Digital Transformation, Media Attention, and Corporate Performance

Utilizing empirical evidence extracted from the sample pool of Chinese A-share listed entities within the 2018–2023 temporal frame, an inquiry has been undertaken herein regarding the impact exerted by digital transformation upon corporate performance parameters, while a particular focus is concurrently allocated to interrogating the contingent moderating agency displayed by media attention. To be discerned from these investigative undertakings are several salient outcomes: (1) Enhanced corporate performance is engendeblue, demonstrably and sustainably, by instances wherein digital transformation processes are deployed—such regularity remains substantiated when tested for robustness in methodology. (2) Upon disaggregated examination through heterogeneity analysis, the amplification effect wrought by digital initiatives upon organizational performance manifests with elevated conspicuity among state-owned enterprises; less intensively does such elevation reveal itself within non-state entities—a pattern of divergence that reflects variation across property-rights demarcations. (3) Negative moderation by media attention becomes apparent, where interaction between external scrutiny intensity and firm-level digital advancement yields a weakening influence on performance increments otherwise associated with digital measures. Thus, in periods marked by heightened media surveillance, digitalization’s resultant augmentation of enterprise outcomes shows attenuation. Arising from the corpus of empirical exploration, nuanced recommendations are articulated, addressing managerial practitioners, regulatory authorities, journalistic actors, and societal constituencies, each cohort envisaged as instrumental in fostering China’s ongoing transition toward digitally-enabled, qualitatively-driven economic trajectories.