Environmental Information Disclosure, Digital Transformation, and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Heavy Polluting Listed Companies

Environmental information disclosure, as a new environmental regulatory model, is important for achieving collaborative environmental pollution management and sustainable socioeconomic development. Based on the data of listed firms in China’s A-share heavy pollution industry from 2009 to 2019, this paper empirically tested the impact of environmental information disclosure on the total factor productivity of enterprises and the contribution of digital transformation to this impact. An increase in the level of environmental information disclosure had a significant positive effect on the total factor productivity of enterprises. However, with the increase in digital transformation among enterprises, the effect of environmental information disclosure on total factor productivity improvement is gradually being replaced. The heterogeneity test results showed that the positive effect of environmental information disclosure on total factor productivity changed depending on property rights, firm size, and geographical location. The effect of environmental information disclosure was stronger for non-state firms, large firms, and firms located in the east-central region. Further mechanism tests showed that the effect was induced through innovation incentives and facilitated financing. The above results provide a valuable reference for a comprehensive understanding of the effect of environmental information disclosure on productivity and adjustment by the digital transformation of enterprises.