Digital transformation and corporate ESG performance: The role of board gender diversity

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Abstract

This study empirically examines the impact of digital transformation (DT) on firm environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance using data from Italian listed companies for the year 2023. It also investigates whether board gender diversity has a moderating role in this association. To date, only a handful of empirical studies have examined the moderating role of board gender diversity between DT and corporate ESG performance, and their findings are mixed. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap. The empirical findings indicate that: 1) DT has a significant positive impact on corporate ESG performance, and 2) board gender diversity strengthens the positive impact of DT on ESG performance. This result diverges from previous research, which suggests that board gender diversity has a negative moderating effect between DT and ESG performance. This study challenges these previous findings and suggests instead that board gender diversity may enhance a firm’s ability to reap ESG benefits from DT.

Keywords: Digital Transformation, Board Diversity, ESG Performance

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — V.S.; Methodology — G.d.C.; Formal Analysis — V.S.; Data Curation — V.S.; Writing — Original Draft — M.G.; Writing — Review & Editing — G.d.C.; Supervision — M.G.; Funding Acquisition — M.G.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: M120, M140, M150

Received: 11.03.2025
Revised: 10.06.2025; 18.06.2025
Accepted: 24.06.2025
Published online: 26.06.2025

How to cite this paper: Scafarto, V., Galeotti, M., & della Corte, G. (2025). Digital transformation and corporate ESG performance: The role of board gender diversity. Corporate Ownership & Control, 22(2), 150–156. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv22i2art14