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Introduction
Digitization and sustainability are two critical issues that the world is currently facing, impacting the overall trends in social and economic development and driving significant changes in both areas (Guandalini, 2022). Digital transformation refers to the process of organizational change triggered and shaped by the widespread dissemination of digital technologies (Hanelt et al., 2021). On the other hand, sustainable development is defined as the ability to meet the present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Guandalini, 2022). The combination of digitization and sustainability can not only achieve a coordinated development of the economy, society, and environment but also stimulate human creativity and imagination, thereby opening up new areas and possibilities.
The synergistic development of digitization and sustainability has shown enormous potential in innovation, international business, and other fields (Ghobakhloo et al., 2021; George and Schillebeeckx, 2022; Yi et al., 2023). However, digitization may also have conflicting impacts on the triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) sustainability. For instance, at the economic level, the integration of resources between digitization and sustainability is complex, and thus, business managers may not be able to address both aspects simultaneously, leading to a lack of complementarity in enhancing corporate performance (Ardito et al., 2021). At the social level, digital transformation may significantly disrupt the labor market, resulting in the elimination of most low-skilled jobs (Rodrik, 2018; Brenner and Hartl, 2021). At the environmental level, the energy efficiency improvements brought about by digitization will also be accompanied by higher resource consumption and environmental pollution (Beier et al., 2017). Given this, it is crucial to focus on and reduce the friction between digitization and sustainability (Aksin-Sivrikaya and Bhattacharya, 2017).
The digital transformation of Chinese enterprises and the sustainability development environment they face possess unique characteristics. On the one hand, Chinese companies have accumulated a vast amount of digital technology, leveraging their enormous data and user advantages. On the other hand, China's energy structure is still dominated by non-renewable energy, and its carbon emissions remain among the highest in the world as an emerging economy. This presents significant challenges to achieving its ambitious goals of carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. As a result, the combination of digital transformation and sustainability in Chinese enterprises presents numerous opportunities and challenges.
This special issue aims to enhance our understanding of the digital transformation and sustainable development of Chinese enterprises. It provides a unique and comprehensive opportunity to explore the opportunities and challenges in the synergistic development of digitization and the triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) sustainability. Additionally, this special issue focuses on the interrelationships between digital innovation and sustainability, as well as the interaction between the digital transformation and sustainable development of Chinese multinational enterprises amid digital globalization.
List of Topic Areas
The special issue covers but is not limited to the following topics:
(1) General level:
- How should companies balance and integrate digitalization and sustainability?
- What are the negative impacts of digitalization on the triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) sustainability?
- Can digitalization help businesses achieve both financial and sustainability goals?
- What challenges do small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face in seeking digital transformation and sustainable development?
- What factors influence the relationship between corporate digital transformation and sustainable development?
- What are the differences in how various stakeholders perceive the interaction between digitalization and sustainability?
- What suitable theories should be incorporated into the digital transformation and sustainable development of enterprises?
(2) Innovation level:
- How does digital transformation affect the horizontal or vertical innovation collaboration network of enterprises?
- How does digitalization pave the way for sustainable innovation of enterprises?
- Does digitalization make the sustainable innovation of enterprises more efficient and high-quality?
- Can digitalization reduce the uncertainty of the sustainable innovation process and how?
(3) International business level:
- How does institutional diversity pose legitimacy challenges for digital multinational enterprises engaging in sustainability activities in host countries?
- How do host country regulations on data protection and data sovereignty affect the entry modes of multinational enterprises?
- How does digital technology influence the process of seeking new knowledge and capabilities for multinational enterprises?
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cms
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/cms
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key Deadlines
Submissions Open: 1 Sept 2023
Submissions Close: 31 Jan 2024
Guest Editors
Wei Liu, Qingdao University, China, [email protected]
Bin Guo, Zhejiang University, China, [email protected]
Bo Zou, Sun Yat-sen University, China, [email protected]
Jie Wu, University of Aberdeen, UK, [email protected]
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