An Empirical Study on the Impact of Digital Transformation on Industrial Chain Resilience in Guangdong Province

The robust test results confirm that the positive impact of digital transformation (DT) on industry chain resilience in Guangdong is stable and reliable. Specifically, in the model with the first lag of the core explanatory variables, the coefficient of the lagged DT variable (L. DT) on the industry chain resilience (ICR) is 1.177, which is statistically significant at the 1% level. Moreover, in the model with a shortened sample horizon of 2012-2019, the coefficient of the DT variable remains positive (0.644) and significant at the 5% level. This further suggests that the positive effect of digital transformation on chain elasticity is not period specific and has strong time stability and general applicability. Column (3) uses instrumental variable two-stage squares (IV-2SLS) to address potential endogeneity, while the DT variable still has a significant positive impact on ICR, strengthening causal interpretation. Column (4) uses robust standard errors to control heteroskedasticity, and the DT coefficient remains significant at the 1% level. In summary, digital transformation not only effectively improves the industrial chain resilience at this stage but also shows a strong long-term sustainable driving force. Policymakers should fully recognize their strategic significance, accelerate the construction of digital infrastructure, enhance the digitalization capabilities of enterprises, and focus on cultivating long-term effects to further consolidate the stability and risk resilience of the industry chain.