Impact mechanism and contribution measurement of digital transformation on scale expansion of Chinese enterprises

Accelerating digital transformation (DT) and facilitating reasonable enterprise scale expansion (ESE) is critical for integrating the digital and traditional economies. This paper examines the scale expansion characteristics of Chinese A-share listed enterprises and constructs a “two-level, four-category” cost model to analyze the theoretical relationship between DT and ESE. The findings reveal that DT significantly promotes the asymmetrical expansion of the enterprise employee and revenue scales, with revenue scale expansion being more prominent. Heterogeneity tests show that DT has a stronger impact on large enterprises, non-high-tech enterprises, and those in developed regions, leading to increased scale differentiation. Mechanism and economic consequence analysis highlight that DT reduces external transaction costs, facilitating ESE, while enhanced market share improves production efficiency. This paper provides theoretical and empirical insights into evolving corporate growth patterns in the digital economy and suggests policy recommendations for leveraging digital transformation to promote employment growth.