湖南财政经济学院学报

数智化转型是推动企业高质量发展的新引擎。在“人工智能+”背景下，探究其赋能制造业企业ESG表现的内在逻辑与作用机制具有重要意义。研究发现:第一，数智化转型对制造业企业ESG表现具有赋能效应。具体而言，在环境维度上，推动其从被动合规向主动优化转变;在社会维度上，促进从被动回应向价值共创转变;在治理维度上，实现从信息不对称向透明共治转变。第二，数智化转型通过三条核心路径赋能ESG表现。绿色技术创新中介路径，降低研发试错成本，推动绿色创新从末端治理向源头控制跃迁。融资约束缓解中介路径，改善企业融资可得性，为长期ESG投资提供资金保障。媒体关注度中介路径，增强外部监督与声誉约束，倒逼企业持续改进ESG实践。第三，赋能效应存在显著异质性，从产权性质看，国有企业依托资源与战略优势，形成系统重构式赋能，效应强于非国有企业的点状赋能。从生产要素密集度看，技术密集型企业展现出最强的ESG提升效应，劳动密集型企业受限于工艺固化而增益有限，资产密集型企业则面临高碳资产锁定约束，转型更多表现为边际优化，而非实质性跃升。

As a new engine driving high-quality development of enterprises,digital and intelligent transformation plays a significant role in enhancing the ESG performance of manufacturing enterprises and achieving sustainable development. Under the background of “Artificial Intelligence +”,this paper explores the intrinsic logic and mechanisms through which digital and intelligent transformation empowers the ESG performance of manufacturing enterprises. The findings are as follows:First,digital and intelligent transformation has an empowering effect on the ESG performance of manufacturing enterprises. Specifically,in the environmental dimension,it drives a shift from passive compliance to active optimization; in the social dimension,it promotes a transition from passive response to value co-creation; and in the governance dimension,it facilitates a transformation from information asymmetry to transparent co-governance. Second,digital and intelligent transformation empowers ESG performance through three core pathways: the green technology innovation mediation pathway,which reduces R&D trial-and-error costs and promotes the transition of green innovation from end-of-pipe treatment to source control; the financing constraint alleviation mediation pathway,which improves corporate financing accessibility and provides financial support for long-term ESG investments; and the media attention mediation pathway,which enhances external supervision and reputational constraints,thereby forcing enterprises to continuously improve their ESG practices. Third,the empowering effect exhibits significant heterogeneity. From the perspective of ownership structure,state-owned enterprises,leveraging their resource and strategic advantages,achieve a systemic restructuring empowerment model,which is stronger than the point-based empowerment model of non-state-owned enterprises. From the perspective of factor intensity,technology-intensive enterprises demonstrate the strongest ESG improvement effect,laborintensive enterprises face limitations due to process rigidity and thus gain limited benefits,and asset-intensive enterprises are constrained by high-carbon asset lock-in,with the transformation manifesting more as marginal optimization rather than substantial improvement.