The effect of digital transformation on intrapreneurship in real economy enterprises: a labor input perspective

Abstract

PurposeDigital transformation is a confidence booster in intrapreneurship, but few have examined its impact on intrapreneurship. Further, quantitative analyses exploring the impact of Chinese enterprises' digital transformation on intrapreneurship at the micro-level are rare. Most enterprises do not have the dividend for digital transformation, and few enterprises have successfully achieved digital transformation through intrapreneurship, internal management re-engineering and technological innovation. This study investigates the effect of digital transformation on intrapreneurship in Chinese real economy enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops and tests a theoretical model that digital transformation impacts intrapreneurship by promoting working capital turnover and furtherly influencing labor input. Panel data of 1,638 Chinese-listed companies between 2007 and 2020 were used to complete the empirical test.FindingsDigital transformation impacted labor input, with an inverted-U shaped relationship between the two, and labor input significantly stimulated intrapreneurship. This effect promoted labor input's impact on working capital. Chinese real economy enterprises generally increase labor investment to promote intrapreneurship. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that enterprises' asset scale and ownership attributes uniformly affected labor input.Originality/valueThis study provided empirical evidence of the promotional effect of real economy enterprises' digital transformation on intrapreneurship. Further, it advanced the literature by examining this relationship at the micro-level. Moreover, the data sample was long-term and included most industries, thus providing representative results with practical implications.

Digital transformation, competitive strategy choices and firm value: evidence from China

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Navigating the manufacturing revolution: identifying the digital transformation antecedents

“…The pursuit of improving performance in the modern-day business setting has led many organizations to prioritize DT. Although extensive studies have previously been conducted on the effect of DT on FP, the studies indicate that adopting and implementing DT practices has a noteworthy impact on the organization's performance, particularly focussing on the adoption of user technology and integration of digital technology (Cheng et al, 2023). Furthermore, DT can enhance the operational efficacy and effectiveness of businesses.…”

Intrapreneurial Capabilities: Multidimensional Construction and Measurement Index Validation

“…Entrepreneurial opportunities arise from new knowledge and ideas, and the transfer of knowledge resources promotes enterprise entrepreneurship, so the greater the new knowledge input, the higher the success rate of intrapreneurship [52]. In order to cope with the uncertainty of the internal and external environment, endogenous technological innovain ensuring the sustained growth of the economy, and internal innovation has become an important impetus for enterprises to actively implement innovation strategies [19,53,54]. Since entrepreneurship is an endogenous reaction to the potential commercialization of knowledge that is not yet fully commercialized by the inservice enterprise, exogenous exists, and then endogenous seeks and applies knowledge inputs to generate innovation outputs in order to obtain the returns of this knowledge input.…”