How Does Corporate Smart Manufacturing Affect Sustainable Development Performance? A Perspective from Local Environmental Regulation Stringency on the Manufacturing Corporations in China

As global environmental challenges intensify and the imperative to mitigate extreme climate change grows increasingly urgent, the sustainable development of economic and social systems has emerged as a fundamental pathway for addressing environmental challenges. Smart manufacturing, as a core technology of the new round of technological revolution, can drive green transformation and enhance sustainable development performance. Using a sample of A-share listed manufacturing corporations from 2009 to 2023, this study systematically investigates the impact, underlying mechanisms, and heterogeneity of smart manufacturing on the sustainable development performance of manufacturing corporations from the perspective of local environmental regulation stringency. The results show that corporate smart manufacturing significantly improves sustainable development performance. This conclusion remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns and conducting a series of robustness checks. Mechanism analysis reveals that corporate smart manufacturing operates via three primary channels: the data asset accumulation effect, the green technology innovation effect, and the information environment improvement effect. Furthermore, the moderating role of local environmental regulation stringency follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory, suggesting that regulatory stringency facilitates the smart manufacturing–performance nexus only up to a certain threshold, beyond which it becomes counterproductive. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the positive effect is particularly pronounced among private corporations, large-scale corporations, those located in the eastern region, and those situated in key environmental protection cities. By uncovering the micro-level mechanisms through which smart manufacturing affects sustainable performance, this study offers novel theoretical insights and actionable policy implications for leveraging intelligent technologies to advance manufacturing sustainability, both in China and globally, in support of the nation’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality commitments.