Can digital transformation enable the energy enterprises to achieve high-quality development?: An empirical analysis from China

In the context of China’s current “carbon neutrality” constraint, high-quality development of energy enterprises (HQDEE) is a win-win situation for both economic development and carbon reduction, and digital transformation may accelerate the achievement of its goals. To test the above hypothesis, this paper uses a two-way fixed effects model to estimate the association between digital transformation and HQDEE, based on a panel dataset of Chinese provinces from 2015–2021 and further explores their heterogeneous influence. In addition, we construct a threshold model to explore the enabling effect of digital transformation on HQDEE. The main results show that: (1) the HQDEE index is still in the “quantitative” stage of year-on-year improvement, while the digital transformation ability (DTA) is distributed in a stepwise incremental effect from west to east. (2) Digital transformation has a positive impact on HQDEE in China; in other words, a 1% increase in the digital transformation ability will boost HQDEE by an average of 0.3266%. And digital transformation can positively contribute to China’s HQDEE through the sub-indicators digital technology foundation, capital investment in digitalization, labor supply to digitalization, and digital transaction management, with digital technology base making the largest contribution. (3) The heterogeneity results show that the impact of digital transformation on HQDEE in China is more significant in the east, followed by the central region and the west region. (4) In terms of the empowerment mechanism, both sides of threshold value (0.7209), DTA has a significant empowering effect on HQDEE in China, and the empowerment effect is stronger when the DTA is higher than the threshold. We also provide policy insights for governments and scholars in related fields for reference.