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Digital Government Development, Local Governments’ Attention Distribution and Enterprise Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from China

Author

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  • Enji Li

    (School of Business Administration, Hebei University of Economics and Business, Shijiazhuang 050061, China)

  • Qing Chen

    (School of Business Administration, Hebei University of Economics and Business, Shijiazhuang 050061, China)

  • Xinyan Zhang

    (School of Public Finance & Taxation, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China)

  • Chen Zhang

    (School of Public Finance & Taxation, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China)

Abstract

Building digital government is an important means for the government to improve the public service ability and optimize the business environment, which directly affects the production and operation activities of micro-enterprises. Based on the panel data of listed enterprises and municipal government portal website performance in China, this paper empirically investigates the impact of digital government development on enterprise total factor productivity (TFP) and the moderating effect of the local government’s attention distribution. The research results showed that digital government development significantly improved the enterprise TFP, and this conclusion remained unchanged after a series of robustness tests using instrumental variables, one-stage lag of explained variables, and debiased machine learning models. We also found that the greater the pressure faced by local governments and the longer the chief officials’ tenure, the more attention local governments paid to building digital government, and the more obvious the role of digital government development in promoting enterprise TFP. Heterogeneity test results showed that the information disclosure, online service, and public participation all had a positive effect on enterprise TFP, while the user experience had no effect on it. Digital government development had a more obvious role in promoting enterprise TFP of central and western regions, non-SOEs, and technology-intensive enterprises. Moreover, reducing enterprise rent-seeking, attracting new enterprise entry, and increasing enterprise R&D investment are important mechanisms for digital government development to improve enterprise TFP.

Suggested Citation

  • Enji Li & Qing Chen & Xinyan Zhang & Chen Zhang, 2023. "Digital Government Development, Local Governments’ Attention Distribution and Enterprise Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2472-:d:1051488
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    3. Zhang, Longpeng & Zhang, Xingye, 2025. "Impact of digital government construction on the intelligent transformation of enterprises: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    4. Jingli Zheng & Xuanming Zhang & Jue Wang, 2025. "The Role of Digital Governance in Fostering County-Level Digital Entrepreneurial Vitality: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of China’s Information Accessibility Pilot," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-26, October.
    5. Cheng, Xu & Chen, Jiancheng & Sheng, Yan, 2025. "Digital government construction and stock price synchronicity: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Xuejun Jin & Xiao Pan, 2023. "Government Attention, Market Competition and Firm Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, June.
    7. Xing, Huang & Feihu, Yang & Yating, Li, 2024. "Digital economy, government efficiency, and regional administrative monopolies: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1807-1819.
    8. Yuhong Huang & Jiale Jia & Yingwei Ren, 2025. "Unlocking the potential of digital finance: digital bank credit’s impact on traditional banking for SMEs in China," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 15(2), pages 317-351, June.
    9. Hui Li & Jiaqiang Xu, 2024. "Impact of Digital Government on Digital Transformation of Enterprises from the Perspective of Urban Economic Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-24, March.
    10. Shan, Junhui & Zhang, Lin & Wang, Junkai, 2025. "Data elements and corporate stock dividends: A quasi-natural experiment based on government data openness," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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