Driving Sustained Green Innovation in Manufacturing: The Role of Technology Convergence Between Digital and Real Economy Industries

Abstract

Advancing sustained green innovation (SGI) is essential to the green transformation of manufacturing enterprises and sustainable development. Technology convergence between digital and real economy industries (TCDR) reshapes firms’ innovation activities by integrating technologies across domains, yet its implications for SGI remain insufficiently understood. Using panel data on Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2011 to 2023, this study develops a patent-based measure of TCDR and estimates its relationship with SGI using a panel-data regression model incorporating fixed effects. The results show that TCDR is positively associated with SGI, and this finding remains robust across multiple endogeneity and robustness tests. Mechanism analyses indicate that TCDR promotes SGI by alleviating financing constraints, optimizing human capital structure, and enhancing technological integration capability. Heterogeneity is examined using interaction-term regressions. These analyses show that the positive association is stronger in regions with more effective intellectual property protection and among firms with greater digital capability and more stable top management teams. Further analysis shows that SGI is positively associated with corporate energy efficiency. Despite potential limitations associated with the measurement approach and the sample of Chinese listed manufacturing firms, this study enriches understanding of sustained green innovation and highlights the environmental benefits of cross-domain technological integration.