Digital Economy and Intelligent Manufacturing Coupling Coordination: Evidence from China

Abstract

The digital economy uses its own digital information advantages to reduce the intensity of energy consumption brought by economic growth. Intelligent manufacturing achieves cost reduction and efficiency through the integration of manufacturing and intelligence as well as digitalization and information technology. The two have become a new engine for sustainable economic development at present, and they can promote and influence each other. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between them. In this regard, this study aims to build a coupling coordination model of digital economy and intelligent manufacturing and to make an empirical analysis using the data of Chinese provincial administrative regions in order to provide a theoretical reference for promoting sustainable economic development. The research finds that (1) the digital economy and intelligent manufacturing are mainly cross-coupled from four aspects: infrastructure, technological innovation, product optimization and organizational change. The development level and speed of the former are significantly higher than those of the latter, and the gap does not decrease with time. The two have a strong correlation, but there is no high-quality coupling coordination. (2) The main obstacle factors to the digital economy lie in the imperfect supporting facilities, the short board of technological innovation and the lack of technological application capacity. Intelligent manufacturing lacks intelligent application and technological innovation. (3) Influencing factors such as opening to the outside world, economic development, high-level talent input, industrial structure and innovation emphasis have different effects on their coupling and coordinated development in different regions. (4) The spatial correlation test shows that the coupling coordination degree of each region is spatially positively correlated. This research helps to promote the coupling and coordinated development of the digital economy and intelligent manufacturing.

The Development Status of the Manufacturing Industry and the Impact of Digital Characteristics from the Perspective of Innovation

“…Fu and Liu [35] designed indexes for high-quality development and further analyzed the coupling coordination level, space-time change characteristics and obstacles of industrial digitalization and manufacturing industry, by analyzing the case of the Yangtze River Delta. Zhang and Meng [36] conducted coupling coordination analysis on the relationship between digital economy and intelligent manufacturing and achieved several empirical findings. Wang et al [37] analyzed the coupling coordination between digitalization and the upgrading of traditional industry.…”

The impact of ease of doing business and technological infrastructure on economic growth in the Arab world

“…Companies and investors are drawn to countries with high levels of human capital and skilled workers (Dovletmurzaeva, 2023) infrastructure may be propelled by the aspirations and engagement of educated and talented people in technological innovation. According to Zhang and Meng (2023), a positive feedback loop may encourage the growth of both human resources and technology infrastructure. A company's success depends on several factors including people and technology.…”

The Impact of China’s New Infrastructure Development on Urban Innovation Quality—A Quasi-Natural Experiment of Smart City Pilots

“…New infrastructure construction is a technology-driven basic measure. By implementing bottom-up technology promotion, innovation platform mobilization and industrial integration, it can effectively promote the integration and development of digital economy and industry, thus accelerating the transformation of intelligent manufacturing [3,4]. The existing literature predominantly focuses on the unilateral impact of certain types of new infrastructure construction on technological innovation in urban development, primarily centered around high-speed railways, widespread internet access, and their significant influence on green urban development through technological innovation [5], resource optimization [6], and industrial structure enhancement [7,8].…”

“…Smart cities integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet, big data, and Internet of Things [4], and enhance the connectivity and intelligence of infrastructure components such as transportation and information transmission, as well as public services such as medical care and education, thus improving the welfare of all members of society. It can be seen that the artificial intelligence, Internet, and big data involved in the smart city pilot project are highly coincident with the content of new infrastructure construction.…”