企业数字化转型与资源配置效率

Digital transformation and resource allocation efficiency of enterprises

随着新一轮科技革命和产业革命的浪潮席卷而来,数字化已成为引领全球经济社会变革、推动我国经济高质量发展的重要引擎。本文以2007-2019年沪深A股非金融类上市公司为研究样本,实证检验数字化转型对全要素生产率的影响,研究发现,数字化转型是一种重要的价值创造方式,能够显著提高企业全要素生产率。该结果在经过工具变量法、倾向得分匹配、替换变量等检验后依然保持稳健。异质性检验发现,数据生产要素的信息收集和处理优势,可以帮助与供应商和客户距离较远的企业以及业务复杂程度较高的企业提高资源配置效率,并且数字化是成长型企业或中小企业塑造竞争优势、实现“弯道超车”的重要支撑,能够迅速帮助他们脱颖而出。机制检验发现,企业数字化转型通过提高投资效率、降低外部交易成本、拓展客户资源、增加创新能力的方式提高企业全要素生产率。最后经济后果检验发现,当企业全要素生产率随着数字化转型而增加时,可以帮助企业提升竞争地位。本文研究不仅为学术界、实务界理解企业数字化转型如何作用于资源配置效率提供了经验证据,而且丰富了全要素生产率在随着数字化转型而提高后会产生何种经济后果的相关研究。

With the wave of a new round of scientific and industrial revolution,digitalization has become an important engine for leading global economic and social changes and promoting high-quality development of China′s economy.This paper focuses on the following questions:Can digital transformation of enterprises improve total factor productivity?If so,what is the mechanism of action?The empirical test on this issue,on the one hand,has provided a new perspective for theoretical researchers to understand the consequences and mechanism of enterprises′digital transformation;On the other hand,it has also provided unique empirical evidence for practitioners to promote the digital transformation of enterprises and the high-quality development of economy.This paper has taken Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share non-financial listed companies from 2007 to 2019 as research samples,and the study found that:(1)when enterprises pay more attention to digitization,their total factor productivity will be improved significantly.The results remained robust after the test of instrumental variable method,propensity score matching and substitution variable.(2)The heterogeneity test found that the information collection and processing advantages of data production factors can help enterprises with farther distances from suppliers and customers and enterprises with higher business complexity to improve the efficiency of resource allocation.In addition,when the enterprise is a growing one or a small and medium-sized one,strengthening the construction of its own digitization level is more conducive to improve its total factor productivity.(3)The mechanism test found that the digital transformation of enterprises improves the total factor productivity by improving investment efficiency,reducing external transaction costs,expanding customer resources and increasing innovation ability.(4)The economic consequence test found that when the total factor productivity of enterprises increases with the digital transformation,it can help enterprises improve their competitive position.The possible theoretical contribution and practical significance of this paper are as follows:firstly,this paper has enriched the relevant research on the consequences of digital transformation.The existing literature mainly studies the impact of digital transformation on the survival and development of traditional industries,internal organizational change and enterprise investment.There is still no empirical discussion on how digital transformation affects the resource allocation efficiency and even the competitive position of non-financial enterprises.This paper found that enterprise digitization does improve the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation,and will eventually help enterprises obtain competitive advantage,which provides a new perspective for academia to understand the value creation results of digitization.Secondly,this paper tested and found the path of digitization on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation from four ways:investment efficiency,transaction cost,customer channel and innovation ability,which provides a new perspective and verified basis for the theoretical and practical circles to understand the mechanism of digital transformation.Thirdly,this paper introduced four scenarios:the distance between enterprises and suppliers and customers,business complexity,enterprise size and growth.On the one hand,it verified that the information collection and processing advantages of data production factors can promote enterprises to improve the efficiency of resource allocation.On the other hand,it found that digitization is an important support for small and medium-sized enterprises or growing enterprises to shape their competitive advantage.This paper has the following important policy suggestions and implications:firstly,this paper proves the driving effect of digital transformation on enterprise total factor productivity through empirical evidence,indicating that the advantages of enterprise digital transformation outweigh the disadvantages,which is consistent with the policy guidance direction in the era of digital economy.Government should continue to facilitate the integration of digital technology with the real economy,guide and support enterprises to empower traditional industries with information technology.Secondly,for enterprises that are far away from suppliers and customers and face information asymmetry with upstream and downstream members of the supply chain,as well as enterprises with high business complexity,they should make full use of information collection and processing advantages of emerging information technology to realize optimal allocation of resources.For growing enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises,they should realize that digitalization plays a stronger role in optimizing the efficiency of resource allocation,and actively participate in and realize digital transformation.Finally,in the process of digital transformation,enterprises should focus on using digital and internet platforms to gain insight into market information and explore investment opportunities,reduce external transaction costs by using the characteristics of digital technology,accurately identify the diversified needs of customers and expand their own customer resources when efficiently dealing with massive data information,and strengthen the innovation driving role of digital change.