Enterprise digitization and marine economic performance: An empirical study of listed enterprises in China’s maritime economy

The scale and connectivity of marine resources make them more complex than land resource management. Although digitization has been recognized as an organizational change process that can effectively improve resource efficiency and enhance network resilience, however, gaps remain in establishing the theoretical links between digitization and marine economic performance. Based on a panel fixed-effects model, this study evaluates the interrelationships and potential mechanisms of different firms with data from annual reports of listed firms in the marine economy in the eastern coastal region of China. The results indicate that there is a ‘U-shaped’ relationship between digitalization and enterprise efficiency in the maritime sector, and significant heterogeneity exists in the characteristics of these enterprises. Notably, firms’ technological innovation capability can modulate the ‘U-shaped’ relationship through the interaction of economies of scale and economies of scope. This paper highlights how digitization mitigates the fragmentation and sectionalization of marine information and addresses the digital overload and productivity paradox that firms may face in the early stages of digitization. The study suggests that institutional diversity shapes resilience. Governments need to promote top-down regulation and industry collaboration, while marine enterprises need to coevolve collaboratively with them through bottom-up internal communication and external interaction to enhance the value chain of marine enterprises.