The digital economy has shifted value creation from production-based to demand-driven digital green value co-creation behavior (DGVCB). DGVCB is crucial for business ecosystems to gain sustainable ecological advantages in competitive markets. This study addresses the gap in research on the influence of DGVCB and DGNE on DGIP, analyzing the mechanism of DGNE and DGNF within the context of business ecosystem competition. The increasing prominence of energy consumption and environmental issues necessitates a greener approach to enterprise development, leading to global competition in advanced digital green manufacturing technology. Major economies, including Germany, the US, Japan, and South Korea, are actively promoting digital green upgrades for enterprises through various strategies and policies. This underscores the vital role of digital green transformation in international competition. In this context, the business ecosystem emerges as a key tool, integrating scientific and technological innovation, research and development, and commercial applications. Leveraging digital green technology, business ecosystems facilitate information exchange between production and consumption ecosystems, enhancing market entry, responsiveness, and competitive advantage for digital green innovative enterprises. The focus shifts to building external environments that satisfy customer value propositions and address "demand-side" digital green innovation, effectively penetrating long-tail markets and enabling control over the consumer ecosystem. This allows for data-driven decision-making, aligning production with consumer needs and creating a more efficient response to market demands. Unlike the industrial economy's focus on production capacity and supply-side innovation, the digital economy emphasizes DGVCB and service-oriented logic, prioritizing the customer value proposition. The complexity of business ecosystems, however, requires consideration of interactions beyond firms and consumers, encompassing the reconstruction of value chains through digital green innovation technology, and the influence of environmental factors and institutional elements, especially DGNF, which creates value barriers and shapes the business ecosystem.

The literature review examines existing research on digital green value co-creation, digital network embedding, and digital green innovation performance. Studies on value co-creation, particularly in the context of digital platforms and the sharing economy, are discussed. The authors review literature on network embeddedness, focusing on the role of structural and relational embeddedness in business ecosystems. The impact of network fragmentation on innovation and collaboration is also explored, drawing on relevant theories and empirical findings. The review sets the stage for the hypotheses proposed in this paper, highlighting the gap in understanding the interplay between DGVCB, DGNE, DGNF, and DGIP.

The study employs a quantitative research design, utilizing a survey method to collect data from 326 respondents. A structured questionnaire was developed to measure the four key variables: DGVCB, DGNE, DGNF, and DGIP. The questionnaire draws on established scales and includes items assessing aspects of DGVCB such as dialogue, access, risk mitigation, and transparency. DGNE is measured through relational and structural embedding dimensions, while DGNF is assessed using dimensions of relational and status fragmentation. DGIP is measured using indicators such as the proportion of output value from new products, customer satisfaction, technological content, and market share of new products. Control variables were included to account for the influence of factors like enterprise age, size, and nature (state-owned, collective, private, or foreign-funded). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to validate the measurement model, ensuring the reliability and validity of the constructs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the variables, including the direct and indirect effects, and the moderating role of DGNF. The SEM results are presented and evaluated based on various fit indices. Further statistical analysis is conducted to establish relationships between the variables under study.

The study's key findings are based on the results of structural equation modeling and correlation analysis. The findings confirm that DGVCB has a significant positive impact on DGIP (Hypothesis 1). DGNE significantly and positively affects DGIP (Hypothesis 2), supporting the notion that a strong network embedding enhances innovation performance. DGVCB significantly and positively influences DGNE (Hypothesis 3), indicating that active value co-creation leads to enhanced network integration. The mediating effect analysis supports Hypothesis 4, demonstrating that DGNE partially mediates the relationship between DGVCB and DGIP, implying that DGVCB's positive effects on DGIP are channeled through better network integration. The moderating role of DGNF is also confirmed (Hypotheses 5 and 6). DGNF positively moderates the relationship between DGVCB and DGIP, meaning that fragmentation can strengthen the positive impact of DGVCB on innovation performance, likely by facilitating collaboration within subgroups and stimulating technological innovation. The correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between DGVCB and DGIP, DGVCB and DGNE, and DGNE and DGIP. The analysis also controlled for the effects of enterprise age, scale, and nature on the key variables. The overall fit indices of the SEM model indicated a good fit to the data, providing further support for the hypothesized relationships.

The study's findings confirm the importance of DGVCB and DGNE for achieving DGIP. The positive impact of DGVCB on DGIP is partly explained by the mediating role of DGNE. This highlights the need for firms to actively engage in value co-creation with stakeholders and foster strong network ties. The positive moderating effect of DGNF suggests that strategic fragmentation, through the creation of tightly-knit subgroups, can enhance collaboration and innovation within those groups, leading to superior performance. This suggests that not all network fragmentation is detrimental and can, under specific circumstances, enhance outcomes. The study’s results have implications for both theory and practice, offering insights into the dynamics of digital green innovation within business ecosystems. They offer guidance on strategic partnership development and the importance of cultivating relationships with diverse stakeholders. Furthermore, the study's findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how network structures influence digital green innovation processes.

This research demonstrates the significant positive influence of DGVCB and DGNE on DGIP within business ecosystems. The mediating role of DGNE and the positive moderating effect of DGNF offer valuable insights for managers seeking to enhance their organization's digital green innovation performance. Future research could explore other contextual factors and moderating variables, potentially expanding the scope to include international business ecosystems. Comparative studies across different industries and countries could provide a richer understanding of these relationships.

The study's cross-sectional nature limits the ability to establish causal relationships definitively. The reliance on self-reported data may be subject to biases, although the use of established scales mitigates some of these concerns. The sample is limited to a specific geographical area, potentially reducing the generalizability of the findings. Future research could benefit from longitudinal studies and diverse geographic samples to address these limitations.