A Study on the Mechanism of Digital Transformation and Corporate Innovation——Taking a Listed Manufacturing Company as an Example

Abstract

With innovation driving the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry and digitalization empowering the manufacturing industry being an important issue in China's economic development pattern, the research on the relationship between digital transformation and innovation in the manufacturing industry has become more and more critical. In view of this, this paper empirically examines the relationship between the two and analyzes its mechanism of action by selecting A-share listed manufacturing companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2016 to 2020 as research samples. The study finds that digital transformation can promote corporate innovation and absorptive capacity; absorptive capacity plays a part in mediating the relationship between digital transformation and corporate innovation. Further, by considering two influencing factors, namely whether the overseas branch is located in a Belt and Road country and the level of digital development in the region, it was found that manufacturing companies with overseas branches in a Belt and Road country can significantly increase Digital transformation has a significantly higher impact on innovation and absorptive capacity, while the former has a weaker mediating effect than the latter; manufacturing companies in the first tier of regional digital development have a significantly weaker impact on innovation and absorptive capacity than those in the second tier, while those in the third tier have no significant impact on innovation and an impact on absorptive capacity. . The role of absorptive capacity in mediating digital transformation and corporate innovation gradually increases from the first to the third echelon. This paper expects that the research findings obtained can be of some reference value for China's manufacturing enterprises in terms of enterprise innovation and knowledge absorption decisions under the wave of digital economy, so as to change the unfavourable situation of manufacturing enterprises being large but not strong, and transform from a "large manufacturing country" to a "strong manufacturing country". This will change the unfavourable situation of manufacturing enterprises which are big but not strong, and transform from "big manufacturing country" to "strong manufacturing country".