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Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 15058

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ka Ching Chan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Campus, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: information systems management; innovation and technology management; data science, AI, and blockchain technology; financial technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Angela Siew Hoong Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Computing and Information Systems, Sunway University, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
Interests: digital transformation; education technology; data science, AI, predicative analytics, healthcare analytics and sentiment analysis
Dr. Ranga Chimhundu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Campus, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: sustainable marketing; product and brand management; sustainable products; eco-friendly/ environment-friendly/ green products; FMCG marketing; marketing management; marketing strategy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is related to the environmental and socio-economic impacts of business activities. While governments and organizations around the world have been grappling with environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, major challenges still need to be overcome in order to achieve economic growth without depleting natural resources. 

In this highly digitally connected world, information technologies such as AI, data analytics, cloud computing, and blockchain can serve as catalysts for sustainable development, while the need for a sustainable future and ESG compliance requirements will drive technological advancements to a new level and create opportunities for technology innovation and adoption. 

To accelerate business transformation for sustainability, legal compliance frameworks, sustainability strategies and initiatives, digital platforms and technologies, and innovative sustainable practices can all play a significant and integral role. The Special Issue focuses on the intersection of information technology and business transformation for sustainable development, particularly on new developments in digital innovation and adoption, sustainable business practices, and theoretical studies on the linkages and relationships among multiple dimensions such as technology (innovation, adoption, and capabilities), ESG strategies, sustainability practices, innovation/ESG/corporate performance, competitive advantages, and resilience.

This Special Issue aims to present the state of the art, future research directions and challenges in the intersection of digital technology and ESG development, with a view to building a sustainable and resilient global economy. Academic researchers and industry practitioners are invited to submit original research papers and systematic review papers on relevant and current topics, including but not limited to the following:

  • Sustainable IT infrastructures and services;
  • Sustainable IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS;
  • Sustainable IT adoption;
  • Information systems for sustainability;
  • Digital transformation for sustainability;
  • IT, business performance, resilience, and sustainability;
  • IT development for circular economy (CE);
  • Industry 4.0 and sustainability;
  • Sustainable product development;
  • Sustainable supply chains, transportation and logistics;
  • Sustainable smart cities;
  • Sustainable crypto mining;
  • Socially responsible financial technologies;
  • ESG decision making;
  • ESG analytics;
  • ESG strategies, operations, and compliance;
  • Sustainability performance management;
  • Ethical and ESG investing;
  • Responsible AI;
  • Research agendas for IT, sustainability and ESG.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ka Ching Chan
Prof. Dr. Angela Siew Hoong Lee
Dr. Ranga Chimhundu
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • information systems
  • information technology
  • sustainability
  • ESG (environmental, social, and governance)
  • circular economy

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 353 KiB  
Article
The Role of Digital Economy in Enhancing the Sports Industry to Attain Sustainable Development
by Xiaolong Wei, Jianwei Zhang, Oleksii Lyulyov and Tetyana Pimonenko
Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 12009; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151512009 - 04 Aug 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2137
Abstract
The digital economy system is an essential driving force that promotes the development of the sports industry, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and [...] Read more.
The digital economy system is an essential driving force that promotes the development of the sports industry, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the roles of the digital economy in enhancing the sustainable high-quality development of the sports industry in China. This study utilizes panel data from 17 provinces in China, spanning the period from 2014 to 2020. The level of high-quality development in both China’s digital economy and sports industry is calculated using the entropy method. To examine the empirical relationship between the digital economy and the sports industry’s high-quality development, this study employs benchmark regression, mediation models, and spatial analysis and conducts robustness tests. The findings of this study indicate that the digital economy not only directly and significantly contributes to the development of the sports industry but also drives it indirectly through the transformative effects of technological innovation. This study reveals that the impacts of the digital economy on the sports industry’s high-quality development exhibit nonlinear characteristics, with an initial period of rapid growth followed by a diminishing growth rate and spatial spillover effects. By recognizing this dynamic relationship, stakeholders could better strategize and allocate resources in their efforts to achieve SDGs. To advance the development of the sports industry and contribute to the SDGs, it is crucial to accelerate the construction of digital infrastructure in China, nurture a diverse pool of talent in sports science and technology, and develop region-specific strategies that consider sustainability and inclusivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
16 pages, 3027 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Divergence in the Coupling Coordination of Digital Economy, Environmental Regulation and Sustainable Development: An Experience Study in China
by Yunlong Cheng and Jian Yang
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9649; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129649 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1043
Abstract
The digital economy and environmental regulation are important drivers of sustainable development, and exploring the coupling of the three is important for promoting the coordinated development of regional economy, society and environment. However, integrating the three into the same system and evaluating their [...] Read more.
The digital economy and environmental regulation are important drivers of sustainable development, and exploring the coupling of the three is important for promoting the coordinated development of regional economy, society and environment. However, integrating the three into the same system and evaluating their coupling and coordination has been little studied in academia. This research employs the entropy method with objective weighting to measure the levels of digital economy, environmental regulation and sustainable development in 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) in China from 2011 to 2020, invokes the concept of coupling in physics, constructs a coupling coordination degree model and identifies the spatial and temporal divergence characteristics of the coupled and coordinated development of the three subsystems. The results of the study demonstrate that: (1) the levels of digital economy, environmental regulation and sustainable development reveal a fluctuating trend of growth, with environmental regulation having the highest overall level; (2) there are spatial and temporal differences in the degree of coupling and coordination of the three subsystems, with a national coupling and coordination degree at the temporal level lying between moderate and good coordination, and showing a “W”-shaped upward trend in general and a “chain” at the spatial level; (3) There is a significant spatial autocorrelation in the degree of coupling coordination, with a localized “high–high” and “high–high” pattern. Based on the above results, the article concludes with suggestions to enhance the development level of each subsystem, providing thoughts for the improvement of the coupling and coordination degree of the three in the later stage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
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21 pages, 755 KiB  
Article
How Does the Digital Economy Affect Sustainable Urban Development? Empirical Evidence from Chinese Cities
by Qiuqiu Guo and Xiaoyu Ma
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4098; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054098 - 23 Feb 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1631
Abstract
The rapid development of modern information technology has promoted the emergence of a new economic form: the digital economy, which has effectively changed economic development patterns and has become an important engine for economic growth in the new era. At the same time, [...] Read more.
The rapid development of modern information technology has promoted the emergence of a new economic form: the digital economy, which has effectively changed economic development patterns and has become an important engine for economic growth in the new era. At the same time, sustainable development is the focus of the world today. Based on the panel data of 280 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019, this study used the entropy method to measure levels of sustainable urban development while constructing an evaluation system for sustainable urban development levels. In addition, various econometric models were used to empirically analyze the impact, influence mechanisms and spatial effect of the digital economy on sustainable urban development. The results show that (1) the development of the digital economy has effectively promoted the level of sustainable urban development by enhancing the level of green technology innovation and accelerating the upgrading of industrial structures; (2) spatial econometrics regression results indicate that the development of the digital economy is not only an important boost to the sustainable development of local cities, but it also effectively promotes the sustainable development process of surrounding areas; (3) heterogeneity analysis shows that the promoting effect of the digital economy on sustainable urban development is more prominent in the eastern region, in cities larger than medium-size and in non-resource-based cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
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13 pages, 275 KiB  
Article
How Does Digital Economy Affect Rural Revitalization? The Mediating Effect of Industrial Upgrading
by Tao Cen, Shuping Lin and Qiaoyun Wu
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16987; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416987 - 18 Dec 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3087
Abstract
Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economy has grown significantly, but rural development still lags. China has implemented a rural revitalization strategy to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas. Meanwhile, the digital economy has gradually become a new [...] Read more.
Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economy has grown significantly, but rural development still lags. China has implemented a rural revitalization strategy to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas. Meanwhile, the digital economy has gradually become a new economic growth engine for China. With the digitalization of rural industries, the digital economy gradually integrated into rural development and revitalization. However, how the digital economy impacts rural revitalization remains unclear. Based on the entropy method, previous studies measured rural revitalization levels from the perspectives of economy, civilization, and ecological environment. In this paper, using panel data from 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province from 2011 to 2019, we use the entropy method to quantify the development level of the digital economy, industrial upgrading, and rural revitalization. Then, we investigate the relationship among them using fixed effect regression. The empirical results show that the digital economy obviously promotes rural revitalization. The mediation effect test shows that industrial upgrading plays a mediating mechanism between the digital economy and rural revitalization. In addition, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotion effect of the digital economy on rural development in southwestern Zhejiang is stronger than that of northeastern Zhejiang. The results imply that government should strengthen digital infrastructure construction in rural areas to promote rural revitalization. Moreover, rural areas with different economic development levels should implement a differentiated rural revitalization strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
19 pages, 1559 KiB  
Article
The Impact of the Digital Economy on Innovation: New Evidence from Panel Threshold Model
by Jianing Xu and Weidong Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15028; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215028 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2979
Abstract
The digital economy has aroused widespread concern. This paper studies the impact of the digital economy on innovation using a panel threshold model. Taking 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China as the research object, the time span is from 2013 to [...] Read more.
The digital economy has aroused widespread concern. This paper studies the impact of the digital economy on innovation using a panel threshold model. Taking 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China as the research object, the time span is from 2013 to 2019. The data are from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC), China National Intellectual Property Administration (CAIPA), the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR), and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)of China. Data analysis is performed with ArcGIS 10.2 and STATA 16 software. The influence mechanism of digital economy on innovation is innovatively analyzed from the aspects of innovation elements, innovation tools, innovation subjects, and innovation environment. A digital economy development level index system is constructed using the entropy method, and the development level of China’s digital economy in time and space is analyzed. On this basis, the nonlinear impact of digital economy on innovation, i.e., the threshold effect, is innovatively studied using the panel threshold model. It is found that China’s digital economy develops rapidly, but there is a serious spatial imbalance, and there are great differences in the different dimensions of the digital economy. At the same time, the impact of digital economy on innovation has a double threshold effect with industrial structure as the threshold variable and a single threshold effect with urbanization level as the threshold variable. Specifically, the promoting effect of digital economy on innovation increases with the optimization of industrial structure or the improvement of urbanization level. This study enriches the theoretical research on the impact of digital economy on innovation, and it has important support and reference value for China’s development of digital economy and improvement of innovation capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
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16 pages, 314 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Digital Economy and Society Index on Sustainable Development Indicators: The Case of European Union
by Muhammad Imran, Xiangyang Liu, Rongyu Wang, Shah Saud, Yun Zhao and Muhammad Jalal Khan
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11130; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811130 - 06 Sep 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3163
Abstract
The digital economy plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development. Out of different measurement indices, this research uses the DESI dimension, i.e., connectivity, human capital, the use of internet services, the integration of digital technology, and digital public services, to investigate the [...] Read more.
The digital economy plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development. Out of different measurement indices, this research uses the DESI dimension, i.e., connectivity, human capital, the use of internet services, the integration of digital technology, and digital public services, to investigate the impact on the promotion of SGDI in the European Union countries. Previous research studies investigated the indirect impact of the DESI dimension on SGDI in different countries and regions. In this research, we investigate the direct impact of DESI dimensions on SGDI by using panel regression modeling. The results show that DESI sub-dimensions influence SGDI differently. Connectivity, human capital, and the use of internet services have more influence on SGDI compared to the integration of digital technology and digital public services. However, the impact is negative in most cases, but this is in line with the previous studies in other regional studies. Thus, the current research paper reveals that standard views on the influence of the digital economy are not always true. Policymakers need to make the necessary amendments while implementing each DESI dimension on any level for better promotion of SGDI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Economy: Development of Information and Communication Technologies in a Sustainable Economic Environment)
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