Digital Transformation and New Quality Productivity in SMEs: Evidence of Corporate Managerial Ability in China

This study utilizes data from Chinese listed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2010 to 2023. Based on dynamic capability theory and behavioral theory, we examine how corporate digital transformation influences new quality productivity and analyze the mediating role of managerial ability. The results indicate that digital transformation significantly and positively impacts the development of new quality productivity in SMEs, with managerial ability exerting a mediating effect. Furthermore, industry technological turbulence, ESG ratings, and digital intellectual property protection amplify the promotional effect of digital transformation on new quality productivity. Additionally, digital transformation plays a crucial role in enhancing new quality productivity for enterprises operating in more competitive industries, high-tech enterprises, and specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative (SRDI) enterprises. This study extends the digital transformation literature by integrating managerial ability as a key internal mechanism linking digitalization to new quality productivity within SMEs, offering evidence derived from a large-scale longitudinal dataset.