Embedding environmental management in high-polluting firms: The role of green digital policy and collaborative innovation

Against the backdrop of intensifying institutional pressure for green transformation and the strategic rollout of digital infrastructure, whether green digital policies can effectively incentivize high-polluting firms to engage in green collaborative innovation remains a question requiring micro-level causal identification. This study exploits a quasi-natural experiment based on China's national green data center pilot program and a panel dataset of heavily polluting firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2007 to 2023. The results show that green digital policy significantly enhances green collaborative innovation among high-polluting firms, whereas no comparable effect is observed in non-polluting firms. Mechanism analysis reveals that the policy operates through three pathways: strengthening data asset disclosure, promoting integration into global innovation networks, and mitigating risks associated with green innovation failure. Further moderation analysis suggests that both data element utilization and green strategic orientation significantly reinforce the policy effect, while industry-level green competition intensity exerts a dampening influence. Moreover, the policy stimulates both the extensive and intensive margins of green cooperation and exerts significant effects on both green invention and utility model patents. These findings highlight the institutional functions of green digital policy in embedding firm capabilities, alleviating innovation risk, and expanding collaborative boundaries, offering empirical support for evaluating its performance and optimizing green governance strategies for high-pollution firms.