Digital–Real Technology Convergence and Corporate Carbon Performance: An Empirical Analysis of Mechanisms and Boundary Conditions

Against the backdrop of the accelerating integration of the digital and real economies, exploring how digital-–real technology convergence enables corporate decarbonization and green upgrading represents a critical pathway. This development pathway is conducive to promoting the high-quality growth of industry while aligning with China’s strategic goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Based on panel data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing enterprises during 2012–2023, and employing a fixed-effects model, this study empirically investigates how DRTC influences firms’ carbon performance, as well as the mechanisms through which this effect is transmitted. In addition, this research explores the intermediary function of green innovation and further investigates the contingent effects of R&D investment and financing constraints. The results show that DRTC contributes significantly to improving corporate carbon performance, with the validity of this conclusion supported by multiple robustness examinations. Green innovation acts as a partial mediator, channeling a portion of DRTC’s carbon-reduction benefits. R&D investment amplifies these positive effects, whereas financing constraints create a notable drag on DRTC’s effectiveness. Heterogeneity analysis adds nuance, showing that DRTC’s positive impact is substantially more pronounced in large-scale firms and asset-intensive enterprises. By clarifying the internal mechanisms and limiting conditions that underlie DRTC’s improvement of corporate carbon performance, this study enriches the interdisciplinary literature by linking research on the digital economy with discussions on green and low-carbon development.