Driving mechanism model of enterprise green strategy evolution under digital technology empowerment: A case study based on Zhejiang Enterprises

Digital technology innovation is sweeping the world, endowing the development of enterprises with the new feature of “digital + green,” which improves the efficiency of enterprises in implementing green strategy. Previous studies emphasized the driving force of enterprise green strategy evolution under the traditional economic model, but often ignored its driving mechanism under digital technology empowerment. Collecting the data from first-hand interviews and second-hand documents and selecting 11 case enterprises in Zhejiang, China, this study adopts multiple case method to construct a driving mechanism model of enterprise green strategy evolution under digital technology empowerment. This study proposed as follows, first, the enterprise green strategy is innovatively divided into five evolution stages (green beginner, green responder, green adapter, green activist, and green leader), and it is found that most case enterprises reached a higher stage. Second, digital technology empowerment affects the enterprise green strategy evolution through the mediating role of managerial perception, enterprise competitive capabilities, data and information elements, enterprise resource utilization efficiency, green product design, and whole process digitalization and digital marketing. Third, corporate governance (including public ownership, ownership concentration, independence, and diversity of the board of directors) significantly and positively moderate between various factors and enterprise green strategy evolution. Finally, a series of policy implications and managers' coping strategies are proposed.