How fiscal policy drives corporate digital transformation: an analysis of the synergistic effects of tax incentives and special subsidies

Against the backdrop of the accelerated development of the digital economy, digital transformation has become a key pathway for enterprises to enhance their core competitiveness and achieve high-quality development. As an important instrument of national economic regulation, fiscal policy is playing an increasingly significant role in guiding the allocation of corporate resources and stimulating technological innovation. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2023, this paper empirically examines the impact of tax incentives and special subsidies on enterprise digital transformation, and further analyzes the synergistic effects of these two policy instruments as well as their heterogeneous effects across different types of ownership. The study finds that: First, tax incentives significantly promote enterprise digital transformation by alleviating financial constraints faced during the early stages of transformation; second, special subsidies directly increase enterprises’ motivation to adopt digital technologies through fiscal support; third, there is a positive synergy between tax incentives and special subsidies, with the combined use of both policies substantially enhancing the incentive effect; fourth, this synergy is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and less evident in non-state-owned enterprises, indicating the existence of heterogeneous transmission mechanisms of fiscal policy across different ownership types. This paper enriches the micro-level empirical evidence on the interplay between fiscal policy and corporate behavior and provides important policy implications. Based on the research findings, it is recommended to optimize the design of fiscal policy mixes, strengthen policy precision and coordination, and promote high-quality digital transformation of enterprises through tailored policy measures.