Intellectual property protection and corporate digital transformation: An empirical analysis from the perspectives of intellectual property protection and digital governance

This paper uses data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022 as a research sample to explore the relationship between intellectual property protection, digital governance, and corporate digital transformation. The study finds that: intellectual property protection promotes corporate digital transformation; digital governance promotes corporate digital transformation; intellectual property protection enhances corporate innovation, thereby promoting corporate digital transformation; digital governance enhances government transparency, thereby promoting corporate digital transformation; and digital governance plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between intellectual property protection and corporate digital transformation, with this moderating effect exhibiting heterogeneity across eastern, central, and western regions.