Impacts of digital government on regional eco-innovation: Moderating role of dual environmental regulations

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 196; p. 122842
• Main Authors: Zhao, Shuliang, Teng, Linjiao, Arkorful, Vincent Ekow, Hu, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.11.2023
• Subjects: Digital government; Formal environmental regulations; Informal environmental regulations; Regional eco-innovation; Regional eco-innovation; Informal environmental regulations; Digital government; Formal environmental regulations
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122842

Regional eco-innovation can change the extensive development mode and promote the sustainable development of the economy and society. In the background of digital government construction, the external environment of regional eco-innovation has changed. In this study, the panel data of 125 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2020 are used to construct a fixed-effect model for empirical analysis by sorting out the relationships among digital government, regional eco-innovation, and dual environmental regulation. The following conclusions are drawn: First, digital government mainly promotes the improvement of regional eco-innovation through digital society and digital citizenship. Second, formal and informal environmental regulations have remarkable positive effects on regional eco-innovation. Third, informal environmental regulation has a positive moderating effect on digital administration and regional eco-innovation and a positive moderating effect on digital citizenship and regional eco-innovation. Fourth, formal environmental regulation cannot moderate the relationship between digital government and regional eco-innovation. This study can give priority to promoting the digital government to serve and play a role in ecological governance and environmental information disclosure, so as to provide policy opinions for the government when issuing documents supporting the improvement of regional eco-innovation, and promote the realization of a more reasonable allocation of innovation resources. •Digital government can promotes regional eco-innovation through digital society and digital citizenship.•Formal and informal environmental regulations have remarkable positive effects on regional eco-innovation.•Informal environmental regulation has positive moderating effect on digital administration, digital citizenship and regional eco-innovation.•Formal environmental regulation cannot moderate the relationship between digital government and regional eco-innovation.