Digital finance and corporate breakthrough innovation: Evidence from China

This paper empirically investigates the impact of digital finance on the breakthrough innovation of enterprises with a sample of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2022. It is found that digital finance can promote corporate breakthrough innovation, and presents certain structural heterogeneity characteristics. The mechanism test shows that digital finance has the dual attributes of a financing platform and a social platform, which can promote breakthrough innovation by alleviating corporate financing constraints and expanding corporate social networks. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the role of digital finance in promoting breakthrough innovation is characterized by regional heterogeneity, with digital finance playing a greater role in promoting breakthrough innovation in provinces with a low level of development of the banking sector, provinces with a high level of development of the capital market sector, and the central region. In addition, the degree of firms’ external financing dependence and the degree of product market competition can strengthen the positive effect of digital finance on firms’ breakthrough innovation. This paper enriches the related research on the impact of digital finance on enterprise innovation, and provides theoretical basis and policy insights on how digital finance can better assist the innovation-driven development strategy.