Research on the Digital Transformation of Producer Services to Drive Manufacturing Technology Innovation

Abstract

The digital transformation of producer services contributes to the development of manufacturing technology innovation through an intermediary role, providing an important policy basis for the effective implementation of China’s innovation-driven development strategy and digital transformation. In this study, we selected panel data collected from 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China from 2013 to 2020 and applied a spatial Durbin model that included mediating effects to examine the mediating transmission paths of the effect of the digital transformation of producer services on manufacturing technology innovation. Our results showed that: (i) The digital transformation of producer services positively affects local manufacturing technology innovation and generates positive spatial spillover effects on neighboring regions. (ii) The digital transformation of producer services affects manufacturing technology innovation through three paths, including industrial productivity, knowledge stock, and the market environment. The direct effect of industrial productivity is the largest, followed by the market environment and knowledge stock, while the spillover effect of knowledge stock is the largest, followed by market environment and industrial productivity. (iii) There is regional heterogeneity in the mediating effect of the digital transformation of producer services, with the direct effect of industrial productivity being the largest in the east and the spillover effect of the market environment being the largest in the central region.