How Does Digital Transformation Catalyze New-Quality Productivity? Unraveling the Path Through Green Innovation and the Role of Digital Financial Inclusion

In the pursuit of sustainable economic development, fostering new-quality productivity (NQP) is both an inherent requirement and a strategic priority for advancing a green economy, while digital transformation has emerged as a pivotal driver in reconciling economic growth with environmental protection. Grounded in the Dual-Factor Theory of Productivity, this study empirically examines the impact of digital transformation on corporate NQP, with a focus on its heterogeneous effects, using panel data from China’s A-share listed firms (2013–2022). We further investigate the mediating role of green innovation—encompassing both technological and managerial dimensions—and the moderating effect of digital financial inclusion (DFI). The results show that digital transformation significantly enhances NQP, a finding robust to multiple endogeneity tests and alternative model specifications. Mechanism analysis indicates that digitalization fosters NQP by promoting green technological and managerial innovations, while DFI amplifies this effect. Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger impacts in state-owned enterprises, non-manufacturing sectors, firms in developed regions, and highly competitive industries. These findings advance theoretical understanding of dynamic control mechanisms in environmental economics, provide empirical evidence on how digital transformation drives sustainable productivity through green innovation, and offer actionable insights for policymakers and firms seeking to align economic growth with environmental sustainability.