A Study on Manufacturing Enterprise Data Asset Level and Executive Excess Compensation

This study examines the impact of data assets on executive overcompensation using a sample of Chinese manufacturing companies a shares between 2014 and 2023. The results show that the accumulation of corporate data assets has significantly reduced excess remuneration of senior executives through mechanisms such as improving information transparency, optimizing compensation decisions and limiting abuse of management power. Based on these research findings, we offer some policy recommendations in this paper, including the improvement of data asset disclosure standards and the incorporation of data assets into the governance framework. These Suggestions offer very practical perspectives to optimize the company's salary system and promote the digital transformation of companies. In fact, data assets are not only a driver of technological innovation, they are also an important tool for corporate governance reform. Data assets offer new ways to narrow the pay gap within organizations and achieve sustainable growth. This study can also inform future research on data assets and the excessive pay gap.