工业机器人如何影响企业出口模式

How Do Industrial Robots Affect Enterprises’ Export Mode

工业机器人为制造业转型升级赋能,是制造业企业打通直接出口渠道和提高生产经营效益的重要依托。本文通过匹配国际机器人联盟(IFR)提供的机器人数据和中国企业出口数据,首次系统地研究了工业机器人对企业出口模式选择的影响。结果表明,工业机器人显著提高了企业选择直接出口模式的概率,且工业机器人对直接出口模式选择的促进效应在民营性质、行业技术密集度中等、行业集中度低和地区知识产权保护程度高的企业中更加显著。长期内源融资约束缓解、外源融资约束缓解、技术创新和人力资本深化是工业机器人影响企业出口模式选择的重要渠道。本文进一步基于产业关联视角进行研究,发现下游行业应用工业机器人促进上游行业企业出口模式转变,并且工业机器人还显著推动企业由间接出口模式向直接出口模式转变,进而延长出口持续时间,增强盈利能力和成长潜力。本文拓展和深化了工业机器人经济效应评估的研究,并为中国推动工业机器人更好地服务于企业出口模式优化以及高质量发展提供了决策参考。

Industrial robots have been facilitating the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry, and have become an important basis for manufacturing firms to engage in direct export and improve operational performance. For the first time, this paper systematically examines the impact of industrial robots on enterprises’ export mode selection by matching the robot data from the International Federation of Robotics(IFR) with the export data of Chinese enterprises. The empirical results indicate that industrial robots significantly increase the probability of selecting the direct export mode, and the positive effect is greater for private-owned firms, firms in industries with medium technological intensity or low concentration and firms in regions with strong intellectual property rights protection. The mechanism tests verify that industrial robots affect enterprises’ export mode selection mainly by easing long-term internal financial constraints and external financial constraints, promoting technological innovation and deepening human capital. Furthermore, from the perspective of industrial linkage, we find that industrial robots used in the downstream industry promote enterprises in the upstream industry to convert the export mode. And the export mode converting effect of industrial robots further extends the duration of export, increases profitability and the growth potential. Our research supplements the literature on comprehensively evaluating the economic effects of industrial robots, and provides policy implications for China to make industrial robots further optimize enterprises’ export mode and promote their high-quality development.