Yan Zh. Impact of Digital Transformation on Organizational Performance: A Regional Analysis of China’s Industrial Development

Zhaoqiang Yan
Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation

Abstract. In the era of the digital economy, the digitalization and informatization process of Chinese industrial enterprises is steadily pushing forward, and there is also great expectation for improving enterprise performance through digital transformation. However, due to the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic and geopolitical conflicts, the digital transformation of most industrial enterprises is not smooth. The intricate relationship between digital transformation and enterprise performance has also left many companies confused about whether to undergo digital transformation. Therefore, timely grasping digital opportunities and accurately implementing digital strategies are of great importance for industrial enterprises to enhance their performance as well as achieve high-quality development. However, there is currently no unified consensus in academia regarding the relationship between digital transformation and enterprise performance. One side believes that digital transformation can bring positive effects, while the other side proposes that digital transformation will exacerbate the digital divide and suppress corporate performance. The relationship between digital transformation and enterprise performance requires more research. According to existing literature reviews and the current development status of the industrial economy, this article constructs two quantitative evaluation systems for digitalization level and enterprise performance, respectively. On this basis, after collecting panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2014 to 2023, this article uses the entropy weight method to calculate the comprehensive score of these two variables, and an empirical test was conducted to clarify the impact of digitalization level on enterprise performance through benchmark regression, endogeneity test, robustness test, and heterogeneity test. The results indicate that digital transformation can significantly improve the performance of industrial enterprises, and the higher the degree of digitalization, the more significant this positive effect will be.
Key words: digital economy, industrial development, digital transformation, digitalization level, enterprise performance, impact mechanism, entropy method, panel data, empirical test.
Citation. Yan Zh., 2025. Impact of Digital Transformation on Organizational Performance: A Regional Analysis of China’s Industrial Development. Regionalnaya ekonomika. Yug Rossii [Regional Economy. South of Russia], vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 116-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/re.volsu.2025.3.10

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