Research on the Impact of New Information Infrastructure Construction on Corporate ESG Performance

Abstract

As the core network support and underlying computing foundation for the development of the digital economy, new information infrastructure acts as a critical engine to unlock digital productivity. It provides strong impetus for China to accelerate the formation of new-quality productive forces and advance high-quality economic development. Taking A-share listed firms from 2018 to 2024 as the research sample and the construction of Gigabit Cities as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper adopts the multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically examine the impact of new information infrastructure construction on corporate ESG performance. The results show that new information infrastructure significantly and positively promotes corporate ESG performance. Mechanism tests indicate that new information infrastructure improves corporate ESG performance through two parallel channels: enhancing firms’ green technological innovation and accelerating corporate digital transformation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the ESG enhancing effect of new information infrastructure construction is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, high-tech firms, enterprises in central and western regions, and firms in heavily polluting industries. This study enriches the literature concerning the non-economic effects of information infrastructure and puts forward policy implications for optimizing the layout of new-type infrastructure.