Abstract

This study investigates the impact of intelligent manufacturing on the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2023. As China undergoes simultaneous industrial upgrading and ESG institutionalization, understanding this relationship is critical for sustainable corporate development. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research employs a two-way fixed-effects panel regression complemented by multiple case studies of industry leaders, including Haier and CATL. Intelligent manufacturing is measured at the firm level, while ESG performance is captured through comprehensive enterprise ratings. The empirical results demonstrate that intelligent manufacturing exerts a significantly positive and robust effect on ESG performance. These findings remain consistent across various robustness checks, including Propensity Score Matching with Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) and System GMM estimation to address potential endogeneity. Mechanism analysis reveals that the positive impact is primarily driven by three mediating channels: enhanced information transparency, strengthened green technological innovation capacity, and optimized synergistic governance. Conversely, financing constraints are found to exert a suppressing mediation effect, highlighting the role of financial frictions in shaping ESG outcomes. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the ESG-enhancing effects are more pronounced in high-tech enterprises and firms located in non-Western regions of China. By integrating econometric rigor with qualitative insights, this research provides a multidimensional framework for understanding how digital transformation serves as a catalyst for corporate sustainability. The findings offer practical implications for policymakers and corporate managers aiming to leverage intelligent transformation to meet evolving ESG standards in emerging markets.