A study on the action mechanism of digital transformation on the output quality of technological innovation

Abstract

The fourth Industrial Revolution is in full swing, the whole world is pondering the same question: Where is the core breakthrough? With the continuous breakthrough and extensive application of cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and other next-generation information technologies, One sign has emerged: digital economy is becoming a new driving force for global economic growth. The impact of digital transformation on enterprises is to improve the quality and efficiency、Improve information quality, Or spread out limited resources and reduce productivity, There is no consensus among academics. To fill that gap, this paper aims to sort out the internal mechanism of how digital transformation improves the output quality of the technological innovation of enterprises from a theoretical perspective, and to establish a digital transformation index at the micro level. On this basis, this study empirically examines how digital transformation affects the output quality of technological innovation.we adopts panel data. It uses data collected from 159 manufacturing enterprises in China. By adopting the methods of PLS structural equation and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), it empirically tests the research model and conducts a mediation analysis through regression analysis. The findings indicated that, Digital transformation can help manufacturing enterprises to improve the output quality of their technological innovation; digital infrastructure plays a significant mediating role between digital transformation and the output quality of technological innovation; the investment of manufacturing enterprises in software and hardware digital infrastructure have a positive impact on the output quality of technological innovation. There is a complementary relationship between the two. The paper was conducted in the context of Chinese culture and can be generalized to other Asian countries. We believe that the research conclusions of this study have important practical significance for how manufacturing enterprises can effectively carry out digital transformation and improve the output quality of technological innovation.