Digital Technology Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Development: Mechanisms and Core–Periphery Heterogeneity Evidence from Chinese Cities

Digital technology innovation is a core driver of sustainable industrial development. However, our understanding of its underlying transmission mechanisms and complex effects remains limited. Based on panel data from 256 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2023, this study systematically examines the direct effects, mediating mechanisms, and heterogeneity of digital technology innovation on sustainable development performance. Our findings show that digital technology innovation has a significant enabling effect on sustainable development performance, a conclusion that holds even after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Mechanism analysis suggests that the impact of digital technology innovation on sustainable industrial development may be linked to digital sharing and Industrial synergy: the former may facilitate the circulation of data as a factor of production and the optimal allocation of resources, whilst the latter may help to generate structural dividends. Together, these two channels may form a potential endogenous mechanism through which digital technology innovation advances sustainable industrial development. The empirical findings outlined above provide evidence consistent with the proposed mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of digital technology innovation on industrial sustainability performance significantly differs within the “core-periphery” structure; its enabling effect is more pronounced in regions with robust industrial foundations and abundant technological endowments, whereas no significant heterogeneity emerges with respect to geographic location and public data platforms. This study provides new theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence for a deeper understanding of the relationship between digital technology and sustainability.