How digital finance impacts listed companies’ green innovation in China: a product market perspective

We empirically test whether and how digital finance impact green innovation utilizing data from Chinese listed companies and the Digital Inclusive Finance Index at the city level over the period from 2011 to 2020. The results show the following: (a) digital finance has a positive impact on green innovation, (b) improving consumer demand and strengthening market competition are two important influence channels, (c) customer concentration and corporate social responsibility are two important moderating variables that affect the aforementioned product market mechanisms, and (d) the positive impact of digital finance is more prominent within state-owned enterprises, companies with high financial risks, economically underdeveloped regions, and low-polluting industries. This research provides insights for China and similar economies on how to leverage the significant role of digital finance in achieving their net-zero-carbon targets.