Abstract
The interaction between digital and green knowledge has become a central force shaping sustainable technological transitions across regions. Yet, how regional cross-domain relatedness between these two knowledge bases affects the long-term influence of green technologies remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the role of regional linkages between digital and green knowledge, from both technological and scientific perspectives, in shaping the usefulness of green technology. Using an extensive dataset of patents and scientific publications across Chinese cities from 2000 to 2020, the analysis reveals an inverted U-shaped relationship between digital-green relatedness and green technology usefulness, indicating that moderate levels of relatedness produce the strongest benefits. Further evidence shows that the maturity of digital technology and digital science significantly moderates this pattern by flattening the curve as knowledge evolves. These findings highlight the nonlinear dynamics of regional knowledge recombination and offer theoretical and policy insights for fostering balanced and sustainable technological innovation during the digital-green twin transition.
•Identify inverted U-shaped relationships between digital-green cross-domain relatedness and the green technology usefulness.•Greater maturity of digital technology/science flattens these curves.•Reveal the nonlinear dynamics of cross-domain knowledge recombination for digital-green twin transitions.