The digital economy, enterprise digital transformation, and enterprise innovation

Drawing on the resource dependency view, we examine the impact of the regional digital economy on enterprise innovation. Using data on Chinese A‐share listed manufacturing firms between 2011 and 2019, we find that digital economy development is positively associated with enterprise innovation. In addition, the digital economy positively enhances enterprise digital transformation, and enterprise digital transformation has a significant positive effect on enterprise innovation. Thus, enterprise digital transformation partially mediates the relationship between the digital economy and enterprise innovation. Furthermore, enterprise efficiency significantly positively moderates the direct and indirect effects of the digital economy on enterprise innovation.