Manufacturing servitization and export quality upgrading: evidence from China’s multi-product exporters

Manufacturing servitization, a new type of industrial form that integrates manufacturing and service industries, plays a crucial role in the quality adjustment and upgrading of exports for multi-product firms. This study employs firm–product–country level panel data from 2000 to 2015 to investigate the impact of manufacturing servitization on the export quality of multi-product firms. The results show that manufacturing servitization significantly enhances export quality, with the effect being more substantial for products closer to the industry’s core. Mechanism analysis reveals that cost reduction and product linkage effects are the primary channels driving quality adjustment and upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that R&D, transportation, information, and financial services have a substantial impact, while education and wholesale services exhibit limited influence. Processing trade contributes more significantly to the adjustment and upgrading of export product quality than general trade. Likewise, exporting to developed countries has a greater impact on the restructuring and enhancement of export quality compared to exporting to developing countries. Further analysis reveals that manufacturing servitization can optimize internal resource allocation, thereby facilitating the upgrade of export quality. These findings extend the research frontier on the impact of manufacturing servitization and provide empirical references for identifying new pathways to enhance the competitive advantage of multi-product exporters.