The effect of government informatization construction on corporate digital technology innovation: New evidence from China

Abstract This study explores the impact of government informatization construction on corporate digital technology innovation. It uses the integration of informatization and industrialization pilot zones in China as a quasi‐natural experiment of government informatization construction, and construct a difference‐in‐differences model. Based on a sample of Chinese A‐share corporations from 2007 to 2021, the empirical findings reveal that government informatization construction significantly promotes corporate digital technology innovation by enhancing corporate attention to digital technologies and reducing transaction costs. Furthermore, the positive impact is more pronounced in the southern regions and regions with stronger intellectual property protection and high‐tech and digital economy industries, as well as mature‐stage corporations and corporations with higher levels of digital technology innovation. These findings provide valuable insights for implementing informatization policies and facilitating corporate digital technology innovation.