Enabling Effects of Digital Technology on Enterprise Export Product Quality: Evidence From China

ABSTRACT Irreplaceable, high‐quality exports are strategic imperatives for global supply chain competitiveness in the era of digital transformation. This paper employs an extended model of heterogeneity in firm trade theory to analyse the factors influencing export product quality. And this study empirically assesses the impact and underlying mechanisms of digital technology applications on export product quality, utilising unbalanced panel data from China's customs database and A‐share listed companies spanning from 2012 to 2015. The study finds the following. First, the implementation of digital technology greatly improves the quality of export products, and this finding is consistently supported across multiple robustness checks. Second, production efficiency and quality production capacity are intrinsic factors determining the quality of export products. Digital technology enhances production efficiency by reducing labour management and corporate financing costs and boosts quality production capacity by promoting technological innovation. These improve the quality of export products, providing empirical validation of the enabling effects of digital technology on production factors. Additionally, the impact of digital technology application on the quality of export products exhibits heterogeneity characteristics, influenced by factors such as enterprise ownership, the construction of free trade zones and the level of urban agglomeration.