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Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce
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Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce

A special issue of Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research (ISSN 0718-1876).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 July 2026 | Viewed by 6453

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fei Fan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Central China Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: regional economy; urban innovation; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xionghe Qin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Economics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230601, China
Interests: science and technology innovation and regional development; regional innovation network; innovation policy evaluation; innovation and high-quality economic
Dr. Song Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110167, China
Interests: urban and regional development; science and technology policy and innovation strategy; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The convergence of digital intelligence and environmental sustainability is reshaping the landscape of electronic commerce. As nations pursue carbon peaking and neutrality goals—the so-called “dual carbon” strategy—emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, blockchain, and the metaverse are fundamentally transforming business models, operational practices, and value creation in e-commerce.

This Special Issue on “Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce” aims to explore the theoretical foundations, practical applications, and policy implications of integrating smart technological innovations with sustainable, low-carbon commerce. We encourages interdisciplinary investigations into how intelligent systems are accelerating the green transformation of e-commerce ecosystems, enhancing inclusivity, resilience, and ecological responsibility.

We welcome original research and practical applications related to (but not limited to) the following areas:

  • Intelligent marketing and carbon-conscious consumer engagement
  • Generative AI in commerce: green innovation and content creation
  • Digital commerce transformation under carbon-neutrality goals
  • Metaverse commerce and its environmental and social implications
  • AI-driven consumption and behavior-based emission reduction
  • Cross-border e-commerce and sustainable global value chains
  • Digital trade governance in the context of green regulation
  • Rural e-commerce as a tool for equitable and low-carbon development
  • Supply chain resilience and carbon-aware logistics systems
  • Green e-commerce practices and carbon accounting frameworks
  • Sustainable commerce infrastructure and platform energy efficiency
  • Low-carbon e-commerce models: metrics, strategies, and best practices
  • Inclusive e-commerce for vulnerable and underrepresented populations

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026.

Prof. Dr. Fei Fan
Dr. Xionghe Qin
Dr. Song Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intelligent marketing
  • e-commerce
  • sustainability
  • carbon neutrality
  • artificial intelligence
  • green innovation

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 3607 KB  
Article
The Sword Effect of Electronic Informatization on Income Inequality: E-Commerce and E-Government
by Zhuocheng Lu and Song Wang
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2026, 21(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21020056 - 3 Feb 2026
Viewed by 809
Abstract
Market and government are the main bodies in solving the problem of income inequality, especially as both undergo electronic informatization. This study explores the effect of e-commerce and e-government on regional income inequality, along with its impact mechanisms and spatial characteristics. The results [...] Read more.
Market and government are the main bodies in solving the problem of income inequality, especially as both undergo electronic informatization. This study explores the effect of e-commerce and e-government on regional income inequality, along with its impact mechanisms and spatial characteristics. The results show a significant “sword effect” impact: e-commerce exacerbates income inequality, while e-government suppresses it. This conclusion remains valid after endogeneity and robustness tests. Mechanistically, e-commerce widens the gap by promoting industrial agglomeration and worsening resource misallocation, while e-government narrows it by enhancing fiscal transparency and alleviating resource misallocation. Spatially, all three variables exhibit spatial correlation and β-convergence; e-commerce and income inequality show α-divergence, while e-government shows α-convergence. E-commerce presents a negative spatial spillover of “aggravating local inequality but suppressing adjacent regional inequality,” while e-government’s inhibitory effect is limited to local cities. Their impacts show significant heterogeneity across regional gradients and geographical locations, providing a basis for differentiated policy implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce)
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25 pages, 570 KB  
Article
Digital Supply Chain Integration and Sustainable Performance: Unlocking the Green Value of Data Empowerment in Resource-Intensive Sectors
by Wanhong Li, Di Liu, Yuqing Zhan and Na Li
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2026, 21(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21010038 - 14 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1298
Abstract
In the rapidly evolving digital economy, the expansion of business-to-business e-commerce ecosystems has compelled traditional industries to integrate into digital supply chains to achieve sustainable development. Industrial e-commerce is no longer limited to online transactions but extends to the digital transformation of backend [...] Read more.
In the rapidly evolving digital economy, the expansion of business-to-business e-commerce ecosystems has compelled traditional industries to integrate into digital supply chains to achieve sustainable development. Industrial e-commerce is no longer limited to online transactions but extends to the digital transformation of backend operations. Drawing upon the perspective of the digital business ecosystem, this study investigates how digital supply chain integration, manifested through digital transformation, impacts energy efficiency. By utilizing a panel fixed effects model and advanced text mining techniques on a dataset of 721 listed firms in the resource-intensive sectors of China spanning from 2011 to 2023, this research constructs a novel index to quantify corporate digital maturity based on semantic analysis. The empirical results demonstrate that digital transformation significantly enhances energy efficiency by facilitating optimized resource allocation and data-driven decision making required by modern digital markets. Mechanism analysis reveals that green innovation functions as a pivotal mediator that bridges the gap between digital investments and environmental performance. Furthermore, this relationship is found to be contingent upon corporate social responsibility strategies, ownership structures, and the scale of the firm. This study contributes to the electronic commerce literature by elucidating how traditional manufacturers can leverage digital technologies and green innovation to navigate the twin transition of digitalization and sustainability, offering theoretical implications for platform governance in industrial sectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce)
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29 pages, 1208 KB  
Article
The Alchemy of Digital Transformation: How Computing Power Investment Fuels New Quality Productivity
by Yu Hu, Kaiti Zou and Xiaofang Chen
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2025, 20(4), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20040354 - 5 Dec 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1748
Abstract
Against the backdrop of China’s “East-West Computing Resource Transfer” and “Digital-Real Integration” national strategies, computing power has emerged as a core engine driving the digital economy. However, existing research lacks in-depth exploration of the micro-level mechanisms through which computing power operates as a [...] Read more.
Against the backdrop of China’s “East-West Computing Resource Transfer” and “Digital-Real Integration” national strategies, computing power has emerged as a core engine driving the digital economy. However, existing research lacks in-depth exploration of the micro-level mechanisms through which computing power operates as a strategic digital resource at the firm level and transforms into competitive advantages. This study examines a sample of manufacturing firms listed on China’s A-share markets from 2011 to 2022, treating the establishment of intelligent computing centers by firms as a quasi-natural experiment. Employing a staggered difference-in-differences model combined with causal inference strategies such as double machine learning, we empirically test the impact of computing power investment on firms’ new quality productivity. The findings reveal that computing power investment significantly enhances new quality productivity, primarily through enabling dynamic capabilities: it strengthens risk perception capabilities by improving information environments, enabling intelligent risk monitoring, and enhancing decision-making resilience; it elevates innovation opportunity-capturing capabilities by expanding the scope of innovation search, accelerating innovation iteration, and facilitating cross-domain knowledge integration; and it achieves data element reconstruction through constructing data infrastructure capabilities, improving data operational efficiency, and optimizing data ecosystem collaboration. Further analysis demonstrates that this promotional effect is more pronounced in firms with strong executive digital cognition and intense market competition, and is more significant among non-heavily polluting, high-tech firms with high absorptive capacity, those located in eastern regions, and those with superior digital endowments. Extended analysis also reveals that the new quality productivity gains from computing power investment drive optimal allocation of human capital while potentially inducing strategic information concealment behaviors as firms seek to protect competitive advantages. By conceptualizing computing power as a contestable strategic resource at the micro level, this study unveils the micro-mechanisms of digital transformation through a dynamic capability framework, offering important implications for firms and governments in optimizing digital strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce)
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26 pages, 762 KB  
Article
Digital Ripples in Industries: An Institutional Theory Perspective on How Peer Transformation Dismantles Greenwashing Behavior
by Jiajun Xu, Rui Li and Zixuan Peng
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2025, 20(4), 351; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer20040351 - 4 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1096
Abstract
This study examines if peers’ digital transformation affects focal firms’ greenwashing, addressing the literature gap of insufficient focus on industry interactions via institutional theory. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies, the paper conducts an empirical analysis and finds that the digital transformation [...] Read more.
This study examines if peers’ digital transformation affects focal firms’ greenwashing, addressing the literature gap of insufficient focus on industry interactions via institutional theory. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies, the paper conducts an empirical analysis and finds that the digital transformation of peer enterprises significantly inhibits the greenwashing behavior of focal enterprises. This inhibitory effect is realized through three key mechanisms: the competitive peer spillover effect of digital transformation, the suppression of peer spillover in greenwashing behavior, and the convergence effect of industry-wide information disclosure quality. Moreover, this inhibitory effect is particularly pronounced in industries characterized by low short-termism tendencies, high technology intensity, high pollution levels, and fierce competition. Further research confirms that the initial emergence of highly digitalized enterprises in an industry triggers a “catfish effect,” and once the proportion of digitalized enterprises exceeds 50%, the inhibitory effect on greenwashing behavior becomes significantly stronger. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Intelligence Empowering the Dual Carbon Strategy and E-Commerce)
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