Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27057-3

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance:

based on the perspective of corporate green technology innovation
Wenqi Li1 · Wenbin Pang1

Received: 15 December 2022 / Accepted: 12 April 2023 / Published online: 21 April 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023

Abstract
Enterprises are important subjects in the transformation of national green development, while financial support is an impor-
tant thrust to promote the fulfillment of environmental responsibility. In the dual context of building a digital inclusive
financial system and green transformation of corporate production, this paper explores the impact of digital inclusive finance
on corporate ESG performance and its mechanism of action through theoretical and empirical analyses using data of Chi-
nese A-share listed enterprises from 2011 to 2020. It is found that the development of digital inclusive finance significantly
contributes to the improvement of corporate ESG performance, and the impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG
performance has a marginal decreasing effect, while corporate green technology innovation has a marginal increasing effect
on corporate ESG performance. The mechanism analysis found that corporate green technology innovation has a mediat-
ing effect. The development of digital inclusive finance can enhance the green technology innovation ability of enterprises,
and the green technology innovation of enterprises enhances the green sustainability ability of enterprises and improves
the ESG performance of corporates. Further research shows that the effects of digital inclusive finance and corporate green
technology innovation on corporate ESG performance are industry heterogeneous and pollution degree heterogeneous. How
to promote financial services to better promote the combination of corporate green development and fulfillment of social
and environmental responsibility is the most direct research implication of this paper.

Keywords Digital inclusive finance · Corporate ESG performance · Green technology innovation

Introduction Driven by the goal of profitability, corporates often ignore

the damage to the environment in the production process and
Environmental quality is the basis for all kinds of produc- disregard their long-term sustainable development for short-
tion activities. While the world economies are developing term benefits. Therefore, in order to promote the coordi-
rapidly, the scale of economic growth has intensified envi- nated development of economic and environmental benefits
ronmental pollution and resource consumption. Enterprises, of corporates, the United Nations Principles for Responsible
while contributing economic benefits to the country, are also Investment (UNPRI) launched the corporate ESG evaluation
one of the key players in energy consumption and pollu- system in 2006. The ESG evaluation system has become
tion emissions. In China, for example, the CO2 emissions an important indicator to measure the sustainability of cor-
of China’s 100 listed companies in 2021 will be 5.1 billion porates, which is composed of three parts: Environment,
tons, an increase of 15.3% year-on-year, and the threshold Social, and Governance.
of listed companies’ emissions will rise from 6.19 million Corporate ESG performance requires companies to face
tons in 2020 to 9.33 million tons, an increase of 50.73%.1 society with a more responsible corporate image and take
on the important task of national green development and
economic transformation, while green development is also
Responsible Editor: Nicholas Apergis
a necessary way for companies to achieve sustainable devel-
* Wenqi Li opment. The use of carbon offsetting mechanisms to force
[email protected]
1
Data from “Carbon Emissions Ranking of China’s 100 Listed Com-
1
Department of Economics and Trade, Henan University panies (2022)” released by China Finance and Economics magazine
of Technology, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China at the 2nd “Carbon Neutral Summit.”.

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enterprises to undergo green transformation, accelerate of enterprises? Does the ability of corporate green technol-
green innovation, and reduce pollution emissions through ogy innovation have a mediating effect on corporate ESG
the use of financial instruments was also re-emphasized at performance?
the “Stockholm + 50” China country meeting of the United Based on the perspective of corporate green technology
Nations Conference on the Human Environment in April innovation, this article investigates the impact of digital
2022. However, existing studies, both from theoretical and inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance. The arti-
empirical perspectives, have argued that structural contradic- cle argues that digital inclusive finance enhances corporate
tions and ownership discrimination in the traditional finan- green technology innovation, which indirectly improves
cial system have exacerbated financial resource mismatch corporate ESG performance through the mediating effect
(Song et al. 2020; Yiping and Han 2021). Public goods the- of corporate green technology innovation. The marginal
ory suggests that environmental protection and resource con- contributions of this paper are (1) analyzed from the micro
servation are considered as “public goods” by companies, perspective of enterprises, and the content of this paper
and companies are more willing to “use” rather than “invest” provides micro evidence of the impact of digital inclusive
them for their own development. The externality of envi- finance on enterprise development. The previous studies on
ronmental responsibility makes it possible for companies the impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate develop-
to partially or completely avoid environmental responsibil- ment are mostly focused on business performance, corpo-
ity when they face an external financing gap. However, the rate investment efficiency, or corporate exposure to financial
financial mismatch in the financial market makes it impos- exclusion, but there are few micro studies on the impact of
sible to allocate borrowed funds effectively as a “resource” digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance. (2)
(Demirguc-Kunt and Klapper 2012). In the absence of Analyzed from the perspective of public goods, the con-
financial support, small- and medium-sized enterprises are tents explored in this paper provide empirical lessons for
more likely to choose activities that can bring revenue in the digital inclusive finance to enterprises’ green innovation and
short term (rent-seeking activities) and thus “squeeze out” contribute to sustainable economic development. Resources
funds for green innovation R&D (Song et al. 2020; Yiping and environment as public goods, enterprises often neglect
and Han 2021). This is a key factor that inhibits small- and their responsibility for the environment out of internal devel-
medium-sized enterprises from achieving green transforma- opment goals. By studying the impact of digital inclusive
tion (Genming and Hongxia 2022, Jingjing and Ye 2020). finance on corporate ESG performance, this paper analyzes
It is worth noting that the digitalization and informatization how digital financial services can help enterprises ful-
of digital inclusive finance corrects the problem of financial fill their environmental responsibilities and promote their
mismatch in the traditional financial system (Xiaoge et al. green development. (3) Analyzed from the perspective of
2021), providing a good opportunity to boost enterprises’ innovation theory and signaling theory, this study concludes
access to financial services and promote their green develop- that corporate green technology innovation has a mediating
ment. As a new financial tool to support green development effect. Few studies have explored the impact of corporate
and efficient use of resources, digital inclusive finance can green technology innovation on corporate ESG performance.
more effectively alleviate the problem of information asymme- The improvement of corporate green technology innovation
try between enterprises and financial institutions, and optimize can transmit information about corporate green development
financial services to help enterprises take more environmental to financial investors, which can help enterprises to gain
responsibility. The digitization of financial services has pro- more social attention and financial support and improve their
moted the development of digital financial platforms repre- ESG performance. Digital inclusive finance can enhance
sented by digital inclusive finance. Digital inclusive finance corporates’ green technology innovation ability, and the
provides more convenient and efficient financial services for innovation of corporates’ green technology promotes corpo-
enterprises and other potential capital demanders through digi- rates’ green transformation, helps corporates improve their
tal intelligent platforms. Financial development theory holds ESG performance, accelerates corporates’ energy saving and
that an effective financial system and financial services can emission reduction, and speeds up the process of green and
maximize the use of financial resources and promote economic sustainable development of corporates.
growth. Some enterprises are often excluded from traditional
financial services due to their own scale and asset reserves,
and the lack of financial assistance for enterprises has a direct Literature review and research hypotheses
impact on the enhancement of their green innovation capabil-
ity, which affects their fulfillment of environmental responsi- Relevant literature related to the study of this paper includes
bility and their overall ESG performance. Therefore, based on studies related to the ESG performance of firms, and the
previous scholars’ research, this paper explores whether digital impact of digital inclusive finance on the economic effects
inclusive finance can have an impact on the ESG performance of micro firms in two directions.

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Research related to corporate ESG performance financial development on corporate ESG performance.
The financial services provided by financial institu-
Corporate ESG performance is a comprehensive evaluation tions to enterprises are mostly focused on the lending
of corporate environmental responsibility (Environment), of financial funds. Flammer (2021) argues that green
social responsibility (Social), and corporate internal govern- financing services provided by financial institutions
ance performance (Governance); the emergence of corpo- have a significant positive effect on firms’ environ-
rate ESG evaluation system breaks the traditional corporate mental performance and business performance. Dzi-
single information disclosure model, but more emphasis on adkowiec and Daszyńska-Żygadło (2021) collected
the comprehensive development of enterprises (Wong et al. data on 235 ESG performance misconducts of DAX
2021). The establishment of corporate ESG evaluation indi- companies and found that financial services institu-
cators is to measure the social, environmental and economic tions reacted more strongly to ESG news published
results of corporate production and development. ESG rat- after 2009 during the review process than before, and
ings provide a measure of whether a company is practicing that issues arising from corporate governance were
high-quality and sustainable development. Enterprise ESG more likely to reduce the market valuation of compa-
can reflect the efficiency and effectiveness of enterprises nies than problems encountered by firms in assuming
in terms of resource utilization, green investment, social environmental and social responsibility. Muyuan and
responsibility fulfillment, and company management (Kaitao Hong (2019) argue that corporate ESG performance
et al. 2023). can reduce the cost of financing and thus increase the
market value of firms. The effect of corporate environ-
(1) Study of ESG performance measures of companies. mental responsibility and corporate governance perfor-
Most of the current measures of ESG performance are mance on corporate financing structure is greater than
based on the Bloomberg (Wong et al. 2021, Tamimi that of corporate social responsibility. Christensen et al.
and Sebastianelli 2017), Morgan Stanley Capital Inter- (2021) analyze the effect of corporate ESG information
national (MSCI) (Shanaev and Ghimire 2022; Plastun disclosure on corporate finance from the perspective of
et al. 2022), and Refinitiv (Martins 2022) frameworks. corporate ESG on corporate finance due to the different
(2) Study the impact results of corporate ESG performance. ESG measurement models. Based on the above theory,
DasGupta (2022) finds that poor financial performance this paper proposes the first research hypothesis.
motivates firms to improve ESG actions by examining
multinational firm data. Martins (2022) empirically Hypothesis H1: Digital inclusive finance has a positive
investigates that emerging market firms adjust their contribution to enhance corporate ESG performance.
ESG behavior negatively after a competitive shock by
using a double-difference approach. In a study by Li (2) To study the impact of digital inclusive finance on cor-
et al. (2018), it is shown that poor ESG performance of porate green technology innovation. FinTech compa-
firms elicits more response from investors. The major- nies, led by the introduction of new forms of finance
ity of investors also pay more attention to the green such as digital inclusive finance, have eased the dif-
development capability of companies and tend to give ficulties of traditional bank financing and broadened
more market attention to companies with faster green the green financing channels of enterprises by means
transition (Bolton and Kacperczyk 2021; Flammer of remote interaction of information during the epi-
2021; Stroebel and Wurgler 2021). Zhang et al. (2020) demic (Galema 2020, Gambacorta et al. 2020). Aghion
found that two dimensions of corporate environmental et al. (2012) studied French companies and found that
and social responsibility in corporate ESG performance companies subject to financing constraints during the
have a positive effect on corporate value based on the economic recession are more inclined to choose to
perspective of Chinese companies. reduce the share of investment in R&D. Digital inclu-
sive finance (as has been emphasized in Europe and
Digital inclusive finance, corporate green other countries in recent years) is the construction of
innovation, and corporate ESG performance blockchains to connect local financial institutions to
correlation study businesses (Aziz and Naima 2021), allowing the finan-
cial system to access business information through
simpler information gathering and alleviating infor-
(1) To study the impact of financial development on corpo- mation asymmetries between lenders and borrowers
rate ESG. There is little literature on the impact of digi- (Yu et al. 2022). During COVID-19, the development
tal inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance, of digital inclusive finance has enhanced the avail-
and the existing literature mostly studies the impact of ability of corporate financing (Berg et al. 2020; Jun

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et al. 2021), effectively easing the financing constraints corporate green development and lowering loan taxes
faced by enterprises and helping them to innovate in and fees, digital inclusive finance directs funds to bet-
science and technology (Ping and Junxia 2020; Yu et al. ter flow to green innovative corporates and enterprises
2020; Rosavina et al. 2019). Green technology inno- with real financing difficulties in green transformation
vation capability is an important way for companies (Shen et al. 2019). On the one hand, the innovation of
to develop and fulfill their environmental responsibil- green technology of enterprises can reduce the pollu-
ity (Acemoglu et al. 2012). The research and devel- tion of the environment and fulfill the environmental
opment of green technology innovation patents has a responsibility of enterprises, on the other hand, the
distorting effect on some companies with weak envi- green innovation of enterprises is also responsible for
ronmental responsibility, and such corporates are more the society and the internal staff of corporates (Long
inclined to invest their limited funds in the production et al. 2023). Pedersen et al. (2021) argue that the ful-
and development of innovation patents (Huang et al. fillment of environmental and social responsibility by
2019). The development of digital inclusive finance corporates increases the uncertainty of future profit fore-
as an important practice of financial inclusion, in the casts, but at the same time brings higher investor demand
internal perspective of enterprises (Xuanli et al. 2018), and market value to companies, and investors will pay
digital inclusive finance on the one hand reduces more attention to corporate green technology innovation
the threshold of financial services and improves the activities. Chouaibi et al. (2021) found through empirical
financing efficiency of enterprises (Song et al. 2020). analysis of UK and German firm data that the better the
On the other hand, it reduces the cost of green tech- ESG performance of the firm, the more the firm’s abil-
nology innovation for enterprises and enhances their ity to innovate in green technology is enhanced. Green
green technology innovation capability (Xin and Ying technology innovation by corporates can attract more
2021). From a business external perspective, the devel- financial investors and help corporates achieve long-
opment of digital inclusive finance enhances inclusive term sustainability (Zhang et al. 2022). By improving
urban growth and raises the income level of residents the efficiency of the corporate’s treatment of pollutants,
(Taizeng and Zhigao 2022). The increase of residents’ launching green products, attracting potential consum-
income will strengthen the individual’s pursuit of a ers (Wang et al. 2022), and improving the satisfaction
better society and happy life, and the stronger the resi- of society and internal members of the corporate (Wang
dents’ demand for green development (Zhiqing and Hui and Sun 2022; Niu et al. 2022) ultimately improve the
2021). Nguyen et al. (2020) argue that the increase in company’s overall ESG level. Based on the above theory,
income of the population will expand its demand effect this paper proposes a third research hypothesis.
for environmental optimization and thus increase the
demand for green products. Driven by the benefits of Hypothesis H3: Corporate green technology innovation
green demand, companies’ willingness to engage in has a mediating effect, and digital inclusive finance can
green technology innovation will also increase (Jing improve corporate ESG performance by enhancing corpo-
et al. 2021). Based on the above theory, this paper pro- rate green technology innovation capabilities.
poses the second research hypothesis.

Hypothesis H2: Digital inclusive finance can enhance the Model setup and data
innovation capability of firms in green technology.
Model setup
(3) Research on digital inclusive finance, corporate green
technology innovation, and corporate ESG perfor- To test the aggregate effect of digital inclusive finance on
mance. Few articles have studied the relationship corporate ESG performance, the following benchmark
between digital inclusive finance, corporate green regression model is constructed in this paper. As shown in
technology innovation, and corporate ESG perfor- Eq. (1).
mance. A review of the existing articles reveals that
digital inclusive finance can create synergy with the ESGi,t = 𝛼0 + 𝛼1 Indexi,t + 𝛼2 X1i,t + 𝛼3 X2i,t + 𝜇i + 𝛿i + 𝜀i,t
green finance policies proposed by the government (Jia (1)
and Jingbo 2020). By getting rid of the shackles of tra- where i, t denote firm and year, ESG is the ESG performance
ditional business outlets, digital inclusive finance can of the corporate, Index is the total digital inclusive finance
provide more efficient financial services and lower cost index, X1 is the three segmentation indicators of digital
financing funds for low-carbon development of enter- inclusive finance (breadth of coverage, depth of use and digi-
prises. By combining with government subsidies for talization of digital inclusive finance), X2 is a set of control

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65318 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327

variables, 𝜇i and 𝛿i are fixed effects controlling for firm and (1) exclude the samples of ST and PT during 2011–2020;
year, 𝜀 is the random error term, 𝛼0 is the intercept, and 𝛼1−3 (2) exclude the samples with too many missing values; (3)
is the regression coefficient of each variable. exclude the samples of financial industry and real estate
Furthermore, in order to explore whether there is a mecha- category; (4) winsorize the continuous observed variables
nism of action between corporate green technology innovation in the sample with 1% or lower tail shrinkage, and finally
in digital inclusive finance and corporate ESG performance, obtain the panel data of 811 companies. In this paper, the
a mediating effect model is constructed to test on the basis of data related to corporate finance are obtained from China
Eq. (1)The test steps are as follows: First, we verify whether the CSMAR database, the data of corporate green technology
regression coefficient 𝛼1 of digital inclusive finance (Index) on innovation are obtained from Wind database, and the indica-
corporate ESG performance (ESG) in Eq. (1) is significant. On tors of corporate ESG performance rating are obtained from
the basis of significance, the regression equations of corporate Bloomberg ESG database. The indicators related to digital
green technology innovation (Green) on digital inclusive finance inclusive finance are obtained from the Digital Inclusive
(Index), and digital inclusive finance (Index), corporate green Finance Index 2011–2020 published by the Digital Inclu-
technology innovation (Green), and corporate ESG performance sive Finance Research Center of Peking University, China.
(ESG) are constructed respectively. Based on the positivity and
significance of the regression coefficients of 𝛽1 , 𝛾1 , 𝛾2 in the Variable measures
model, we determine whether there is a mediating effect of cor-
porate green technology innovation in digital inclusive finance
and corporate ESG performance. As shown in Eq. (2) and (1) Explained variables
Eq. (3), the mediating effect model is constructed as follows.
Corporate ESG performance (ESG). Bloomberg’s launch
Greeni,t = 𝛽0 + 𝛽1 Indexi,t + 𝛽2 Xi,t + 𝜇i + 𝛿i + 𝜀i,t (2) of the Corporate ESG Rating System provides a complete
and transparent scoring system with data support. Bloomb-
ESGi,t = 𝛾0 + 𝛾1 Indexi,t + 𝛾2 Greeni,t + 𝛾3 Xi,t + 𝜇i + 𝛿i + 𝜀i,t erg’s own quantitative model uses sustainability and industry
(3) frameworks, analysis and research to reduce noise, standardize
In order to conduct robustness tests on the one hand, and data, and address scale bias and under-disclosure. Bloomberg
to examine whether the impact of corporate green technology Corporate ESG Performance measures corporate ESG per-
innovation on corporate ESG performance has a marginal effect formance in terms of corporate environmental responsibility
on the other hand, in the context of digital inclusive finance, (CEP), social responsibility performance (CSP), and corporate
this paper tests this by using a panel quantile model under fixed governance performance (CGP), respectively. In this paper, the
effects. The panel quantile regression model is used to analyze Bloomberg ESG scoring system is used to measure corporate
whether the dependent variable has marginal utility by examin- ESG performance. The three indicators of corporate environ-
ing the change in regression coefficients of the dependent vari- mental responsibility (CEP), social responsibility performance
able at different quantile points. In Eq. (4), ESGit denotes the (CSP), and corporate governance performance (CGP) are also
ESG performance of the firm at time t in the i cross-section, the selected as explanatory variables for the study. The specific
explanatory variables are digital inclusive finance (Index), and indicators are shown in Table 1.
firm green technological innovation (Green), Xit is the control
variable, 𝛽𝜏 is the regression coefficient of the variable, 𝜇i and (2) Explanatory variables
𝛿i are the fixed effects of the control firm and year, and 𝜀 is the
random error term. The specific form of the model controlling
for fixed effects is shown in Eq. (4). To ensure the scientific validity of studying the impact of
( ) digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance, this
ESGit (𝜏) 𝜏j ||xit = 𝛽0 + 𝛽𝜏1 Indexit T paper draws on relevant studies on digital inclusive finance and
(4)
+ 𝛽𝜏2 Greenit T + 𝛽𝜏3 Xit T + 𝜇i + 𝛿i + 𝜀i,t selects the total indicators of digital inclusive finance (Index),
breadth of coverage (Breadth), depth of use (Depth), and
digitalization (Digital) in the first-level indicators as the main
Data sources and variable measures explanatory variables (Feng et al. 2020; Jiayu et al. 2020).
In this paper, corporate green technology innovation
Data sources (Green) is selected as a mediating variable. This paper
argues that the development of digital inclusive finance
In this paper, we select the sample data of domestic listed can provide new digital financing channels for enterprises
companies in China A-share market from 2011 to 2020. and provide new path options for enterprises to make
And the following operations are performed on the data: financing loans. By alleviating the financing constraints

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Table 1  Corporate ESG performance indicators

Corporate ESG performance Comprehensive index Segmented metrics

Corporate environmental responsibility Overall environmental risk exposure level Industry environmental risk exposure level
Degree of corporate environmental risk exposure
Level and quality of environmental Information disclosure accessibility, availability,
and reliability of environmental information
Environmental risk management performance Pollutant emissions
(positive situation) Energy consumption index
Carbon emission intensity
Environmental risk management performance Energy saving and efficiency
(negative situation) Green business development status
Green R&D and investment status
Corporate social responsibility Shareholders Shareholder return, small- and medium-sized
shareholder return
Employee Employee treatment, safety, etc
Customers and consumers Product and service quality, privacy, and security
Upstream and downstream relations, creditors and Debt and contract default, fair competition, etc
peers
Government and the public Employment, public welfare spending, etc
Macroeconomic and financial markets Economic development and transformation, eco-
nomic and financial risks, etc
Corporate governance performance Corporate management strategy Corporate management strategy
Risk management strategy
Board governance Board structure, percentage of independent direc-
tors, etc
Corporate governance results Return on capital, etc
Abnormalities in corporate governance results Affiliated transactions, executive turnover rate, etc
Corporate governance supervision Role of supervisory board, violations, etc
Corporate governance transparency and informa- Information disclosure mechanism
tion disclosure Compulsory disclosure
Voluntary disclosure
Information disclosure quality

that enterprises may face increases enterprises’ investment applications. On this basis, the total sum of corporate green
in green technology, enhances enterprises’ attention to their technology innovation patents is logarized by adding 1 with
own green development, and improves their green technol- the corporate patent information provided by Wind database.
ogy innovation ability. The improvement of corporates’
green technology innovation ability can help corporates bet- (3) Control variables
ter fulfill their corporate environmental and social responsi-
bilities and help improve their ESG performance. This paper Referring to previous scholars’ studies (Xin and Ying
measures corporate green technology innovation by con- 2021; Longsheng and Hui 2022), this paper selects firm
structing corporate green patent knowledge breadth indexes size (Size), firm return on net assets (ROE), firm age
by adopting the number of corporate patent applications for (Age), firm location financial development level (Findev),
technological inventions in pollution management and green and government support (Gov) as control variables. The
applications. In this paper, we select the total number of specific names, meanings, and descriptions of each vari-
alternative energy novelty licenses, transportation novelty able are shown in Table 2.
licenses, energy-saving novelty licenses, waste management
novelty licenses, agriculture and forestry management nov- Descriptive statistics
elty licenses, administrative and regulatory design novelty
licenses, nuclear power generation novelty licenses, green Table 3 shows the descriptive statistics for each variable of
invention patent applications, and green utility model patent the sample. The mean value of corporate ESG performance
applications as the width range of corporate green technol- is 20.621, with a standard deviation of 7.033, a minimum
ogy innovation patent knowledge by screening corporate patent value of 1.240, and a maximum value of 9, indicating that

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Table 2  Variable definition

Variable category Variable name Variable meaning Variable description

Explained variables ESG Corporate environmental, social responsibility and Bloomberg ESG Rating System
corporate governance composite
CEP Corporate environmental performance score Bloomberg CEP Rating System
CSP Corporate social performance score Bloomberg CSP Rating System
CGP Corporate governance performance score Bloomberg CGP Rating System
Explanatory variables Index Total digital inclusive finance indicators Compiled from the logarithm of digital inclusive
finance segments
Breadth Breadth of digital inclusive financial coverage Logarithm of the degree of account coverage used
Depth Depth of digital inclusive finance usage Logarithm based on a combination of payments,
credit, investment, credit services, and money
funds
Digital The degree of digitalization of digital inclusive Logarithm based on the combination of digital pay-
finance ment and lending rates
Intermediary variable Green Green technology innovation capability of corpo- The total number of green innovation patents of
rates corporates plus one is taken as a logarithm
Instrumental variable Int The degree of Internet access The amount of Internet broadband access in each
province in China
Control variable Size Size Natural logarithm of annual total assets
ROE Return on net assets Net profit/average balance of shareholders’ equity
Age Year of company establishment (Current year − year of company establishment + 1)
logarithmically
Findev Financial development level Financial institutions deposit and loan balance/GDP
Gov Government support Financial support for corporate environmental
subsidies/total fiscal expenditure

there is variability in the ESG performance of different that the total index of digital inclusive finance has a sig-
corporates. The mean value of digital inclusive finance is nificant positive impact on corporate ESG performance
5.322, the standard deviation is 0.612, the minimum value (regression coefficient of 1.168). Models 2 to 4 report the
is 2.786, and the maximum value is 6.380, which indicates regression results on the impact of three sub-dimensions of
that there are differences in the development of digital digital inclusive finance (breadth of coverage, depth of use,
inclusive finance in different regions of China, but compar-
ing the mean value and standard deviation, we can find that
the overall level is in the middle to upper level. The mean Table 3  Descriptive statistics
value of corporate green technology innovation is 0.584, Variable Observa- Mean Standard Minimum Maximum
the standard deviation is 1.134, the minimum value is 0, name tions deviation
and the maximum value is 7.378, which indicates that there
ESG 8110 20.621 7.033 1.240 64.115
are large differences between corporates in green technol-
CEP 8110 10.806 7.996 0.775 65.625
ogy innovation. Analysis of the mean value and standard
CSP 8110 23.835 9.791 3.509 77.193
deviation reveals that most corporates in the sample may
CGP 8110 44.908 5.302 3.571 64.286
have neglected corporate green technology innovation in
Index 8110 5.322 0.612 2.786 6.380
their development.
Breadth 8110 5.217 0.695 0.673 6.880
Depth 8110 5.337 0.570 1.911 6.743
Digital 8110 5.499 0.768 2.026 8.141
Impact of digital inclusive finance
Green 8110 0.584 1.134 0 7.378
on corporate ESG performance
Int 8110 0.654 0.582 0.332 0.889
Size 8110 22.974 1.436 19.552 48.310
Baseline regression results
ROE 8110 0.080 0.148 − 1.914 1.063
Age 8110 2.852 0.368 1.386 3.584
Table 4 presents the results of the benchmark regression
Findev 8110 3.314 1.147 1.674 7.552
of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance
Gov 8110 0.297 0.212 0.120 1.354
under fixed effects. The regression results of model 1 show

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Table 4  Benchmarking the return of digital inclusive finance to coefficient of 1.978), followed by corporate environmen-
corporate ESG tal responsibility (regression coefficient of 0.970), and
Variable name ESG ESG ESG ESG the weakest impact on corporate governance performance
(Model 1) (Model 2) (Model 3) (Model 4) (regression coefficient of 0.545). The development of digital
inclusive finance can help corporates cope with the financial
Index 1.168***
(0.139) risks they may encounter in the transformation of economic
Breadth 0.756*** development, and help them obtain timely financing loans
(0.116) through digital financial platforms. At the same time, it is
Depth 1.368*** undeniable that the emergence of digital inclusive finance
(0.149) has an important role in the enhancement of corporate envi-
Digital 0.847*** ronmental responsibility. By optimizing the financial struc-
(0.078)
ture through digital inclusive finance and helping corporates
Size 0.823*** 0.840*** 0.851*** 1.078***
to obtain financial support, corporates can use more avail-
(0.082) (0.082) (0.081) (0.072)
able borrowing funds for the treatment of pollutants in the
ROE 1.109*** 1.037*** 1.101*** 0.967***
(0.350) (0.350) (0.349) (0.355) production process and emission reduction and energy sav-
Age 5.483*** 6.393*** 5.221*** 4.950*** ing, thus helping corporates to develop green.
(0.455) (0.427) (0.452) (0.312)
Findev 5.273*** 5.297*** 5.264*** 2.951*** Intermediary effect analysis
(1.457) (1.460) (1.455) (1.341)
Gov 1.871*** 1.932*** 1.821*** 1.206*** To further investigate the mechanism of digital inclusive
(0.251) (0.253) (0.251) (0.071)
finance to enhance corporate ESG performance, this paper
Fixed effects Yes Yes Yes Yes
tests the mechanism of mediating effect by selecting corpo-
R2 0.644 0.632 0.671 0.634
rate green technology innovation as a mediating variable.
*
, **, and *** indicate significance levels of 10%, 5%, and 1%, This paper argues that the development of digital inclusive
respectively. Standard deviations are in parentheses. Each regression finance helps corporates use more available funds for green
process in the table controls for both firm fixed effects and time fixed technology research and development while alleviating
effects. Same as in the following tables
their financing constraints. The improvement of corporates’
green technology innovation capability can in turn help
and digitization of digital inclusive finance) on corporate them better fulfill their environmental responsibilities, thus
ESG performance, respectively. The regression results show improving their ESG performance. Corporates are one of
that the breadth of coverage, depth of use, and digitization the most important subjects to materialize green technol-
of digital inclusive finance significantly improve the ESG ogy innovation, and promoting green technology innovation
performance of firms at the 1% confidence level. In terms can help corporates achieve sustainable green development.
of the degree of influence of the three, the depth of use of As a means for corporates to fulfill their environmental
digital inclusive finance has the most significant impact on
ESG performance (regression coefficient of 1.368, while the Table 5  Impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG perfor-
regression coefficients of breadth of coverage and digitaliza- mance segmentation dimensions
tion are 0. 756 and 0.847, respectively). Therefore, research
Variable name CEP CSP CGP
hypothesis 1 is verified, indicating that the development (Model 1) (Model 2) (Model 3)
of digital inclusive finance helps to improve the ESG per-
formance of corporates, and the depth of digital inclusive Index 0.970*** 1.978*** 0.545***
(0.171) (0.190) (0.095)
finance usage has the most significant positive effect on the
Size 1.638*** 1.427*** 0.643***
ESG performance of corporates.
(0.125) (0.114) (0.061)
Table 5 presents the regression results of the three com-
ROE 1.213** 0.586 0.213
posite indicators of digital inclusive finance on corporate (0.532) (0.549) (0.272)
ESG performance under fixed effects. The regression results Age 3.387*** 3.199*** 2.088***
from models 1 to 3 show that digital inclusive finance has (0.497) (0.558) (0.316)
a significant positive impact on corporate environmental Findev 6.734*** 3.621*** 1.581***
responsibility, social responsibility performance, and cor- (1.998) (0.524) (0.267)
porate governance performance at the 1% level. Compar- Gov 2.541*** 2.103*** 2.043***
(0.441) (0.342) (0.373)
ing the regression coefficients of the three, it can be found
Fixed effects Yes Yes Yes
that digital inclusive finance has the most significant impact
R2 0.655 0.512 0.564
on corporate social responsibility performance (regression

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65322 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327

Table 6  Regression results of digital inclusive finance, corporate positive at the 1% level, indicating that corporate green
green technology innovation, and corporate ESG performance technology innovation has a positive mediating effect, and
Variable name ESG Green ESG the coefficients of digital inclusive finance in both model 1
(Model 1) (Model 2) (Model 3) and model 2 are significant, indicating that corporate green
technology innovation has a partial mediating effect, thus
Index 1.168*** 0.112*** 1.146***
(0.139) (0.021) (0.139) proving that hypotheses 2 and 3 are valid.
Green 0.194***
(0.757) Heterogeneity test
Size 0.823*** 0.025** 0.818***
(0.082) (0.013) (0.082) This paper further investigates the impact of digital inclu-
ROE 1.109*** 0.027*** 1.104*** sive finance on corporate ESG performance by enhancing
(0.350) (0.054) (0.350)
corporate green technology innovation through heterogene-
Age 5.483*** 0.289*** 5.539***
ity testing. First, the sample is divided into manufacturing,
(0.455) (0.070) (0.455)
business services, scientific research, information and trans-
Findev 5.273*** 0.492*** 5.288***
(1.457) (0.806) (1.456) portation, and water, environment, and public services by
Gov 1.871*** 0.076** 0.563*** industry type to explore whether there is industry heteroge-
(0.251) (0.225) (0.162) neity in the effects of digital inclusive finance and corporate
Fixed effects Yes Yes Yes green technology innovation on corporate ESG performance.
R2 0.644 0.539 0.574 By comparing the regression coefficients of digital inclu-
Sobel test 0.057*** sive finance and corporate green technology innovation in
(0.020) five industries, we analyze the industry differences of digital
inclusive finance and corporate green technology innovation
on corporate ESG performance. Secondly, the industry types
responsibilities and reduce environmental pollution, green are divided into heavily polluting and non-heavily polluting
technology innovation is characterized by high costs, slow corporates according to their pollution levels, by comparing
results, and high risks. The increase in residents’ income the effects of digital inclusive finance and corporate green
and the rise in the overall welfare level of cities brought technology innovation on their ESG performance under a
about by the development of digital inclusive finance has sample of corporates with different pollution levels.
increased the demand for green development of corporates,
and corporates are bound to increase their investment in (1) The impact of digital inclusive finance and corporate
green technology innovation in order to improve their own green technology innovation on corporate ESG perfor-
business performance and social recognition. At the same mance is industry heterogeneous. The heterogeneity of
time, the digital financial platform launched by Digital industry types affects to some extent the efficiency of
Inclusive Finance can provide efficient and low-cost services the transformation of digital inclusive finance support,
for corporates financing, help corporates enhance their green green technology innovation on corporate environ-
technology innovation capabilities, and thus support them mental, and social performance. The heterogeneity of
to contribute to the green sustainability of the whole society inputs and expected outputs of pollutants and renew-
and improve their overall ESG performance. able waste treatment in different industries affects both
Table 6 reports the regression results of the mediating digital inclusive finance and green technology innova-
effects of digital inclusive finance, corporate green technol- tion by industry. Table 7 reports the regression results
ogy innovation, and corporate ESG performance under fixed of digital inclusive finance, corporate green technology
effects. In model 1, digital inclusive finance significantly innovation, and ESG performance of firms in different
enhances corporate ESG performance. In model 2, the devel- industries under fixed effects. In the report, columns
opment of digital inclusive finance has a significant posi- 1 to 5 report the regression results of digital inclusive
tive effect on corporate green technology innovation at the finance and corporate green technology innovation
1% level. The regression results of model 3 report that the on the ESG performance of firms in five industries:
regression coefficient of digital inclusive finance on corpo- manufacturing, business services, scientific research,
rate ESG performance remains significantly positive after information and transportation, and water, environ-
adding corporate green technology innovation as a mediat- ment, and public services, respectively. Among them,
ing variable, indicating that it has a significant contributing the regression coefficients of digital inclusive finance
effect and that corporate green technology innovation also and corporate green technology innovation both have
significantly enhances corporate ESG performance. In the a significant positive contribution to corporate ESG
regression test of model 3, the Sobel test is significantly performance. Comparing the regression coefficients of

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Table 7  An examination of industry heterogeneity of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance
Variable name ESG ESG ESG ESG ESG
(Manufacturing (Business services (Scientific research (Information and transportation (Water environment and
industry) industry) industry) industry) public services industry)

Index 1.591*** 0.994*** 1.136*** 1.020*** 1.083***

(0.261) (0.251) (0.223) (0.236) (0.239)
Green 0.902* 0.305*** 0.670*** 0.878*** 0.999***
(0.182) (0.172) (0.161) (0.179) (0.165)
Control variable Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Fixed effects Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
R2 0.616 0.626 0.626 0.625 0.686

digital inclusive finance, it is found that digital inclu- significantly enhance the ESG performance of firms
sive finance has the most significant effect on improv- with different pollution levels at the 1% level. By com-
ing ESG performance of manufacturing type firms paring the regression results of ESG performance of
(coefficient of 1.591), while it has the weakest effect corporates of two pollution types, it is found that digital
on improving ESG performance of business service inclusive finance and corporate green technology inno-
type firms (0.994). Comparing the regression coeffi- vation have the most significant effects on ESG perfor-
cients of corporate green technology innovation, it is mance of corporates with heavy pollution types (regres-
found that corporate green technology innovation has sion coefficients of 2.797 and 1.327, respectively). The
the most significant effect on the ESG performance of effects of digital inclusive finance and corporate green
water environment and public service type companies technology innovation on ESG performance of non-
(coefficient of 0.999). The coefficient is 0.305. In gen- heavily polluting types of firms are weaker (regres-
eral, the improvement of digital inclusive finance and sion coefficients of 2.367 and 0.921, respectively).
green technology innovation of corporates has a sig- Enterprises of different pollution types have different
nificant effect on the ESG performance of corporates in demand effects on corporate green technology innova-
manufacturing, water environment, and public services. tion due to the different volume of pollutant emissions
The possible reason for this is that manufacturing and and treatment. Compared with non-heavily polluting
water environment and public service industries firstly corporates, heavily polluting corporates have a greater
have the resource element of R&D in science and tech- demand effect on green technology innovation due to
nology innovation and have stronger innovation ability the constraints of government environmental policies
compared to other industries. Secondly, manufactur- and corporates’ own environmental and social respon-
ing and water and environmental management are more sibilities. Accordingly, the more cost pressure they face
likely to produce pollutants in the production process, for green technology innovation, the more obvious the
which has a greater impact on the environment, and financing gap is. Heavy polluters need more financial
these companies have a greater need for sustainable support to help them carry out research and develop-
science and technology. High-polluting enterprises can ment of green innovation. Digital inclusive finance
transform green production and resource conservation
into environmental performance through green technol-
ogy innovation, and then fulfill their environmental and Table 8  A heterogeneity test of the degree of pollution of digital
social responsibilities. inclusive finance on corporate ESG performance
(2) The impact of digital inclusive finance, corporate green Variable name ESG ESG
technology innovation on corporate ESG performance (Heavy pollution (Non-heavily polluting
has pollution-type heterogeneity. Table 8 reports the corporates) corporates)
regression results of digital inclusive finance, corporate Index 2.797*** 2.367***
green technology innovation, and ESG performance of (0.946) (0.921)
firms with different pollution levels under fixed effects. Green 1.327*** 0.925**
Columns 1 and 2 in Table 8 report the regression results (0.278) (0.440)
related to the ESG performance of firms in the heavy Control variable Yes Yes
pollution category and non-heavy pollution category, Fixed effects Yes Yes
respectively. As shown in Table 8, digital inclusive R2 0.650 0.614
finance and corporate green technology innovation both

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65324 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327

optimizes corporates’ access to financial information Table 9  Endogeneity problem and robustness test
and enhances the efficiency of access to financial ser- Variable name Endogeneity Robustness test
vices. Through digital information and digital financial problem
platform to optimize the financial investment behavior ESG ESG ESG ESG
of corporates, thus, the impact on heavy polluting cor- (Model 1) (Model 2) (Model 3) (Model 4)
porates to carry out green technology innovation and
Index 0.826*** 1.690*** 1.223*** 1.004***
improve their ESG performance occupation is more (0.206) (0.155) (0.154) (0.177)
significant. Green 0.683*** 0.467*** 0.590*** 0.847***
(0.051) (0.075) (0.071) (0.129)
Control variable Yes Yes Yes Yes
Fixed effects Yes Yes Yes Yes
Endogeneity problem and robustness test R2 0.906 0.612 0.611 0.615
Int 0.046***
Endogeneity problem (0.018)
Weak instrumen- 0.005***
tal variable test [35.822]
This paper uses the instrumental variables approach to deal
with the endogeneity issues that arise in the model. This *
, **, and *** denote significant levels at 10%, 5%, and 1% confi-
paper uses the penetration of Internet access (Int) in different dence intervals, respectively; those marked with * are regression
provinces of China as an instrumental variable. Model 1 of coefficients; [] denotes the F-value of the weak instrumental test
Table 9 shows the regression results of the impact of digital
inclusive finance and corporate green technology innova- coefficient decreases from 1.690 to 1.223 and then to 1.004),
tion on corporate ESG performance after using instrumen- indicating that there is a marginal decreasing utility of the
tal variables to address the endogeneity problem. Among development of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG
them, the effect of instrumental variables on corporate ESG performance. Meanwhile, comparing the regression coef-
performance is significantly positive, while the positive and ficients of corporate green technology innovation can be
negative coefficients of the effect of digital inclusive finance found (the regression coefficient increases from 0.467 to
on corporate ESG performance do not change after adding 0.590 to 0.847), which indicates that there is a marginal
further instrumental variables, indicating that after solving increasing effect of corporate green technology innovation
part of the endogeneity problem, corporate green technology on corporate ESG performance because of its time lag.
innovation can still play a mediating role and digital inclu- The results of the robustness test indicate that the con-
sive finance can still improve corporate ESG performance. clusions drawn in this paper in the above study are robust,
reaffirming the hypotheses presented in the second part of
Robustness test this paper.

To ensure the scientific validity of the regression results, this

paper performs robustness tests on the basis of Eqs. 3 and 4. Research conclusion and policy
Robustness tests are conducted by replacing the model. recommendations
The fixed-effects model is replaced with the panel quantile
model in the fixed-effects model, and the robustness test Research conclusion
is conducted by changing the estimated model. The results
are shown in models 2 to 4 of Table 9, where models 2 Based on financial development theory and endogenous
to 4 represent the effects of the independent variables on growth theory, this paper explains the relationship between
the conditional distribution of the dependent variable at the digital inclusive finance, corporate green technology inno-
0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 quartiles, respectively. The regression vation, and corporate ESG performance from both theoreti-
results show that the positive and negative effects of digital cal and empirical analyses and tests the related hypotheses
inclusive finance and corporate green technology innovation based on Chinese sample data. The study finds that (1) in
on corporate ESG performance do not change after chang- general, the development of digital inclusive finance has a
ing the regression models, and the conclusions drawn in the significant contribution to the improvement of corporate
previous study still hold. Moreover, in the panel quantile ESG performance. From the segmentation dimensions
regression, by comparing the regression coefficients at dif- of digital inclusive finance, the depth of digital inclusive
ferent quantile points, it can be found that the regression finance usage has the most significant impact on corporate
coefficient of digital inclusive finance on corporate ESG ESG performance, while the breadth of digital inclusive
performance becomes smaller and smaller (the regression

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Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327 65325

finance coverage has a weaker impact on corporate ESG Second, releasing the development dividend of digital
performance. From the segmented dimensions of corporate inclusive finance and promoting corporates’ green technology
ESG performance, digital inclusive finance has the most innovation. Enterprises should pay attention to the R&D and
significant impact on corporate social responsibility perfor- production of green innovation technologies. Focus on the
mance, and also has a significant contribution to the fulfill- green innovation R&D projects of corporates and guide the
ment of corporate environmental responsibility. (2) Corpo- investment and financing services of digital inclusive finance
rate green technology innovation has a mediating effect. The to align with the green innovation R&D of corporates. Create
development of digital inclusive finance can enhance corpo- a digital credit platform for corporates and promote the certi-
rate green technology innovation, and corporate green tech- fication of online green innovation projects. Online financial
nology innovation enhances corporate green sustainability institutions can obtain information about corporates through
and improves corporate ESG performance. (3) The results real-time information sharing, timely assess the green devel-
of the heterogeneity test confirm that the effects of digital opment capability of corporates, narrow the information
inclusive finance and corporate green technology innovation asymmetry between corporates and financial institutions, and
on corporate ESG performance have industry heterogeneity help corporates realize green transformation.
and pollution degree heterogeneity. In terms of industry het- Third, the digital inclusive finance platform is guided
erogeneity, the effect of digital inclusive finance on the ESG to form ESG scores with corporates linked to ESG invest-
performance of manufacturing corporates is more obvious, ment and financing, and corporates integrate green tech-
while the effect of corporate green technology innovation nology innovation into ESG performance assessment. On
on the ESG performance of water, environment, and public the one hand, the ESG performance score of corporates
service corporates is more obvious. In terms of pollution can serve as an important indicator to help financial insti-
degree heterogeneity, the positive effect of digital inclusive tutions obtain information on corporate development and
finance and corporate green technology innovation on ESG attract investment attention. Therefore, linking corporate
performance of heavily polluting corporates is more obvious ESG performance scores with corporate investment and
because of the greater demand effect of financing to support financing capabilities will force companies to better fulfill
green technology innovation to promote green output. (4) their information disclosure responsibilities and help them
In conducting robustness tests, it can be found that digital achieve green development. On the other hand, we encour-
inclusive finance has a marginal decreasing effect on corpo- age corporates to continuously implement the concept of
rate ESG performance, while corporate green technology sustainable green development and make corporate green
innovation has a marginal increasing effect on corporate technology innovation as one of the indicators to measure
ESG performance. the fulfillment of environmental responsibility in corporate
ESG performance. Through green technology innovation,
Policy recommendations corporates can meet the needs of consumers and society for
a better environment. Reflecting on the ESG performance
Based on the research results, this paper puts forward the of corporates, the improvement of corporates’ own innova-
following policy recommendations. tion ability can increase the corporate value; promote the
First, continue to promote the reform of traditional corporate’s environmental performance, social performance,
financial models and improve the financial service sys- and internal performance; and help corporates achieve high-
tem. Taking China as an example, China’s digital inclu- quality development through green innovation.
sive finance is in a rapid development stage, and there
are still imperfections in the institutional mechanism of
Author contribution Wenqi Li analyzed and explained the intrinsic
digital inclusive finance in the development process, such relationship between digital inclusive finance, corporate green tech-
as imperfect credit system for small and micro corporates, nology innovation, and corporate ESG performance and was the main
opaque credit process, and stability of operating system. contributor to writing the manuscript. Wenbin Pang conducted the test-
Therefore, it is necessary for financial regulators in each ing and collected data for the empirical part of the paper. All authors
read and approved the final manuscript.
country to continue to deepen the reform of traditional
financial institutions and promote the digitalization of Funding This paper was funded by 2020 Henan Provincial Higher
traditional financial institutions on the one hand; on the Education University “Young Backbone Teacher Training Pro-
other hand, they need to consider the development charac- gram”; “Research on the Performance Evaluation and Improvement
Path of China’s New Urbanization High-Quality Development”
teristics of digital inclusive finance to formulate targeted (2020GGJS092); and 2022 Henan Provincial Annual Project of Phi-
regulatory programs. On the other hand, it is necessary to losophy and Social Science Planning “Research on the Welfare Effect
consider the development characteristics of digital inclu- and Enhancement Mechanism of Rural Digital Inclusive Finance”
sive finance to formulate targeted regulatory programs. (2022BJJ041).

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65326 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) 30:65314–65327

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has not been submitted or published elsewhere and will not be sub- Huang Z, Liao G, Li Z (2019) Loaning scale and government subsidy
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