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Corporate digital transformation and labor structure upgrading

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  • Dou, Bin
  • Guo, SongLin
  • Chang, XiaoChen
  • Wang, Yong

Abstract

Corporate digital transformation aims to transform general-purpose technology into specific technology truly needed for development. Unlike informatisation related to business outsourcing, digitalisation needs professional labourers skilled in digital hardware and software, which means that the corporate digital transformation would promote the upgrade of the labour structure. This paper examines the financial and text data of annual reports of listed companies in China to test this theoretical hypothesis. We use word segmentation technology and word frequency statistical methods to construct corporate digital transformation indicators and empirically test corporate digital transformation's impact on labour force structure. The empirical outcomes indicate that corporate digital transformation has significantly increased the proportion of highly educated, highly skilled and research and development researchers. In this process, China's unique ‘engineer dividend’ can enhance the positive impact of digital transformation on upgrading the labour structure. The conclusion of this paper provides rich empirical evidence for accelerating the digital transformation and taking advantage of the engineer dividend in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Dou, Bin & Guo, SongLin & Chang, XiaoChen & Wang, Yong, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and labor structure upgrading," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:90:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923004209
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102904
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    Cited by:

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    6. Khurram, Muhammad Usman & Abbassi, Wajih & Chen, Yifan & Chen, Lifeng, 2024. "Outward foreign investment performance, digital transformation, and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Zhao, Lihong & Yuan, Huiai, 2024. "Digital transformation and the herd effect of corporate green investment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Han, Yue & Yang, Jie & Ying, Limeng & Niu, Yanfang, 2024. "The impact of corporate digital transformation on labor employment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Wei Jiang & Ling Yang & Tao Wang & John McCollough, 2024. "Research on the Impact of Trade Policy Uncertainty on the Digital Transformation of Chinese Export Firms," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 14(5), pages 1-11.
    10. Yue, Sishi & Yang, Mo & Dong, Dayong, 2024. "Do enterprises adopting digital finance exhibit higher values? Based on textual analysis," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Pang, Zhaofeng & Zhou, Ming, 2024. "Social security contributions and corporate outsourcing," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital transformation; Labour force structure; Engineer dividend; Textual analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory

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