The Digital Transformation Choice of Private Firms in Traditional Industries:"Releasing Symbolic Cues"or"Making Substantial Changes"
At present,the rapid development of digital technology is driving various industries into a new digital era.Therefore,it is of great theoretical and practical significance to analyze firms'strategic choices for digital transformation un-der the current background.In this context,this study aims to deconstruct the motivations for firms to implement digital strategies,understand the differentiated behaviors of firms in the trend of digital transformation,and further supplement and improve research on firms'digital strategic decision-making.Generally speaking,traditional experience suggests that private firms have strong legitimacy motives but relatively weak resource bases.Therefore,driven by the trend of digital transformation,private firms may exhibit decoupling behavior.In other words,private firms may tend to frequently mention and emphasize digital strategic behavior in public texts such as their annual reports,thereby communicating their digital vision to stakeholders;however,such firms may actually have rela-tively lower levels of digital investment.Based on the perspective of firm behavioral motivation,using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2018,this article empirically analyzes different digital behaviors of private firms and further examines the moderating ef-fects of regional digital infrastructure construction levels and performance shortfalls.Empirical results show that:(1)Private firms tend to communicate their digital vision more in their annual reports but actually invest less in digitalization;(2)From the perspective of external factors,private firms in regions with high levels of digital infrastructure construction are subject to greater legitimacy pressure and therefore communicate their digital vision more in annual reports;(3)From the perspec-tive of internal factors,private firms with larger performance shortfalls have stronger economic motivations for digital trans-formation and therefore invest more in actual digitalization.In addition,this study further considers the effects of macro-en-vironmental factors and firm-specific heterogeneity,allowing for a more comprehensive and in-depth exploration of our re-search conclusions.For managers,the findings underscore the need to balance the outward projection of digital readiness with a pragmatic assessment of the firm's capacity and willingness to undertake substantive digital initiatives.It is essential to align strategic communications with the actual capabilities and investment strategies to avoid potential credibility gaps that may arise from decoupling symbolic cues from real actions.For policymakers,the research highlights the importance of creating an enabling environment that not only promotes the digital aspirations of firms but also supports their digital actualization.By investing in regional digital infrastructure,policymakers can lower the barriers to digital adoption and encourage a more robust and wide-spread engagement in digital transformation initiatives.Additionally,policymakers should be mindful of the performance expectations gap and provide support mechanisms that help firms leverage digital technologies to achieve their performance goals.Finally,this study calls for further research to explore the long-term implications of digital transformation strategies on firm performance and the role of firm-specific factors in shaping these strategies.Future studies could also investigate the differential effects of digital transformation on various industry sectors and the moderating role of firm size,market competi-tion,and technological advancements.By extending the research in these directions,it is necessary to gain a more holistic understanding of the digital transformation landscape and its implications for firms,industries,and economies at large.
digital transformationstrategic choiceprivate enterprisesdigital infrastructureperformance shortfall