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| Can the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing Enterprises Promote the R&D Investment Leap? An Empirical Study Based on Non-parametric Quantile Panel |
| Wang Yu1,Quan Jie1,Li Liangyu2,Sang Tongtong1 |
| (1.School of Business, Dalian University of Technology;2.School of Intellectual Property, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China ) |
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Abstract The leap in R&D investment helps enterprises adjust their innovation strategies based on their business model and advantages of products, and it improves both enterprises’ innovation capability and R&D efficiency.Thus, the leap in R&D investment has attracted academic attention.Most of the existing literature focuses on the important factors enhancing firms' innovation capability and R&D investment, and they are usually financing constraints.In addition, the great majority of scholars believe that alleviating the financing constraint plays an important role in boosting firms' R&D investment.However, to achieve a substantial R&D promotion effect (integration of quantity and quality), both the access to finance and the enterprise's own support for technology should be considered.It is well-accepted that digital transformation provides new R&D resources, such as data value and digital technologies to enterprises, which can have a positive effect on the leap of enterprise R&D investment by increasing R&D motivation as well as R&D technology innovation in most cases.#br#Drawing on the data of listed manufacturing enterprises from 2010 to 2020, this paper makes a text analysis to construct digital transformation indicators, and then it combines theoretical mechanism analysis and uses non-parametric quantile regression model to empirically test the non-linear heterogeneous impact of the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises on R&D investment leap.The results show that (1) there is a non-linear impact of digital transformation of enterprises on R&D investment leap, gradually and significantly affecting the R&D investment leap; (2) the digital transformation of enterprises has different impacts at different quantile levels, and with the improvement of the leap level of enterprise R&D investment, the negative impact of digital transformation has gradually been shifted to positive promotion; (3) through the analysis of subdivided samples, it is found that the digital transformation of non-state-owned enterprises plays a greater role in promoting the leap of R&D investment, the promotion of enterprises with higher operating income growth is greater, the influence of mature enterprises is more significant than that of growing enterprises, and the promotion of enterprises in the central and western regions is more significant.This study provides an important theoretical reference for enterprises to implement innovation strategies, break through core technology bottlenecks, and reasonably formulate digital transformation strategies.#br#In light of the above conclusions, the following suggestions are proposed.First, the government should increase policy support and improve the economic environment.A good market environment has a positive effect on enhancing the overall level of the industry and helping SMEs grow.Meanwhile, the government-led economic stimulus programs can guide the enterprises’ development.In the current digital economy, it can effectively promote enterprises to leap in R&D investment by guiding enterprises in digital transformation and relaxing loan restrictions to ease financing constraints, which is of positive significance to the improvement of enterprises' independent innovation capability.Second, it is essential to clarify the directions of enterprise development and competitive advantages.In the digital era, many enterprises have carried out digital transformation one after another.It should be highly stressed that enterprises should choose digital transformation strategies that match with their own characteristics.Third, enterprises may experience a "painful period" at the beginning of digital transformation, which is not conducive to R&D investment leap.Nevertheless, enterprises should realize the importance of R&D innovation to promote the formation of enterprise core competitiveness from a long-term perspective, so as to overcome temporary difficulties at the beginning of digital transformation for a better development of enterprises in the future.Focusing on R&D innovation can increase the possibility of high-level digital transformation for companies and enhance the positive role of digital technology as a new guide to R&D innovation activities.The main contribution with this paper is its focus on the impact of enterprise digital transformation on R&D investment leap, and it provides new ideas for understanding digital transformation as the core driving force of Chinese economic growth.#br#
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Received: 12 December 2022
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