Research On The Influence Mechanism And Path Of Digital Transformation On Enterprise Performance

In the context of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change,digital technology,as a new "factor of production",is deeply integrated with the real economy.It serves as a new engine for high-quality industrial development and propels the traditional economy toward digital transformation.To achieve organizational optimization and performance improvement through digital transformation,traditional enterprises are increasingly adopting it as a core development strategy.However,digital transformation is a complex and systematic project.Enterprises need to make several changes,including the removal of the conventional path dependency,technology upgrades,organizational structure adjustments,and resource reorganizations.The cost of transformation is enormous,and the suffering lasts a long time.In this process,it is still unclear whether the growth in management costs brought on by digital transformation will have a greater negative influence on enterprise performance,or whether the mode innovation and efficiency optimization driven by digital transformation will have a greater positive impact on enterprise performance.Consequently,it is of both theoretical and practical significance to further demonstrate the impact of digital transformation on enterprise performance and its path mechanism from the perspective of micro-enterprises.Based on contingency management theory,resource-based theory,and information asymmetry theory,this paper uses China’s A-share listed manufacturing enterprises from2012 to 2020 as research samples,and empirically tests the impact of the digital technology application stage and digital business model transformation stage on enterprise performance from the perspective of the process.To investigate the multi-path mechanism of digital transformation affecting enterprise performance,a multi-mediating effect model based on structural equations is created.The results show that the two stages of digital transformation-the digital technology application and the digital business model transformation-can significantly improve the performance of enterprises,with the impact of the latter stage being greater.Furthermore,digital transformation can indirectly enhance the performance of enterprises by reducing production costs,improving the efficiency of human capital use,and increasing the output of technological innovation,while indirectly inhibiting the performance improvement of enterprises by raising transaction costs and technological innovation input.In addition,the results of the peer effect test demonstrate that the enterprise’s digital transformation is impacted by the peer effects of industry,region,and industry×region.The results of scenario analysis suggest that digital transformation has a more obvious enhancement effect on enterprise performance in the samples of state-owned enterprises,a higher degree of intellectual property protection,and a more dynamic environment.The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the microeconomic effects of the digital transformation of actual enterprises and provide the theoretical basis for the government to formulate effective industrial policies.