Does government digitalisation alleviate corporate environmental violation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Despite the importance of the government forces in environmental governance, it remains unclear whether government digitalisation, an important governmental transition triggered by the integration of digital technologies into regulatory process, can alleviate corporate environmental violations. Drawing on institutional theory, we propose that government digitalisation has a negative relationship with corporate environmental violation, while this negative relationship depends on the regulative, normative and cognitive factors that shape the institutional environments. We test these ideas by examining the response of publicly listed firms to the reform of digital government in China. Our findings contribute to the understanding of institutional theory on environmental governance by highlighting the positive role of government digitalisation and provide important practical implications.