Unpacking the Link between Digital-green Synergy Strategy and Disruptive Innovation: The Mediating role of Knowledge Orchestration
Drawing on resource orchestration theory and data from 328 Chinese high-tech enterprises, this study demonstrates that a digital-green synergy strategy drives disruptive innovation through the mediating mechanism of knowledge orchestration, a process further strengthened by network embeddedness and human-machine collaboration.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the modern business world, two massive forces are reshaping how companies operate: the rush to adopt digital technologies like artificial intelligence and big data, and the urgent global push to reduce environmental harm and move toward a greener economy. For decades, many companies treated these as separate challenges, tackling them one at a time. However, a growing body of research suggests that the most successful companies are those that weave these two goals together, treating digital tools and green objectives as partners rather than rivals. This approach, known as a digital-green synergy strategy, relies on the idea that digital technology can make green solutions more efficient, while green goals can open up new, creative uses for digital tools. The central question for leaders in high-tech industries is whether combining these two paths can lead to something truly revolutionary: disruptive innovation. This term describes a breakthrough that doesn't just improve an existing product slightly, but fundamentally changes the market, creating entirely new ways of doing business and rendering old competitors obsolete.
To understand how this happens, researchers turned to a concept called resource orchestration. Imagine a company not just as a collection of assets like computers or patents, but as a conductor managing an orchestra. Having the instruments is not enough; the conductor must actively bring them together, tune them, and direct them to create a symphony. In this context, "orchestration" means the active process of finding, combining, and using knowledge from different sources to create something new. A team of researchers from Chinese universities set out to test whether a digital-green strategy helps high-tech companies achieve disruptive innovation, and if so, how the process of managing knowledge fits into that picture. They also wanted to see if two specific factors—how deeply a company is connected to outside partners and how well its human workers collaborate with intelligent machines—could speed up or slow down this process.
The researchers focused their study on 328 high-tech enterprises in China, a group chosen because these companies are at the forefront of both technological advancement and the push for sustainability. They surveyed senior leaders, such as CEOs and research directors, asking detailed questions about their company's strategies, how they manage knowledge, and the types of innovations they have launched. To ensure the answers were reliable, the team collected the data in two stages, six months apart, asking about the strategy and connections first, and then about the outcomes later. They analyzed the responses to see if there was a clear link between adopting a combined digital-green strategy and achieving breakthrough innovations.
The results confirmed that companies which deeply integrate digital and green strategies are indeed more likely to produce disruptive innovations. However, the study revealed that this strategy does not work like a magic switch that instantly creates new products. Instead, the strategy works by first improving the company's ability to manage knowledge. When a company commits to this dual strategy, it forces different departments to break down their walls and share information. Digital experts begin working with environmental specialists, and this cross-pollination allows the company to gather, mix, and apply knowledge in ways that were previously impossible. This process of actively managing and recombining knowledge acts as the essential bridge, turning the broad strategic goal into a specific, groundbreaking invention.
The study also found that the speed and success of this process depend heavily on the company's environment and internal culture. On the outside, companies that are deeply embedded in networks of partners—such as suppliers, research institutions, and other businesses—were able to turn their strategy into new knowledge much more efficiently. These strong connections provided a steady flow of fresh ideas and resources, making it easier to find the right pieces for the puzzle. On the inside, the level of collaboration between human employees and digital systems played a crucial role. When humans and machines worked together effectively, with each playing to their strengths, the company was far better at taking the mixed knowledge they had gathered and turning it into a market-changing product. Without this high level of teamwork between people and technology, the valuable knowledge often remained stuck, unable to transform into a true breakthrough.
Ultimately, the research suggests that for high-tech companies to achieve the kind of radical change that defines disruptive innovation, they cannot simply buy new software or install solar panels. They must adopt a unified strategy that treats digital and green goals as one. They must then actively work to connect their people and information, breaking down silos to create a fluid flow of ideas. Finally, they must ensure that their external connections are strong and that their internal teams, both human and digital, are working in harmony. By following this path, companies can move beyond small, incremental improvements and create the kind of innovations that reshape the future of their industries.
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