Site Visits and Corporate Digitization

ABSTRACT This study investigates how site visits by institutional investors affect corporate digitalization for A‐share listed companies on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) from 2013 to 2022. Our findings suggest that these visits significantly enhance corporate digitization, and this effect remains robust after considering endogeneity concerns. We identify two key mechanisms underlying this relationship: site visits lead to higher R&D investment and better internal control systems. Our moderating analysis also suggests that financial constraints and managerial myopia weaken the impact of site visits on digitalization, while media coverage and government subsidies strengthen it. Furthermore, the relationship between site visits and digitalization is particularly strong in firms facing high competition, firms with low information transparency, non‐state‐owned enterprises and high‐technology companies.