Digital inclusive finance and digital innovation in private enterprises

This paper empirically examines the impact and mechanisms of digital inclusive finance on the digital innovation in private enterprises. The results indicate that digital inclusive finance significantly improves the digital innovation of private enterprises, and the IT background of executives can strengthen the role of digital inclusive finance in driving digital innovation of private enterprises. The mechanism test shows that digital inclusive finance promotes digital innovation through alleviating resource constraints and promoting industrial upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotion effect is more pronounced in technology-intensive industries, in regions with low traditional financial development and strong industrial policy support. These findings serve as a valuable supplement to research on the driving forces of digital innovation and provide a reference for exploring the reform direction of financial services targeting the real economy. • Digital inclusive finance significantly enhances digital innovation in private enterprises. • Innovation promotion is achieved by alleviating financing constraints and promoting industrial upgrading. • IT-background executives can significantly enhance the positive effect of digital inclusive finance. • Strong industrial policy support further amplifies the impact of digital inclusive finance on innovation. • These findings provide valuable insights for financial service reforms targeting the real economy.