The digital economy and corporate credit risk: An empirical study based on Chinese new energy enterprises

The integration of digital technologies is exhibiting an upward trend in Chinese enterprises, and the degree of corporate credit risk is directly proportional to their financial sustainability. Based on panel data of new energy enterprises from 2012 to 2020, this article makes an empirical study on the direct effect, mediating effect, and moderating effect of the digital economy (DE) on the new energy enterprises’ credit risk. It is found that the digital economy could significantly mitigate the credit risk of new energy enterprises by improving total factor productivity and amplifying the potential default cost. When the digital economy affects corporate credit risk, the development of the new energy industry acts as an intermediary, and knowledge spillover acts as a moderator. Furthermore, considering knowledge spillover as the threshold variable, the digital economy has a double-threshold effect. The marginal impact fluctuates from dropping to increasing as the knowledge spillover level increases. As for the region’s heterogeneity, the digital economy has benefited eastern China more than central and western China, possibly due to the differences in economic structure, capital intensity, and policy institutions. In view of these findings, this study provides a reference for China to mitigate corporate credit risk in the digital economy era.