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Digital Innovation

Digital-Green Synergy: Mapping the Research Landscape and  Constructing an Integrated Framework 

Hou Erxiu1, Li Xin1, Yin Ximing2, 3

(1.School of Economics and Management, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China; 2.School of Management, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; 3.School of Global Gover⁃ nance, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China)

Abstract: Against the dual background of the global carbon neutrality agenda and the deep  penetration of digital technologies, digital-green synergy, as a core paradigm integrating the digi⁃ tal economy with green development, has become a key pathway for overcoming resource and en⁃ vironmental constraints and promoting the low-carbon transformation of the economy and soci⁃ ety. However, existing studies still lack a systematic review of the evolutionary trajectory, knowl⁃ edge structure, and integrated framework of digital-green synergy research. From a bibliometric  perspective, this study employs the visualization method of scientific knowledge mapping and  takes 554 English-language articles from the Web of Science database during 2019-2025 and  723 Chinese-language core journal articles from the CNKI database during 2020-2025 as re⁃ search samples. With the aid of Cite Space, this study conducts keyword co-occurrence analysis, high-frequency keyword time-zone analysis, hotspot clustering and burst-term identification, as  well as a comparative analysis between Chinese and international studies. The results show that: First, the evolution of digital-green synergy research is highly coupled with the process of global  climate governance and the iterative cycle of digital technologies. Both Chinese and international  studies exhibit clear stage-based characteristics. International research can be divided into the  "issue emergence stage" from 2019 to 2021 and the "rapid expansion stage" from 2022 to 2025. Its research themes have gradually shifted from basic topics such as sustainability, energy effi⁃ ciency, and digital applications to integrated topics such as the digital economy, green innova⁃ tion, carbon-emission performance, green total factor productivity, and spatial spillover effects. Chinese research corresponds to the "policy response stage" from 2020 to 2022 and the "theo⁃ retical and practical deepening stage" from 2023 to 2025, showing a strong policy-driven orien⁃tation and local contextual features. Second, based on the input-process-output logic, this study  constructs an integrated analytical framework covering multidimensional driving factors, includ⁃ ing technology, organization and environment; the digital-green synergy process, including digi⁃ tal empowerment of green transformation, green-driven digital transformation and deep digitalgreen integration; and digital-green synergy outcomes at the macro, meso and micro levels. This  framework reveals the evolutionary mechanism through which digital and green elements move  from one-way empowerment to two-way synergy. Third, existing research has generated abun⁃ dant findings in effect identification, coupling coordination measurement, and outcome-variable  testing, but still pays insufficient attention to the formation and failure mechanisms of synergy, multi-actor collaboration in industrial chains, and the integration of multiple research methods. Future studies can further explore synergy adaptation and failure mechanisms, the co-evolution  of multi-actor industrial ecosystems, and the dynamic evolution of digital-green synergy in  emerging scenarios such as digital twin cities, green computing power centers, zero-carbon in⁃ dustrial parks, and green supply chains. This study aims to systematically clarify the research  landscape of digital-green synergy, reveal the internal logic through which digitalization and  green transformation evolve from one-way empowerment to two-way interaction and systemic in⁃ tegration, and provide a systematic reference for improving the theoretical system and advancing  policy practice in digital-green synergy. 

Key words: digital-green synergy; digitalization; greenization; scientific knowledge map; bibliometrics; low-carbon transformation; carbon neutrality; digital economy