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Science and Technology Management and Innovation Management

Research on the Impact of Institutional Forces on Digital Invest⁃ ment of Private Enterprises  

Chen Shuangying, Wen Yi, Zhou Jingyi 

(School of Economics and Management, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu  611731, China)

Abstract: Drawing on neo-institutional theory, this paper explores the direct impacts of for⁃ mal institutional forces represented by government regulation, as well as informal institutional  forces, including industrial imitation and regional imitation, on private enterprises' digital invest⁃ ment, alongside the interactive effects among the three institutional forces. It further examines  the contingency effects of marketization degree and corporate ownership origin. Adopting a twoway fixed-effects regression model controlling for individual and time heterogeneity, this study  conducts benchmark, interaction, and moderation effect regressions based on panel data of pri⁃ vate manufacturing firms listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2009 to 2023, with endogeneity and robustness tests implemented. The empirical results demonstrate that: ① Government regulation force, industrial imitation force and regional imitation force respectively  boost private enterprises' digital investment; ② The three institutional forces exert synergistic  and complementary effects to jointly facilitate digital investment; ③Marketization degree weak⁃ ens the promotional effect of government regulation force while strengthening the impacts of in⁃ dustrial and regional imitation forces; ④Compared with private enterprises originated from selfestablishment, those originated from the privatization of state-owned enterprises strengthen the  promotional effects of government regulation force and regional imitation force on digital invest⁃ ment. From the perspective of neo-institutional theory, this paper integrates institutional forces  and organizational legitimacy demands to research the influencing mechanisms of diverse institu⁃ tional forces on private enterprises' digital investment. It broadens the external research perspec⁃ tive of corporate digitalization and enriches relevant literature on digital driving mechanisms. Three managerial implications are concluded. First, governments shall optimize external institu⁃ tional guidance and leverage supporting policies to guide corporate digital investment decisions. Second, differentiated and targeted policies should be formulated in accordance with regional  marketization progress and corporate ownership attributes. Third, private enterprises ought to  fully recognize the positive effects of multi-dimensional institutional forces and convert institu⁃ tional incentives into internal momentum for digital investment. 

Key words: digital investment; government regulation force; market imitation force; organi⁃ zational legitimacy; private manufacturing enterprise; neo-institutional theory; marketization de⁃ gree; ownership origin type