-->PONE-D-24-44514-->-->Can SMEs synergistic transformation of digitization and greenization promote enterprise risk taking?-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

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José Antonio Clemente Almendros, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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“This paper is funded by “the Shandong Provincial Social Science Planning Research Project”, “A Study on the Impact of Corporate Digital Transformation on Risk Taking in Shandong Province (22CGLJ35)”

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

Dear Author(s)

In addition to the reviewers suggestions, I encourage you to include in your manuscript how you deal with potential endogeneity problems in your data and models.

Thank you

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: This paper employs the Haken model to assess the synergistic transformation of digitization and greening in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examines its impact on enterprise risk-taking. This paper is interesting. However, I have the following comments:

(1) The research model is simple and lacks in-depth discussion for their research. The abstract is overly focused on the background information, which fails to adequately highlight the novelty and significance of their research. The abstract should be improved to emphasize the study’s contributions and its broader implications.

(2) Literature Review and introduction lacks enough latest references to help the readers understand their research, the current version is difficult to raise concerns about the article’s originality and relevance.

(3) The knowledge gap of their research in Literature Review is not clear for reader, indicating that it is difficult to understand their contributions or to provide a forward-looking perspective. The authors should revise this part.

(4) The flowchart of the model is low quality which lacks a detailed description of the research process. The authors can add a paragraph to describe the main step of the method which may enhance readability of their model.

(5) Their policy implications do not provide specific recommendations based on the conclusions found in the paper's research, but rather broad policy implications. It means that the policy implications should have a close relationship with their results.

(6)The manuscript is recommended to be checked for English by a native speaker.

Reviewer #2: Can SMEs Synergistic Transformation of Digitization and Greenization Promote Enterprise Risk Taking?

The manuscript presents an important contribution to the discourse on SME transformation by integrating digitization and greenization. Given the increasing emphasis on sustainability and digital adaptation in business, the research is relevant to contemporary economic and management studies. The significance of the study is well-articulated, particularly in the context of China’s economic policies and SMEs’ role in sustainable development. The findings have practical implications for SME decision-making and policy development, reinforcing the study’s contribution to the field.

While the paper presents a valuable contribution, it requires minor revisions before publication:

1. Provide a clearer rationale for using the Haken model, including examples of its application in similar contexts.

2. While the study acknowledges prior research on digital and green transformations individually, it could benefit from a more extensive discussion of studies that have examined their synergistic effects. Discuss prior research on the combined impact of digitization and greenization more extensively.

3. The paper claims that reducing cash holdings and R&D investment enhances risk-taking, but this assumption may not hold universally. Additional robustness checks or alternative measures of risk-taking could strengthen the argument. Kindly offer alternative explanations for why cash holdings and R&D investment reductions lead to increased risk-taking.

4. Provide more transparency on data sources, keyword selection validation, and the paper does not indicate whether the datasets or analysis scripts will be made available for replication.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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-->PONE-D-24-44514R1-->-->Can SMEs synergistic transformation of digitization and greenization promote enterprise risk taking?-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

ACADEMIC EDITOR: The paper needs a recheck of English grammar. Also, please improve paragraph transitions, and ensure consistent citation formatting throughout the manuscript

==============================

Please submit your revised manuscript by Dec 06 2025 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:-->

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

-->If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Valentina Diana Rusu, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise. 

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

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-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: I have reviewed the revised manuscript. The authors have carefully addressed all the concerns raised in the initial review.

Reviewer #3: The revised manuscript titled “Can SMEs’ Synergistic Transformation of Digitization and Greenization Promote Enterprise Risk Taking?” demonstrates substantial improvement and now reflects a technically sound and well-structured piece of empirical research. The authors have adequately incorporated the editor’s earlier suggestion regarding potential endogeneity by introducing a robust instrumental variable approach using the CITYSDG index and performing a Hausman and weak identification test. This significantly enhances the methodological credibility of the paper.

The manuscript is well organized, with a logical flow from theoretical background and hypothesis formulation to empirical modeling and discussion. The application of the Haken model to measure the synergy between digitalization and greenization is novel and theoretically grounded, offering a fresh analytical lens for understanding SME transformation dynamics. The data selection from 889 SMEs across 2012–2022, derived from the CSMAR database, is appropriate and clearly screened. The econometric framework—fixed-effects regression combined with mediation analysis—has been implemented rigorously, supported by robustness checks, heterogeneity tests, and adequate discussion of endogeneity concerns.

The statistical presentation is precise, and the results align with the hypotheses proposed. Tables and variable definitions are clearly explained, enhancing transparency and reproducibility. The discussion effectively connects empirical findings with theoretical expectations, particularly the mechanisms involving cash holdings and R&D investment.

Minor editorial improvements could enhance the paper’s readability—especially by refining the English grammar, improving paragraph transitions, and ensuring consistent citation formatting throughout the manuscript. These are stylistic rather than substantive concerns.

Overall, the paper provides meaningful empirical evidence and valuable policy implications for SME digital–green transformation. It meets the scientific and technical standards required for publication in PLOS ONE.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: Yes:  VIJAY AGRAWAL

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Can SMEs synergistic transformation of digitization and greenization promote enterprise risk taking?

PONE-D-24-44514R2

Dear Dr. Wang,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Valentina Diana Rusu, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

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