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Science & Technology Strategy and Policy

Research on the Impact of Digital Transformation Policies on Original Technology Breakthroughs in State-Owned Enterprises 

Liu Hedong, Li Bingchang 

(School of Economics and Management, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, China)

Abstract: Driven by a new round of technological revolution accelerated by emerging digital  technologies, the digital economy—leveraging the core value of data as a production factor and  other distinctive advantages—has gradually become a vital pillar supporting the restructuring of  the industrial system. To this end, the government has introduced a series of digital transformation policies to promote enterprise transformation. Against the backdrop of intensifying global  technological competition and major-power rivalry, the "bottleneck" technology challenges in  critical segments of the industrial chain urgently need to be resolved, and breakthroughs in original technology have become an important developmental mission of the present era. State-owned  enterprises (SOEs), shouldering the critical responsibility of implementing national strategies  and cultivating original technology sources, constitute the core actors and backbone of China's  efforts to achieve original technology breakthroughs. Accordingly, clarifying the intrinsic mechanism by which digital transformation policies promote original technology breakthroughs in  SOEs, and accurately measuring their impact effects, carries significant practical research value. From the two dimensions of internal R&D and external collaboration, this paper dissects the  mechanism by which digital transformation policies affect original technology breakthroughs in  SOEs. Based on relevant data of A-share listed SOEs on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2014 to 2024, and employing a difference-in-differences (DID) model, this paper  empirically tests the mechanism through which digital transformation policies act on original  technology breakthroughs in SOEs, as well as the overall and heterogeneous impact effects. The findings reveal that: ①digital transformation policies can significantly promote original technology breakthroughs in SOEs; ②the mechanism tests show that, internally, digital transformation  policies enhance R&D efficiency and enable precise R&D, while externally, they alleviate financing constraints, strengthen knowledge spillover effects, and aggregate innovative talent, thereby promoting original technology breakthroughs in SOEs; ③heterogeneity tests show that  digital transformation policies exert a significant positive promotion effect on original technology  breakthroughs in non-high-tech industries, non-manufacturing sectors, and central SOEs. Based on the above conclusions, this paper proposes policy recommendations from three aspects: first, further establish and improve digital transformation policies and refine supporting measures; second, formulate scientific innovation strategies—SOEs should attach importance both to  enhancing internal R&D efficiency and precise R&D capabilities, and to accumulating external  resources of capital, knowledge, and talent, driving original technology breakthroughs through internal and external dual drivers; third, adopt differentiated strategies for SOEs with different  characteristics, taking the characteristics of various SOEs as the starting point for strategy formulation and tailoring measures to each enterprise. 

Key words: digital transformation; policy research; state-owned enterprises; original technology breakthrough; mechanism and effect; digital technology; original innovation; artificial intelligence