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Digital Innovation

The Impact of Digital-real Integration on the Eco-innovation of  Agricultural Enterprises: A Case Study of the Beijing-TianjinHebei Region  

Zhou Jiarui1 , Zhang Qi2 , Chang Haoyuan2 , Li Huajing2 

(1.Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; 2.School of Economics and Management, Beijing  Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract: In the context of China's high-quality development strategy, the digital and real  economies ("digital-real integration") has become a core driver of agricultural green transforma⁃ tion. Grounded in the theoretical paradigms of digital-real integration and ecological innovation, this study selects agricultural enterprises in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region as its re⁃ search subjects. Utilizing a questionnaire survey, we collected 330 valid micro-level datasets. By integrating the entropy weight method with an ordered multinomial logit regression model, we  systematically analyze the impact mechanism of digital-real integration on the ecological innova⁃ tion levels of the sampled enterprises. The empirical findings reveal several key insights. First, digital-real integration exerts a significantly positive driving effect on the ecological innovation  of BTH agricultural enterprises, though this effect is heterogeneous across different segments of  the agricultural digitalization chain. In the production segment, agricultural mechanization dem⁃ onstrates the strongest driving force. Second, the driving effect displays significant industrial het⁃ erogeneity: core drivers vary substantially across sub-sectors. Brand building is the central  driver for the agricultural service industry; scale operation and mechanization are key for the  non-edible agricultural product sector; and informatization, quality inspection, and marketing  play critical roles for the edible agricultural product sector. Third, there is significant regional  heterogeneity within the BTH region. The primary drivers in Beijing are production informatiza⁃ tion and scale operation. In Hebei, they are traceability, mechanization, and brand building. No  significant driving factors were identified for Tianjin in our analysis. Furthermore, regarding the  dimensions of ecological innovation, ecological culture construction, environmental guarantees, and management coordination exert a more substantial impact than ecological basic resources  and technological innovation. Finally, this study proposes targeted suggestions from three as⁃ pects: ①agricultural enterprises implementing precise digital investment strategies; ②BTH re⁃ gional governments formulating differentiated support policies; ③the BTH region building a col⁃ laborative agricultural green-digital innovation ecosystem. 

Key words: digital-real integration; ecological innovation; agricultural enterprises in the  Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; entropy method; ordered multinomial Logit regression; digitiza⁃ tion; new quality productivity; digital economy