Digital economy and corporate innovation: evidence from Chinese a-share listed firms

This study systematically summarizes the digital economy's impact on corporate innovation based on four influencing mechanisms, namely enterprise digitalization levels, research and development (R&D) efficiency, R&D cooperation, and human capital. It empirically analyzes this impact from the perspectives of effects, mechanisms, and heterogeneity by matching the Chinese provincial-level digital economy evaluation index with the A-share listed companies' patent data. The results show that if the digital economy-level increases by 1% in a province, enterprises' number of invention patent applications will increase by about 3.70 on average. Additionally, its development has significantly improved the digitalization level of enterprises and promoted their R&D efficiency, which in turn fosters enterprise innovation. Finally, the digital economy's impact on enterprise innovation exhibits heterogeneity, showing a more significant innovation effect on low marketization, high industry technology intensity, and private enterprises. Overall, the findings have important theoretical and policy implications for understanding how the digital economy is deeply integrated into the real economy, thereby promoting enterprise innovation.