How does the digital transformation drive digital technology innovation of enterprises? Evidence from enterprise's digital patents

Digital technology innovation has become an important driving force for economic development. By analyzing data from Chinese A-share listed firms spanning the period from 2000 to 2020, this study investigates the impact of digital transformation on corporate digital technology innovation. Results show that digital transformation significantly enhances corporate digital technology innovation, which remains robust after undergoing various tests. Mechanism analyses show that digital transformation improves the core competitiveness, alleviates financing constraints, enhances internal control quality, and increases R&D investment, thereby influencing corporate digital technology innovation. And the degree of industry competition intensifies the role of digital transformation in promoting digital technology innovation among enterprises. The positive effects of digital transformation are most pronounced in the eastern regions, technology-intensive industries, firms in maturity and decline, and state-owned enterprises. Further analyses show that digital transformation enhances the quality of corporate digital technology innovation and fosters collaborative digital innovation. This study confirms the promoting effect of digital transformation on corporate digital technology innovation, not only enriching the research field of digital innovation, but also providing insights for policy-making related to digital technology innovation and strategic decision-making for corporate digital development.