Green digital finance and new quality productive forces: bridging technological innovation and sustainable productivity

Purpose This study critically reviews the emerging literature on green digital finance, focusing on the interplay between digital technologies and sustainable financial transformation. This review examines four key domains (blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data and digital platforms) and analyses their potential contributions to green finance as well as associated risks. A conceptual framework is proposed to illustrate how digital innovations, supported by appropriate institutional contexts, can foster new quality productive forces. The study identifies major research gaps, particularly the lack of empirical assessments, the need for harmonised governance mechanisms and the limited engagement with behavioural dynamics. Policy and managerial implications are outlined, with strategic recommendations for regulators, financial institutions, platform providers and development agencies. The paper concludes by highlighting directions for future interdisciplinary research and practical frameworks to align green finance with technological transformation and sustainable productivity. Additionally, the work contributes to the ongoing debate on the emergence of new quality productive forces, analysing how green digital finance can act as a catalyst for sustainable economic transformation through technological innovation and institutional realignment. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a critical literature review methodology, systematically analysing peer-reviewed studies and policy documents on green digital finance across four technological domains. A conceptual framework is developed to structure the relationship between technological tools, institutional enablers and productive transformation. The review is complemented by a structured research agenda and a matrix of stakeholder-specific implications. Findings The review identifies four key technological drivers of green digital finance and highlights both their transformative potential and systemic risks. It finds that blockchain and AI can support traceability and automation, but face governance and bias concerns. Big data and platforms offer behavioural and analytical advantages, yet pose challenges in terms of privacy, data quality and accountability. The study concludes that green digital finance can catalyse new productive forces if supported by institutional innovation, inclusive design and standardised evaluation metrics. Originality/value This paper is among the first to systematically link green digital finance to the formation of new quality productive forces, providing both a conceptual framework and a policy-oriented synthesis of technological developments. Unlike prior reviews, it integrates critical reflections on governance, behavioural factors and empirical gaps, offering a structured research and policy agenda with relevance for China and other emerging economies.