Do specific platforms affect the relationship between digital technology application and green transformation? Evidence from different platforms in China

• Discuss the impact of enterprise digital technology application on green transformation under the influence of the platforms. • The differentiated effects of enterprise technology center, industry-university-research cooperation platform and big data trading platform are discussed respectively. • The mechanism that digital technology application drives the enterprises green transformation are studied from the intermediary role of the platform. This study uses data from Chinese manufacturing enterprises from 2013 to 2021, employing a panel fixed effects model to examine the relationship between digital technology application (DTA) and enterprises’ green innovation (GT), and how differing platforms influence and shape this relationship. The study focuses on enterprise technology innovation platforms (TIP), industry–university–research collaboration platforms (IURCP) and regional big data trading platforms (BDTP). The findings reveal that TIP and IURCP strengthen the relationship between DTA and GT, while the impact of BDTP is minimal. Under the influence of TIPs and IURCPs, DTA will promote GT by improving resource allocation efficiency and collaborative green innovation.