Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate Innovation--Empirical evidence from public companies

Abstract

In the context of comprehensive penetration and cross-border integration of information technology, digital transformation of enterprises has become an important way to accelerate enterprise innovation and lead economic innovation growth, injecting new vitality into enterprises. Based on the textual information of annual reports of A-share listed companies from 2011-2021, this paper constructs a measure of digital transformation and systematically examines the impact of digital transformation on corporate innovation output and its impact mechanism. It is found that there is a significant positive relationship between digital transformation and innovation output of enterprises, and the finding is robust. The mechanism test indicates that corporate digital transformation promotes corporate innovation by increasing innovation inputs and promoting corporate learning effects. Further study found that the promotion effect of corporate digital transformation on corporate innovation was more pronounced in large enterprises, high-tech enterprises, stateowned enterprises, enterprises whose executives have master’s degrees, and enterprises in relatively close geographical proximity to the eastern region. This study not only enriches the empirical research on the consequences of digital transformation and the mechanism of enterprises using new dynamic energy to enhance transformation, but also has important implications for promoting the layout adjustment of national digital innovation-driven strategies.