| Emerging technologies,such as big data,the Internet of Things,cloud comeputing,and artificial intelligence,have propelled human society into the era of the digital economy.As digital technology continues to penetrate,new market opportunities,industry forms,and business models continue to emerge and iterate,changing all aspects of business operations and management with unprecedented breadth,speed,and depth.In the face of profound changes in technology and the market environment in the digital economy,digital tools and platforms are being used to drive organizational change,accelerate product and service innovation,and achieve digital transformation.This has become a strategic choice for most enterprises to improve business performance and seek sustainable competitive advantage.In recent years,the domestic and international economy has been in the doldrums,economic policy uncertainty is increasing,and various development strategies of enterprises have been adjusted,all of which have been further affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Therefore,it is of practical significance to study the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the digital transformation of enterprises.This paper examines the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the digital transformation of enterprises using Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021 as the research sample.Real options theory,financial friction theory,and uncertainty theory are combined to explore this relationship.The study finds that companies are more likely to undergo digital transformation in search of growth when economic policy uncertainty is high.The results are robust after conducting various tests,including replacement variable,replacement model,and instrumental variable method.The moderating role of regional institutions on the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and digital transformation is also considered from the perspective of institutional theory.Additionally,executives’ social capital is examined as a moderating factor using social capital theory.The study further analyzes the inner logic of economic policy uncertainty affecting firms’ digital transformation by using the level of internal financing and R&D expenditures as mechanisms of action.The impact of a firm’s high-tech attributes,the degree of executive confidence in future operations,the nature of the firm’s property rights,and the intensity of product competition on the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and a firm’s digital transformation is also examined.Finally,the study analyzes the economic consequences of digital transformation of firms and finds that digital transformation reduces the business risk of enterprises in the context of economic policy uncertainty and improves their uncertainty resilience.The paper makes the following contributions: firstly,it enriches the relevant research on the influencing factors of enterprise digital transformation and related literature on the economic consequences of economic policy uncertainty by taking economic policy uncertainty as the starting point to study the relationship between the macro environment and enterprise digital transformation.Secondly,the research framework includes the regional system and characteristics of senior executives,providing theoretical support for the institutional environment and senior executives to promote the digital transformation of enterprises.It also studies the internal logic of economic policy uncertainty affecting enterprises’ digital transformation and complements the relevant research on the mechanism of the impact of the macro environment on micro enterprises.Finally,in the context of the significant impact of the epidemic on China and even the global economy and society,the paper provides new ideas for the government to promote enterprises’ digital transformation.It also has practical significance for enterprises’ digital transformation decision-making. |
