首页|民营企业数字化转型战略选择——"释放信号"还是"真刀实干"

民营企业数字化转型战略选择——"释放信号"还是"真刀实干"

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分析企业数字化转型的战略选择,具有重要的理论和实践意义.一般而言,民营企业的合法性动机较强,但资源实力相对较弱,因此,在数字化转型趋势的推动下,民营企业可能会产生脱耦行为.基于企业行为动机的角度,利用2009-2018年中国上市公司样本,分析了民营企业不同的数字化行为,并进一步检验了地区数字化基础设施建设水平和企业绩效期望落差的调节作用.实证结果发现:(1)民营企业会在年报中更多地传递数字化愿景,但更少地进行实际的数字化投资;(2)从外部因素的角度,处在数字化基础设施建设水平较高地区的民营企业,会受到更大的合法性压力,因此会更多地在年报中传递数字化愿景;(3)从内部因素的角度,绩效期望落差越大的民营企业,其数字化转型的经济动机越强,因此会更多地进行实际的数字化投资.此外,进一步考虑了宏观环境因素、企业规模异质性等因素的作用.
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

刘子諝、周江华、李纪珍

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中央财经大学商学院,北京 100081

北京师范大学经济与工商管理学院,北京 100875

清华大学经济管理学院动态竞争与创新战略研究中心,北京 100084

数字化转型 战略选择 民营企业 数字化基础设施 绩效预期落差

国家自然科学基金项目国家自然科学基金项目清华大学中国现代国有企业研究院专项课题

7240224872272015iSOEYB202302

2024

科学学与科学技术管理
中国科学学与科技政策研究会 天津市科学学研究所

科学学与科学技术管理

CSTPCDCSSCICHSSCD北大核心
影响因子:1.68
ISSN:1002-0241
年,卷(期):2024.45(10)