Digital Economy Regulation and Digital Transformation of Enterprises:A Balancing Analysis of Benefits and Costs
Moderate regulation is the institutional guarantee for the integrated development of the digital and real economy.As the leading role of the digital economy continues to emerge,market failures,such as threats to fair competition,obstacles to data circulation and sharing,damage to the legitimate rights and interests of digital enterprises,and increased digital business risks,are gradually emerging.If not effectively controlled,it will not only worsen the external environment for enterprise digital transformation but also reduce the internal benefits of enterprise digital transformation,which may be the reason for the current difficulties in enterprise digital transformation.The literature related to the regulation of the digital economy mostly focuses on discussing the theoretical role of regulatory tools at the macroeconomic level,without systematically analyzing the practical impact of micro enterprises.Can the government's regulatory measures on the digital economy effectively correct market failures,create a favorable digital external transformation environment for enterprises,and enhance the internal driving force of digital transformation,thereby helping enterprises achieve smooth digital transformation?The academic community has paid little attention to this issue,providing an opportunity for this study.Based on administrative penalty data related to urban digital economy regulation from 2011 to 2021 and data from A-share listed companies,this study explores the impact of digital economy regulation on enterprise digital transformation and its underlying mechanism from the perspective of economic governance.The results indicate that in the current relaxed regulatory environment,digital economy regulation has a positive promoting effect on the overall digital transformation of enterprises and remains valid after a series of robustness tests.The mechanism analysis found that,by correcting market failures,digital economy regulation not only optimizes the digital transformation environment by maintaining competitive order,strengthening data information sharing,and encouraging innovative production but also reduces operating costs and increases operating profits to improve the business situation of enterprises,thereby forming incentives for the digital transformation of enterprises.The heterogeneity analysis found that this driving effect is more significant for companies with weak digital foundations,cities in the early stages of regulation,and regions where digital economy regulation and corporate digital development collaborate.The contributions of this article have three aspects.First,we construct indicators for digital economy regulation by defining the content and quantifying the indicators of digital economy regulation,providing ideas for evaluating regulatory intensity and empirically testing regulatory effectiveness.Second,the impact of digital economy regulation on enterprise digital transformation and its transmission mechanism was studied,enriching research on the factors influencing enterprise digital transformation and providing a theoretical basis for the government to better regulate the digital economy and promote enterprise digital transformation.Third,conducting heterogeneity analysis based on the digital foundation of enterprises,the regulatory intensity of the regional digital economy,and the degree of synergy between digitalization and regulation provides a new perspective for the heterogeneity analysis of the enterprise digital transformation literature and provides policy inspiration for urging local governments to monitor the dynamism of digital transformation in real time and coordinate the regulatory intensity of the digital economy.The research conclusions can provide useful policy insights for building a digital economy regulatory system and promoting the digital transformation of enterprises.First,the government should establish a sound regulatory system for the digital economy,improve regulation and governance of the digital economy,optimize the internal and external environment for enterprise digital operations,promote enterprise digital transformation,and inject impetus into high-quality economic development.Second,in the process of strengthening the digital transformation capability of enterprises through digital economy regulation,it is necessary to continuously adjust the regulatory intensity,weigh the benefits and costs of digital economy regulation,and strive to ensure that digital economy regulation has a positive effect while reducing the negative impact of digital economy regulation.Finally,we must adhere to the synergy between digital economy regulation and the development of the digital economy;promote moderate,standardized,and effective regulation of the digital economy through development;and promote the healthy,orderly,and sustainable development of the digital economy through regulation.
Digital Economy RegulationDigital TransformationGovernment and MarketCoordination of Regulation and Development
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
