The Impact of Firm Age on the Marginal Effect of Digital Transformation:"Older and Stronger"or"Old and Stagnant"?
Under the opportunities presented by the development of the digital economy,the behavioral logic of firms is closely related to their internal characteristics.Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms between 2007 and 2020,this study analyzes the differentiated performance of enterprise digital transformation from the perspective of firm age.The results show that older firms tend to adopt fewer digital technologies,with lower levels of application.Mechanism analysis reveals that older firms are generally more conservative in their development,are more likely to be concentrated in industries with less favorable conditions for digital transfor-mation,and have lower operational management efficiency,all of which hinder their digital transformation.Further analysis indicates that firms with government-business links do not slow down their digital transforma-tion due to their age.Additionally,a broken window effect exists within cities,meaning that firms tend to imi-tate other firms in the same city that are relatively aged and slow in their digital transformation.Therefore,it is necessary to incorporate inherent differences such as firm age characteristics into the development framework of the digital economy and promote digital transformation in a more scientific and reasonable manner.
digital transformationfirm ageconservative tendencypeer effectbroken window effect
万方数据
