Broadband infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation: Evidence from China

Meng Li, Zhengqi Wang, Linhan Shu and Haoyu Gao

Research in International Business and Finance, 2025, vol. 73, issue PB

Abstract: Broadband infrastructure, as a basis of digital economic development, plays an important role in accelerating the enterprise digital transformation. Using the “Broadband China” strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper investigates whether and how the broadband infrastructure affects enterprise digital transformation. We find that the construction of broadband infrastructure significantly increases enterprise digital transformation. The underlying mechanism is that the broadband infrastructure mitigates transformation costs and facilitates competition among peers within the same industry, thereby promoting enterprise digital transformation from both active and passive aspects. The effect is magnified when enterprises are small-scale, non-SOEs and in high-tech or technology-intensive sectors. Under the rapid development of the digital economy, this paper contributes to the economic consequences of the broadband infrastructure and offers empirical support for enterprise digital transformation.

Keywords: Broadband infrastructure; Digital transformation; The “Broadband China” strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pb:s0275531924004380

DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102645

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