The Impact of Urban Digital Development on Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64549/jaai-ii.v1i1.53Keywords:
Urban digital development, Environmental information disclosure, Disclosure quality, Market signaling, Green finance, MarketizationAbstract
Based on a market-signaling perspective, this study explores whether and how urban digital development affects corporate environmental information disclosure (EID). Using Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011–2019 as the sample, and employing fixed-effects panel regressions and a series of robustness checks, we find that urban digital development significantly increases both (i) whether firms disclose environmental information and (ii) the quality of such disclosure. Mechanism tests show that urban digital development improves the quality of EID through (1) promoting regional marketization and intensifying market competition, and (2) strengthening green finance development, which enhances financing support and resource allocation efficiency. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the effect is stronger for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), heavily polluting industries, and firms located in eastern and central China. The findings suggest that in the digital economy era, environmental disclosure should be viewed not only as a passive response to legitimacy pressure but also as a competitive tool that helps firms obtain differentiated resources and green finance support.
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