Chen Pengyu, Kim SangKyum
Department of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Dankook University, South Korea.
Heliyon. 2023 Feb 22;9(3):e13916. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13916. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Existing digital transformation research has focused on economic and environmental performance, which few studies directly explored the relationship between digital transformation and innovation. Based on the innovation factor perspective, we explored the relationship between digital transformation and innovation by using firm data between 2009 and 2019. The findings are as follows: (1) The corporate digital transformation was measured through based on textual analysis methods and it was found that digital transformation can promote corporate innovation. (2) Knowledge flow, technical personnel, R&D investment, and innovation awareness are important mediating paths. (3) In the innovation quantity dimension, the mediating role of innovation awareness is greater. And in the innovation quality dimension, the mediating role of technicians is greater. (4) Digital transformation has a greater impact on innovation of non-SOEs, non-high-tech enterprises and non-heavily polluting enterprises, alleviating the gap between different types of firms. The results of this paper alleviate the concerns of digital transformation in developing countries such as China and provide experiences and evidence for them to promote Industry 4.0 and sustainable innovation.
现有的数字转型研究主要集中在经济和环境绩效方面，很少有研究直接探讨数字转型与创新之间的关系。基于创新因素视角，我们利用2009年至2019年的企业数据，探讨了数字转型与创新之间的关系。研究结果如下：（1）通过基于文本分析的方法衡量企业数字转型，发现数字转型能够促进企业创新。（2）知识流动、技术人员、研发投入和创新意识是重要的中介路径。（3）在创新数量维度上，创新意识的中介作用更大。而在创新质量维度上，技术人员的中介作用更大。（4）数字转型对非国有企业、非高科技企业和非重污染企业的创新影响更大，缩小了不同类型企业之间的差距。本文的研究结果缓解了中国等发展中国家对数字转型的担忧，并为它们推动工业4.0和可持续创新提供了经验和证据。
