Data assets, supply chain spillovers, and corporate ESG development — Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Driven by the Sustainable Development Goals, corporate ESG performance has increasingly become a key indicator of high-quality development and corporate accountability. As an emerging production factor, data assets (DA) are reshaping firms’ resource allocation and governance models. Understanding how data assets affect ESG helps integrate digital transformation and sustainable development strategies. Motivated by both the current theoretical gap and the practical demands of digital governance, this study employs panel data on Chinese listed companies spanning 2009–2023 to examine the complex influence of DA on ESG. Results show that data assets enhance ESG over the long term, although a temporary early-stage dampening effect is observed. Mechanism analyses indicate that data assets indirectly influence ESG through three main channels: capability improvement, resource empowerment, and governance optimization. The moderating effects indicate that this influence is stronger when supported by robust physical infrastructure and a conducive institutional environment. Further analysis identifies a forward spillover effect, in which data assets significantly improve ESG performance in downstream firms through supply-chain linkages. This spillover is more pronounced in companies with proprietary data assets, high interdependence, and similar ownership structures. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature by incorporating both the nonlinear dynamics and spillover characteristics of DA. It reveals how digital resource allocation, through structural transformation, fosters sustainable transitions within firms and across supply chains, offering a practical foundation for managers and policymakers to promote synergy between data governance and green development.