Corporate digital responsibility and green innovation: a strategic model for sustainable competitive advantage

Purpose This study examines corporate digital responsibility as a portfolio of implementation strategies and investigates how distinct corporate digital responsibility strategies enable green product and green process innovation, thereby strengthening sustainable competitive advantage in the UAE banking sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was adopted, using a purposive sampling technique to survey 340 employees from the UAE banking sector. Respondents were selected based on their involvement in digital and sustainability initiatives. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationships among the research variables. Findings The results showed that corporate digital responsibility implementation strategies vary in their influence over green product or process innovation. Both green product and green process innovation were found to significantly enhance Sustainable Competitive Advantage; however, green product innovation exerted a stronger influence, highlighting its strategic role in sustainability-driven differentiation. Practical implications Managers can use the results to prioritise corporate digital responsibility implementation strategies according to the innovation pathway they seek to strengthen. In particular, investments in Digital AI Awareness—through transparent AI-use communication and stakeholder training—can support responsible digital transformation while accelerating green innovation and long-term competitiveness. Originality/value This study offers a unique contribution by empirically validating the six-dimensional corporate digital responsibility model and extending it through the introduction of a seventh dimension—Digital AI Awareness and demonstrates how specific corporate digital responsibility strategies translate into distinct green innovation pathways. It further advances understanding by distinguishing between green product and process innovation and examining their distinct impacts on Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The resulting strategic model provides a strategy–innovation–advantage mapping that clarifies which responsible digital practices deliver the greatest sustainability-based returns.