When is Digital Technology Beneficial Toward Corporate Innovation? A Meta-Analysis

Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of digital innovation research on the relationship between digital technology and corporate innovation. However, the evidence across different disciplines and contexts regarding the innovation outcomes of digital technology has been contradictory. Using the meta-analysis approach, we examined 176,253 observations from 113 studies and found a positive relationship between digital technology and corporate innovation. From a knowledge-based perspective, we argue that the positive impact of digital technology on corporate innovation stems from knowledge generation, knowledge flow, and knowledge absorption. Furthermore, we posit that the benefits that digital technology brings to corporate innovation depend upon the external conditions in which the corporations are situated. In particular, our study presents empirical evidence showing that the relationship is stronger in countries with weak institutional support of innovation and a weak rule of law. In this study, we find no evidence to suggest that the effect size varies across various industrial contexts and innovation paradigms. Moreover, we find that the positive impacts of digital technology on corporate innovation appear to grow with time. Our paper contributes both to technology management and corporate innovation management, delivering possibilities for and insights into managerial practices.