FDI Spillovers and High-Quality Development of Enterprises—Evidence from Chinese Service Enterprises

Pei Meng and Hongyi Xu ()
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Pei Meng: School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430062, China
Hongyi Xu: School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430062, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: The core of high-quality development lies in achieving long-term sustainability. In the context of China’s high-quality economic development and high-standard opening-up of the service industry, it is of great theoretical value and practical significance to study how service enterprises can effectively absorb foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers to realize high-quality development and enhance sustainable value creation capability. Based on the panel data of A-share non-financial listed service enterprises in China, this study explores the impact of FDI on the high-quality development of service enterprises in China through various spillover channels, as well as the role of enterprise absorptive capacity in the relationship between FDI and high-quality development. The results show that horizontal and backward spillovers have a significant positive impact on the high-quality development of service enterprises, while forward spillovers have a significant negative impact. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the promotion effect of horizontal spillovers is more pronounced on enterprises in the eastern region, capital-intensive enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and producer service enterprises. The promotion effect of backward spillovers is particularly evident for enterprises in the central and western regions, capital-intensive enterprises, SMEs, non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), and producer service enterprises. The further threshold regression model finds that service enterprises with higher absorptive capacity benefit more through horizontal and vertical spillovers for their high-quality development.

Keywords: FDI spillovers; high-quality development; service enterprises; absorptive capacity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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