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Research on the Asymmetric Influence of Non-R&D Subsidy and R&D Subsidy on Digital Enterprises Performance

Empirical Evidence from China’s Digital Industry

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Abstract

Digital technology innovation has become the core element driving economic development. Digital enterprise innovation improves performance, which is of great significance for effectively releasing digital dividends and achieving high-quality economic development. Based on the panel data of listed enterprises in China’s digital industry in 2008 and 2021, this study uses the two-way fixed effect model to discuss the influence and mechanism of government subsidies on the digital enterprises performance (DEP). Results show that: first, non-research and development (R&D) subsidies can improve the DEP effectively, however, R&D subsidies have a significant inverted U-shaped effect on DEP, and which show a marginal decreasing trend with the improvement of DEP. Second, mechanism tests show that technological innovation plays a mediating role in the process of non-R&D and R&D subsidies affecting DEP. State-owned property rights strengthen the positive impact of R&D subsidies on DEP. Third, heterogeneity tests show that lowering financing constraints enhances the impact of non-R&D and R&D subsidies on DEP, respectively. The improvement of corporate governance and R&D investment strengthens the promotion effect of non-R&D subsidies on DEP. Furthermore, improvements in network infrastructure strengthen the inverted U-shaped relationship between R&D subsidies and DEP. This study provides a valuable reference for the formulation of high-quality development incentive policies for digital enterprises.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR). Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available at https://data.csmar.com/ with the permission of CSMAR.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge funding from **njiang University Outstanding Doctoral Student Innovation Project (XJU2023BS004).

Funding

**njiang University Outstanding Doctoral Student Innovation Project, XJU2023BS004, Guoge Yang.

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Correspondence to Mingyue Du.

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Yang, G., Deng, F. & Du, M. Research on the Asymmetric Influence of Non-R&D Subsidy and R&D Subsidy on Digital Enterprises Performance. J Knowl Econ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01682-2

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