐level capabilities, public digital governance, and regional digital infrastructure. The findings show that employment outcomes depend on the alignment of institutional quality, digital capability, workforce skills, industrial structure, and innovation mechanisms. Green innovation operates as a conditional pathway rather than a universal mediator. Four ideal‐type configurations are identified. The study contributes a public affairs framework linking governance capacity, policy credibility, business adaptation, and citizen trust in contemporary transition policy debates.