Do R&D Background Senior Executives Enhance Digitalization?Based on Text Analysis
Digitalization refers to the firm aim to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional enterprises through the application of new digital technologies such as big data,cloud computing,Internet of Things,and blockchain,and ultimately enable enterprises to achieve high-quality development in the digital transformation of organizational interac-tion,production processes,manufacturing processes,and business models.The implementing change with emerging digital technologies is both an importance opportunity and a risky challenge.Although digitalization faces various obstacles such as insufficient knowledge and experience reserve,high-cost input,and long transformation cycle.How should firms respond in order to better implement their digitalization strategy?Based on the upper echelon theory,due to the limited rationality,the personal characteristics and past experiences of senior executives will affect their management behavior decisions.As an im-portant experience of senior executives,prior functional background may be considered as a basis for decision-making.Obviously,the digitalization strategy needs higher requirements for the professional competence of senior executives.As thus,does the knowledge that executives have gained from their previous work experience make them more inclined to en-hance firm's competitive advantage through digitalization strategies?We used the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2019 as research samples.We empirically tested the relationship between the proportion of R&D background senior executives and the degree of digitalization.We found that the proportion of R&D background senior executive has a significant positive correlation with the degree of digitaliza-tion.We found that the dynamic capabilities mediating the relationship between the proportion of R&D background senior executives and the degree of digitalization.We further found that the positive relationship between the proportion of R&D background senior executives and the degree of digitalization could be positively moderated by less managerial myopia or medium fault-line.Our study has provided following contributions.First,our study focused on the micro level of digitalization.Our study supplemented the relevant research on the factors of digitalization from the TMTs'perspective.Secondly,our study ex-tended the value realization of R&D background senior executives and provided the empirical evidence for the implementa-tion effect of R&D background senior executives in promoting digitalization.Finally,our study analyzed the impact of the managerial myopia and TMTs'fault-line on the relationship between the proportion of R&D background senior executives and digitalization.We provided empirical evidence for firms to implement digitalization more efficiently by dynamically adjusting the structure of the TMTs and objectively evaluating the technical environment.Our study has the following three management implications:First,with the vigorous development of the current digital economy prompting firms to constantly explore transformation process,diversified structure of the TMT may be conducive to improve firm's competitive advantages.Secondly,in the face of digital technology changes and external environment changes,firms under the peer pressure may ignore the high uncertainty during digitalization and choose to implement digita-lization strategy hesitantly.Finally,it is necessary for government to optimize the regional talent introduction strategy to create a"soft"environment for local firms to better achieve digitalization.
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