Symbolic or Substantive? The Effects of the Digital Transformation Process on Environmental Disclosure

Abstract

This study improves our comprehension of the relationship between the digital transformation process and environmental disclosure in emerging economies. Specifically, it delves into the effects of digital transformation on both symbolic and substantive environmental disclosure types through the application of text mining methods. Additionally, this research examines how these impacts are moderated by the political experience of senior managers. Drawing on a panel dataset of 2033 listed Chinese manufacturing firms over the period from 2009 to 2020, the findings reveal that (1) the digital transformation process is negatively associated with substantive environmental disclosure and (2) the senior managers’ political experience positively moderates the relationship between the digital transformation process and symbolic environmental disclosure. Several supplementary analyses were also conducted to enrich these results. The implications of this work may have substantial value for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers operating within the industrial sector.

Keywords

• digital transformation
• environmental disclosure
• symbolic
• substantive
• senior management political experience