Digital Transformation and Firm ESG Performance: The Mediating Role of Corporate Risk-Taking and the Moderating Role of Top Management Team

As digital technology and corporate management increasingly converge, enterprises are actively pursuing digital transformation to enhance their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) performance, thereby seeking to cultivate novel competitive advantages. This paper studies the impacts of risk-taking and top management team (TMT) as distinct mechanisms on the digital transformation and ESG performance of enterprises. The empirical findings demonstrate that digital transformation has a positive influence on corporate risk-taking, as well as further enhancing the ESG performance of enterprises. Additionally, it was found that educational level, as one of the characteristics of TMT, can moderate digital transformation’s impact on ESG performance. This paper enriches relevant research on digital transformation and expands the path for how companies can enhance their ESG performance by digital transformation, which can better empower businesses and contribute to their sustainable development.