How Do Supply Chain Digitalization, Media Attention, and Innovativeness Affect Corporate ESG Performance? A Novel Empirical Approach

ABSTRACT Supply chain digitalization (SCD), driven by innovation, can enhance ESG performance by fostering openness, sustainability, and operational effectiveness across all aspects of operations. So the present study examines how SCD, media attention, and innovation capabilities affect business ESG performance. The study used a difference‐in‐differences (DiD) model to analyze data from 2009 to 2021 for 4377 A‐share‐listed companies in China. The study's findings reveal that SCD enhances corporate ESG performance, and this holds after stability tests. The mechanism analysis shows that SCD enhances corporate ESG performance by strengthening the company's innovation capacity and attracting greater external media attention. Heterogeneous outcomes show that SCD has a more substantial impact on ESG in companies in eastern and central regions and in non‐state‐owned enterprises. The outcomes of this work offer relevant insights for fostering the widespread adoption of SCD and for establishing partnerships between corporate sustainability and digitalization.