Jul 2026· International Journal of Knowledge Management· Vol 22, pp. 1-21· 0 citations
TL;DR
Examination of how digital infrastructure affects urban environmental performance and the moderating role of green digital strategy from a knowledge management perspective in China from 2015 to 2022 shows that digital infrastructure significantly reduces energy consumption per unit GDP and carbon emission intensity, while green digital strategy strengthens this positive effect.
Abstract
Against the backdrop of global sustainable development, digital technology has become an important enabler for environmental governance and knowledge application. This study examines how digital infrastructure affects urban environmental performance and the moderating role of green digital strategy from a knowledge management perspective. Using panel data of 150 Chinese cities from 2015 to 2022, the authors conduct regression analysis, heterogeneity tests, and robustness checks. Results show that digital infrastructure significantly reduces energy consumption per unit GDP and carbon emission intensity, while green digital strategy strengthens this positive effect. Heterogeneous effects exist across city sizes: intelligent transportation facilities perform better in megacities, and communication networks are more effective in small and medium-sized cities. These findings enrich the theoretical framework of knowledge management for urban sustainability and provide practical implications for policymakers to design targeted digital and green knowledge systems.
The digital economy (DE) is a nascent economic model with the potential to mitigate urban industrial pollution (UIP) while encouraging high-quality economic expansion. This paper utilized panel data from 258 Chinese cities and employed the fixed-effects model, the mechanism test model, panel threshold model, and the spatial Durbin model to undertake an empirical investigation into the DE on UIP emissions. The research outcomes suggest that developing the DE has a positive influence on UIP reduction and that the effect of the DE on UIP reduction varies significantly across regions with different levels of industrial development, digital infrastructure, and environmental regulatory intensity. Further examination shows that the DE can reduce UIP by promoting public environmental concern and green technology innovation. Additionally, when the DE is used as a threshold variable, the DE’s impact on UIP emissions exhibits a nonlinear double-threshold effect, with two key turning points of 0.0921 and 0.5515, which constitute a three-stage model of “weak effect—strong effect—weak effect”. When human resource leve is used as a threshold variable, the impact of the digital economy on reducing urban industrial pollution is gradually increasing and exhibits a nonlinear single threshold effect. Under different geographical and economic distance spatial weight matrices, the DE’s development has a substantial negative spatial spillover effect on UIP emissions. That is, developing the local DE can directly reduce local UIP and significantly suppress UIP in neighboring areas indirectly through information sharing and technology diffusion. The findings of this study provide important management insights for government managers to advance environmental governance and promote green development.
Mingzhao Xiong, Yize Li, Haoyi Qi et al.· Frontiers in Environmental S...· 0 citations
China’s smart-city and green-transition policies have made digital-green integration an important pathway for improving urban ecological resilience. This study examines whether digital-green integration enhances urban ecological resilience, through which channels this effect occurs, and under what regional conditions it becomes more pronounced. The analysis uses a balanced panel of 510 observations for 30 Chinese provincial-level regions from 2005 to 2021, compiled from national and provincial statistical yearbooks. An indicator system encompassing resistance, recovery, and renewal is used to assess urban ecological resilience, and the composite index is calculated using the entropy-weighting method. Digital–green integration is captured by a coupling coordination index linking digital infrastructure with green finance. Its effect is estimated within a two-way fixed-effects framework, with additional tests used to assess the robustness of the findings and explore the underlying mechanisms, moderating conditions, and regional differences. The results show that: (1) digital–green integration significantly enhances urban ecological resilience, with its effect concentrated primarily in the recovery dimension; (2) industrial-structure upgrading and improvements in energy efficiency serve as important transmission channels, while better traffic infrastructure further strengthens this positive relationship; and (3) the effect is more pronounced in provinces with lower levels of urbanization and stronger environmental regulation. Governments should promote digital-green integration to support industrial-structure upgrading and energy-efficiency improvement, thereby strengthening cities’ capacity to recover from ecological shocks. Greater support should be directed to less urbanized regions, while areas with weaker environmental regulation should improve disclosure, verification, and enforcement. Future research could employ city-level data and spatial econometric models to examine the magnitude, geographic reach, and transmission mechanisms of cross-regional spillovers.
It is argued that achieving a truly green digital transformation requires aligning technological innovation with ecological priorities, strengthening regulatory frameworks, and fostering cross-sector collaboration to ensure that Surakarta’s digital growth contributes meaningfully to environmental resilience and long-term ecological well-being.
Halimah Abdul Manaf, H. Fridayani, Yuli Isnadi et al.· Discover Environment· 0 citations
In the era of carbon neutrality, urban competition has evolved from single-dimensional economic rivalry to multidimensional competition emphasizing green and sustainable development. However, it remains unclear whether digital infrastructure, the physical backbone of the digital economy, can externally enhance urban green competitiveness. Building on the measurement of urban green competitiveness through the super-efficiency SBM model, this study employs the “Broadband China” policy as an exogenous shock and uses a Staggered difference-in-differences (SDID) model to systematically analyze the impact and mechanisms of digital infrastructure on urban green competitiveness. The SDID model is adopted in this study for the following reason: the Broadband China strategy constitutes a phased rollout policy shock. By treating this policy as a quasi-natural experiment, the SDID framework enables more accurate identification of its causal impact on urban green competitiveness. The results show that the construction of digital infrastructure significantly promotes urban green competitiveness. Further analysis reveals that digital infrastructure enhances green competitiveness primarily through green technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and economic agglomeration, with the effect of economic agglomeration being stronger than that of the other two channels. Heterogeneity analysis shows that moderate government intervention amplifies the green effects of digital infrastructure. Moreover, the direct effect of digital infrastructure on green competitiveness is more significant in western cities than in eastern and central cities. This study provides empirical evidence for optimizing digital infrastructure development and achieving a “dual drive” of digitalization and green transformation.
This article examines the relationship between digital governance capacity and urban energy structure
transformation in the Indian context. As Indian cities face rapid urbanization, rising electricity demand, growing
transport pressure, and increasing climate commitments, the ability of local governments to use digital systems
effectively has become a critical factor shaping energy outcomes. Digital governance capacity refers to the
institutional ability of urban authorities to collect, integrate, analyze, and apply data for decision-making, service
delivery, monitoring, and public accountability. Urban energy structure transformation refers to the shift toward
more efficient, cleaner, and better-governed patterns of energy production, distribution, and consumption in cities,
including greater electrification, renewable integration, reduced losses, improved building efficiency, and lowcarbon mobility.
D. Haritha· International journal of pro...· 0 citations
Summary Green high-quality development requires balancing environmental sustainability with manufacturing growth. Using data from Chinese publicly listed firms from 2012 to 2021, this study demonstrates that digital transformation (DT) significantly increases green total factor productivity (GTFP) in the manufacturing sector. This finding remains robust across endogeneity and specification tests, including instrumental variable approaches and Heckman selection models. Mechanism analysis reveals that both market competition and public environmental concern positively moderate the DT-GTFP nexus. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this positive impact is more pronounced in the eastern regions, during the early stages of DT, and among small-scale enterprises and non-heavily polluting industries. This study highlights the critical role of manufacturing DT in driving green development and offers flexible policy implications for aligning industrial upgrading with public aspirations for a higher quality of life.
