摘要
在持续扩大对外开放背景下,探究企业数字化转型的驱动因素是一个重大现实问题。本文测度了以最终品关税度量的进口竞争,并以词典法识别企业数字化转型,验证全球竞争加剧是否驱动了企业数字化转型以及其内在机理。研究发现,在全球开放背景下进口竞争显著激励了企业数字化转型,且通过了一系列稳健性检验。进口竞争主要是通过增加海外高管数量和提高管理效率的管理层决策渠道,以及增加创新投入和人力资本提升的逃离竞争渠道促进企业数字化转型的,而以降低生产成本和缩减企业规模的低成本竞争渠道作用并不显著。进口竞争对非国有、低融资约束、高新技术以及东部沿海的企业激励效应更大,同时实现数字化转型有助于企业抵御进口竞争对经营绩效造成的负向冲击。本研究为理解和践行持续推进高水平对外开放战略和加快实现数字化转型以建构国家竞争新优势提供了参考。
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly committed to “advancing high-level opening-up to the outside world” as a strategic initiative to “accelerate the creation of a new development pattern”, and actively increasing imports was one of its primary measures. The digital economy has become a critical force in reshaping global resource allocation and altering the global competitive landscape. However, the digital transformation of Chinese companies is still in its early development stages, with a digital transformation rate of only 25%, well below that of Europe(46%) and the United States(54%). Therefore, in the strategic context of advancing high-level openness, tariff reductions will inevitably intensify domestic market competition. In this context, this study explores the impact of import competition on companies' willingness to undertake digital transformation from a global perspective, which turns out to be a practical issue that needs to be urgently addressed.Using a sample of A-share listed manufacturing companies in China from between 2010 and 2021,the paper constructs an import competition indicator based on tariffs on final goods and a corporate digital transformation decision index derived from text analysis and machine learning from annual reports. It then examines the impact of import competition on corporate digital transformation decisions and its underlying mechanism. The findings suggest that tariff reductions stemming from increased import competition significantly influence corporate digital transformation decisions. These transformations are primarily manifested through two management decision channels that increase the number of overseas executives and improve management efficiency, as well as driving innovation investment and upgrading human capital to beat the competition. Both ultimately lead to a “strategic transformation” and a “substantive transformation”. On the other hand, low-cost competitive channels,such as production cost reduction and corporate downsizing, do not significantly promote digital transformation, indicating that a “conservative transformation” is not prominent. Private companies,companies with low financing constraints, high-tech companies, and those located in coastal areas also experience a greater incentive from import competition. The study further reveals that the adoption of digital transformation enables companies to resist the negative impacts of import competition, thereby enhancing their capacity to address risk and boosting their ability to thrive and evolve in unpredictable market conditions.This paper provides a new perspective on how businesses can overcome the dilemma of “transformation unwillingness” and “transformation fear”, which is crucial to creating novel and innovative corporate competitive advantages. First, it provides a thorough evaluation of the microeconomic impacts exerted on domestic companies by the ongoing increase in global exposure and examines the external economic factors that shape corporate digital transformation choices. Second, it facilitates the government in formulating detailed digital transformation policies for businesses as part of promoting high-level opening-up, it further clarifies digital economic development trends and patterns,and it enriches theoretical understanding aimed at constructing a manufacturing and digital powerhouse and reshaping the global competitive landscape.
作者
王静
王怡静
宋建
Wang Jing;Wang Yijing;Song Jian
出处
《世界经济》
北大核心
2025年第2期44-75,共32页
The Journal of World Economy
基金
国家社会科学基金一般项目(23BJL079)
全国统计科学研究重点项目(2023LZ027)
江苏省社会科学基金一般项目(23EYB007)的资助。
关键词
进口竞争
数字化转型
逃离竞争效应
熊彼特效应
import competition
digital transformation
escape-competition effect
Schumpeterian effect
