The Impact of Digital Technology Application on Enterprises' New Quality Productive Forces: A Supply Chain Spillover Perspective

We have studied the impact of the application level of digital technologies by central enterprises on the New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF) of supplier enterprises and customer enterprises within the supply chain. Using the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, we find that when the application level of digital technologies by central enterprises is relatively high, its spillover effects may enhance the NQPF of supply chain partners. This conclusion remains reliable after alleviating endogeneity by using instrumental variables and the Heckman model and undergoing a series of robustness tests. The heterogeneity analysis also indicates that when the scales of enterprises are relatively small, the supply chain concentration level is relatively large, and the enterprise is located in a pilot city of "Broadband China", the spillover effects of the application of digital technologies by central enterprises are more significant. Further analysis shows that the spillover effects of digital technologies are mainly manifested in three aspects: artificial intelligence technology, big data technology, and cloud computing technology. In addition, the sub-sample test reveals that the impact of central enterprises on customer enterprises is more significant, demonstrating the forward spillover effects of the supply chain. Overall, the application level of digital technologies by central enterprises positively promotes the NQPF of supplier and customer enterprises within the supply chain.