Research on the impact of China’s digitalization on the green total factor productivity of grain

Purpose This study investigates the nonlinear impact of digitalization on grain GTFP and the varying effects of digitalization on GTFP across different scales of farmland management. It also analyzes how digitalization affects GTFP and the heterogeneous impacts across other regions. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2021, this study employed a fixed effect model and a threshold model to investigate the relationship between digitalization and Grain GTFP. Furthermore, it constructed a mechanism model to analyze how digitalization affects GTFP and conducted a heterogeneity analysis across other regions. Findings The results revealed that in the short term, digitalization significantly enhanced grain GTFP, but in the long term, the impact of digitalization on GTFP showed an “inverted U-shaped” relationship. It also showed that the impact of digitalization on GTFP exhibits a noticeable threshold effect with a significant promoting effect for large- and small-scale grain production but an insignificant effect for medium-scale production. In addition, digitalization further improved GTFP by promoting technological advancement. The impact of digitization on GTFP varied by region, with the western region having the most significant positive impact, followed by the eastern region and the central region having the weakest impact. Practical implications This study provides a new path for the sustainable development of grain production through digitalization. Originality/value This study mainly extends existing literature from three aspects. First, it shifts the research perspective from general agriculture to grain production, providing a systematic analysis of the impact of digitalization on grain GTFP. Second, it incorporates the nonlinear correlation between digitalization and grain GTFP into the analytical framework, revealing an inverted U-shaped characteristic. Third, it investigates the heterogeneous impact of digitalization on grain GTFP across different scales of grain production and further explains the underlying impact mechanism.