Technology Convergence and Firms' Export Product Quality——Empirical Evidence from Chinese Industrial Enterprises
Under the emerging paradigm of mutual promotion between domestic and international dual circulation,the key to accelerating quality change,building a strong trading country,and achieving high-quality economic development hinge on harnessing China's expansive domestic market advantage,fully leveraging high-quality domestic resources,and facilitating the enhancement of export product quality. Technological convergence naturally arises from the rapid evolution of industrial technology and the proliferation of innovation-driven strategies. Yet,scant exploration has been conducted on the factors shaping export product quality through the lens of technological convergence,particularly regarding its mechanisms on enterprise product quality.This study employs data from Chinese industrial enterprises spanning 2000 to 2013 to systematically investigate the impact and mechanisms of technological convergence on export product quality. The findings demonstrate that deepening technological convergence substantially boosts export product quality,which is supported by rigorous robustness and endogeneity assessments. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a more pronounced enhancement in export product quality among non-state-owned,non-foreign-funded,and coastal enterprises. Mechanism inquiries reveal that intensified technological convergence heightens total factor productivity and the efficiency of fixed-cost investments,ultimately leading to an upgrade in export product quality. Moreover,marketization levels and governmental support positively regulate export product quality through technological convergence. These research conclusions provide both theoretical insights and empirical implications for the role of technological convergence in augmenting export product quality.This paper's contributions are twofold:First,it supplements extant literature on technological convergence by constructing enterprise-year level indicators using databases from Chinese industrial enterprises,customs,and patents. It systematically explores the impact and mechanisms of technological convergence on export product quality,elucidating the regulatory roles of market forces and government interventions. Second,it delves into the significant influence of the widespread and wide-ranging technological convergence on export product quality,a facet often overlooked in prior research.The study partially unveils the intricate nexus between technological convergence and export product quality for enterprises,offering guidance to government agencies in crafting targeted policies to foster technological convergence within innovation-driven frameworks. By bolstering the national unified market and fostering independent technological innovation,such as through technological convergence,Chinese enterprises can seamlessly integrate into the global manufacturing ecosystem,thereby enhancing and optimizing export product quality.
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