How Executive Team Interlocks Shape Corporate Sustainable Development Through Digital Transformation?

ABSTRACT Under the increasing global environmental changes and resource constraints, corporate sustainability has become an urgent issue worldwide. Using data from Chinese listed companies from 2013 to 2023 and employing fixed effects models, this study examines how different characteristics of corporate social networks (degree centrality, structural holes, and network density) impact corporate sustainable development performance (CSDP) through digital transformation, with an innovative approach that divides social networks into three distinct dimensions based on social capital theory and resource dependence theory, while introducing new quality productive forces (NQPF) as a moderating factor. The findings show that degree centrality and structural holes positively affect CSDP, while network density has a negative impact. Digital transformation mediates the relationship between social networks and CSDP, while NQPF strengthens these effects. This study provides a new theoretical framework and offers practical insights for firms to optimize their social network structures, accelerate digital transformation, and leverage NQPF, ultimately enhancing CSDP, which plays a key role in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 9 by promoting innovation and fostering sustainable industrial transformation.