Does digital-real integration drive enterprise ambidextrous innovation balance?

The deep integration of the digital and real economies provides technological empowerment and strategic support for the innovative development of enterprises in China. This study employs the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model to quantify the balance of ambidextrous innovation by analyzing the textual content of analyst reports on listed companies. It examines how digital-real integration affects this balance, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Empirical results indicate that digital-real integration exerts a significant positive effect on promoting ambidextrous innovation balance in enterprises. This finding holds after addressing potential endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital-real integration facilitates ambidextrous innovation balance by enhancing management efficiency and optimizing production factor allocation. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of digital-real integration is more pronounced in enterprises facing lower financial constraints, those operating in more competitive markets, and those located in regions with more advanced digital infrastructure. This study elucidates the mechanism through which digital-real integration influences ambidextrous innovation balance from both theoretical and practical perspectives, offering valuable insights for promoting the synergistic enhancement of corporate innovation capabilities.