Differentiated digital transformation strategies in manufacturing: The impact of firm ownership on productivity

Di Wang, Bin He, Nier Dong and Daocheng Yang

International Review of Economics & Finance, 2025, vol. 99, issue C

Abstract: As information technology rapidly advances, digital transformation has become an important trend in enterprise development globally, particularly for manufacturing firms aiming to enhance productivity and competitiveness. This study examines the impact of digital transformation on the production efficiency of Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises from 2011 to 2021, employing a dynamic common factor model and a panel data quantile regression model. The findings reveal a path-dependent relationship between digital transformation and production efficiency, with limited improvements observed at lower efficiency levels. However, once production efficiency reaches a certain threshold, the effect of digital transformation in enhancing productivity becomes increasingly significant. Moreover, the study highlights the heterogeneity of digital transformation's impact across different ownership structures. High-tech state-owned and private enterprises significantly benefit from cost reduction, innovation, alleviation of financial constraints, and improvements in decision-making and human capital. In contrast, non-high-tech state-owned enterprises exhibit limited improvements in cost reduction and decision-making, while non-high-tech private enterprises show limited productivity gains from human capital development. These findings emphasise the necessity of aligning digital transformation strategies with ownership characteristics, offering valuable insights for policymakers and management practices seeking to optimise the impact of digital transformation.

Keywords: Digital transformation; Manufacturing; Productivity; Enterprise ownership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 L60 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056025001650
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reveco:v:99:y:2025:i:c:s1059056025001650

DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2025.104002

Access Statistics for this article

International Review of Economics & Finance is currently edited by H. Beladi and C. Chen

More articles in International Review of Economics & Finance from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().