How data assetization affects corporate financialization: evidence from China’s A-share market

Purpose Data has emerged as a strategic production factor that reshapes corporate resource allocation and the industrial landscape through large-scale accumulation and assetization. This study aims to examine whether and how data assetization influences corporate financialization, with particular attention to the capital transmission mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Using an unbalanced panel of China’s A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2023, this study examines the impact of data assetization on corporate financialization. Baseline regressions, mechanism tests and heterogeneity analyses are used to identify the overall effect and its underlying channels in an emerging market context. Findings The findings reveal that data assetization significantly curbs corporate financialization. Further mechanism analysis identifies three channels: data assetization improves firms’ access to trade credit, expanding short-term operating capital and reducing reliance on financial assets for liquidity; it increases capital expenditures, redirecting capital toward long-term physical investment and crowding out financial asset holdings; and it mitigates cash flow volatility, stabilizing internal funds and weakening precautionary demand for financial assets. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that this restraining effect is stronger among non-state-owned enterprises, firms in regions with more developed digital infrastructure and those located in eastern China. Originality/value This study contributes to the accounting and finance literature by demonstrating how data assetization affects corporate financialization. By identifying the channels through which data assetization redirects capital toward the real economy, the findings extend research on data economics and corporate financialization and offer insights into the marketization of data elements.