Enterprise digital transformation and investment efficiency: Empirical evidence from listed enterprises in China

IF 2.9 3区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Journal of Asian Economics Pub Date : 2025-02-03 DOI:10.1016/j.asieco.2025.101892

Panting Guo , Jiefeng Bi , Mengnan Zhu

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effect of digital transformation on investment efficiency using data from Chinese-listed enterprises from 2007 to 2021. We find that digital transformation significantly enhances investment efficiency by reducing information asymmetry between insiders and outsiders of enterprises and this effect is significant only for private enterprises. Through the application of unconditional quantile regression, we observe that the beneficial impact of digital transformation on investment efficiency tends to diminish as the efficiency improves, especially for private enterprises. Mechanism analysis suggests that digital transformation alleviates information asymmetry through two main channels: regulating earnings management to address underinvestment and mitigating excessive leverage to curb overinvestment. Ownership-based heterogeneity analysis confirms that these mechanisms at play vary across enterprise types, with significant effects observed exclusively in private enterprises. Our findings suggest that policy-makers and investors should leverage digital technology to reduce information asymmetry and improve efficiency.

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来源期刊

Journal of Asian Economics ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

9.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Asian Economics provides a forum for publication of increasingly growing research in Asian economic studies and a unique forum for continental Asian economic studies with focus on (i) special studies in adaptive innovation paradigms in Asian economic regimes, (ii) studies relative to unique dimensions of Asian economic development paradigm, as they are investigated by researchers, (iii) comparative studies of development paradigms in other developing continents, Latin America and Africa, (iv) the emerging new pattern of comparative advantages between Asian countries and the United States and North America.