China has promised to meet the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” goals. Exploring the relationship between innovative industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution plays an important role in the realization of these goals and sustainable development. Based on the panel data of 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2019, this paper uses the multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model to examine the impact and mechanism of the innovative industrial agglomeration pilot (IIAP) policy on the environment. Furthermore, we explore the spatial effect of the IIAP using spatial DID. The findings show that, firstly, the IIAP policy significantly contributes to environmentally-friendly development in terms of enhancing carbon emission efficiency (CEE) and reducing environmental pollution index (EPI). Secondly, the IIAP policy promotes environmentally-friendly development mainly by improving the technological innovation level. Additionally, the heterogeneity analysis shows that the environmentally-friendly effect of the IIAP policy is primarily in the eastern region, large cities, and non-resource-based cities. Finally, there is a significant spatial effect of the IIAP policy on environmentally-friendly development, mainly reflected in the weak siphon effect between treatment group cities and neighboring regions. We suggest that the government should continue to maintain the steady growth of the IIAP cities and improve the energy utilization efficiency through a policy of green technology innovation. The government should also optimize the spatial layout of the pilot cities and make full use of the energy advantages of each region to better promote environmentally-friendly development.

In the context of digital transformation, it remains underexplored whether firms under innovation performance gaps engage in substantive adjustments or symbolic responses. Drawing on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTOF), this study examines the impact of innovation performance expectation gaps on firms’ digital catering behavior, using a sample of Chinese A-share manufacturing listed firms from 2010 to 2024. The findings indicate that innovation performance expectation gaps significantly promote firms’ digital catering behavior. This effect is attenuated when top management team stability is higher and when regional legal institutions are more developed. Further heterogeneity analyses show that the effect is more pronounced in strategic emerging industries and state-owned enterprises. By revealing how innovation performance pressure shapes firms’ digital catering behavior, this study enriches the literature on innovation performance feedback and extends the explanatory boundaries of firm behavior theory in the digital era.