机器人使用、工艺创新与质量改进——来自中国企业综合调查(CEGS)的经验证据

Robotics、Process Innovation and Quality Improvement:Findings Based on China Enterprisc General Survey

文章通过独特的"中国企业综合调查"数据,应用OLS、IV和中介效应的实证方法,验证了机器人的使用对于质量改进的显著效应。机器人的使用带来了工艺创新,也就是新的加工方式、生产流程以及检测方法的应用,从而改进了企业的质量。文章的政策启示为,我国加快推进质量强国战略,一个非常重要的抓手就是要在制造业企业中全面推进机器人使用;我国制造业的技改项目中,要突出对机器人使用工艺的创新;我国各级政府的科研项目中,要突出对机器人共性技术的公共投入。

The existing literature research rarely makes enough reasonable explanations for the low-cost and low-end problems of product quality in the international market from the perspective of robots.Based on the data of CEGS(China Enteprise General Survey)in 2018,this paper selects 1944 valid sample companies as research objects to study the effect of robot use on product quality.For the first time,this paper uses robot consumption data to conduct research on developing countries like China.This paper expresses product quality competitiveness in five dimensions:customer satisfaction,renewal speed,product richness,year-on-year price level and brand influence,and uses it as a proxy variable for product quality.Descriptive statistics show that companies that introduce robots have different degrees of product quality in all dimensions than those that do not introduce robots.The benchmark returned that it was found that the production staff human capital level and numerical control machine,management efficiency score,enterprise age,R&D density and export behavior were added as control variables,and the fixed effects of ownership,industry,province and enterprise scale were introduced.The effect of robot capital on product quality is 0.6,that is,for every 10%increase in robot capital logarithm,the score of enterprise product quality competitiveness can be increased by 0.6%.However,Chinas manufacturing factor endowment is different from that of developed countries.The skill level of labor force and the resource allocation ability of enterprise managers are also different.Advanced machinery and equipment can produce large positive effects in developed countries,but not necessarily for Chinese manufacturing.The development has the same promotion effect,and it may even be difficult to match the implementation of the same innovative behavior by advanced technology,which makes it difficult for robot-like advanced technology equipment resources to function.Through the mediation effect,it is found that the improvement of product quality by robots is mainly achieved through innovative mechanisms.Among them,the technological effects product innovation in the positive effect relationship between robot and product quality are 14.7%、16.6%and 21.5%,respectively.That is,after the introduction of robots by enterprises,it is necessary to simultaneously implement corresponding innovation behaviors,carry out the transformation of production line processes represented by process innovations,and the setting of robot function parameters represented by product innovations,in order to improve product richness and better satisfy customers.Demand,and thus improve product quality.The quality upgrade brought by robots is mainly realized by changing the three dimensions of technological innovation,such as method,process and system.This article proves through detailed data that the robot can improve the quality of the product without simply purchasing it.The robot will bring about the improvement of the production process of the enterprise and influence the quality of the product through the process.Therefore,the enlightenment of this paper is:First,China’s strategy of accelerating the promotion of quality and power is a very important task to promote the use of robots in manufacturing enterprises.The use of robots,compared to other methods of quality improvement,has a more significant improvement effect for companies with lower quality levels.In other words,the robot can more certainly improve the quality level of China’s manufacturing industry.To this end,governments at all levels should speed up the development of"manufacturing robot use development strategy planning",guide enterprises to use robots on a larger scale,and narrow the gap with countries such as Germany,Japan and South Korea.Second,in the technological transformation projects of China’s manufacturing industry,it is necessary to highlight the innovation in the use of robots.The reason why robots become a big strategy is very important.The research in this paper proves that the use effect of robots is largely due to the innovation of the process,and it has the function of taking the whole body with the whole body.Therefore,in the technical transformation project,through the guidance of the use of robots,it will change the existing processing methods,production processes and testing methods of the manufacturing enterprises,and then through the process innovation of the process,realize the great transformation of China’s manufacturing industry in the digital age.Third,in the scientific research projects of governments at all levels in China,it is necessary to highlight the public investment in the common technology of robots.Objectively speaking,the development,manufacture and use of robots in China are still far from the world’s advanced level,including core technologies in materials,operating systems and processing in R&D and manufacturing,as well as network systems in use.In terms of comprehensive support such as intelligent equipment and application skills,these gaps are common technologies,and there is an urgent need to increase government public investment.China should form an autonomous controllable core technology,system application and equipment manufacturing in the manufacture and use of robots as soon as possible.