The Interplay of Digital Platform Capabilities, Green Innovation, and Corporate Environmental Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms

With the growing emphasis on corporate environmental responsibility (CER), firms are increasingly seeking ways to strategically leverage digital platforms to foster green innovation and improve environmental practices. Despite this growing interest, empirical studies systematically examining these relationships remain limited. Drawing on the dynamic capability perspective, this study investigates how digital platform capabilities—specifically, digital platform integration capability and digital platform reconfiguration capability—promote green innovation and, in turn, influence CER. The proposed model was empirically tested using survey data from 364 Chinese manufacturing firms and analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that both digital platform integration capability and digital platform reconfiguration capability are positively associated with CER, with green innovation serving as a significant mediating mechanism. These findings contribute to the dynamic capability perspective and the sustainable management literature by clarifying the strategic role of digital platforms in advancing green innovation and strengthening CER.