Digital orientation and environmental performance in times of technological change

Bendig, David; Schulz, Colin; Theis, Lukas; Raff, Stefan (2023). Digital orientation and environmental performance in times of technological change Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 188, p. 122272. Elsevier 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122272

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Digitalization is increasingly seen as a strategic means for firms to yield competitive and environmental advantages. Still, current empirical research does not yet provide ample evidence on how a firm's strategic posture towards digitalization connects to environmental performance. This study examines the link between digital orientation and environmental performance as well as the moderating role of technological turbulence. The natural-resource-based view and literature on strategic orientations provide the conceptual foundations. The hypotheses are tested with data from 515 U.S. Standard and Poor's 500 companies with 2,800 firm observations from 2009 to 2019. The results indicate that, first, a firm's digital orientation has a significant and positive effect on environmental performance and, second, this effect is even more pronounced in technologically turbulent business environments. In sum, our findings suggest that managers can improve their firm's environmental performance and competitive position by increasing the digital orientation within their organizations. We thus add to the literature on the natural-resource-based view by identifying digital orientation as a strategy aligned with the natural environment. Finally, we derive practical implications for managers and policymakers aiming to bring together digitalization and green strategies.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Digital Technology Management Business School
Name:	Bendig, David; Schulz, Colin; Theis, Lukas and Raff, Stefan
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
ISSN:	0040-1625
Publisher:	Elsevier
Language:	English
Submitter:	Stefan Raff
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2023 11:39
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 11:39
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122272
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Digital orientation; Environmental performance; Technological turbulence; Strategic orientation; Climate change; Natural-resource-based view
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.18647
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/18647