IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0330160.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How does public digital procurement enhance corporate total factor productivity? The role of industry–university–research collaboration

Author

Listed:
  • Kan Jia
  • Jinqi Qin
  • Yang Li

Abstract

This study innovatively employs large language model (LLM) technology to construct a public digital procurement (PDP) index and, by utilizing microlevel data from Chinese A-share listed companies (2015–2023), systematically examines the impact of PDP on corporate total factor productivity (TFP) and its underlying mechanisms. The results demonstrate that PDP has a significantly positive effect on corporate TFP, and this conclusion remains robust after endogeneity concerns are addressed and multiple robustness tests are conducted. Mechanism analysis reveals that PDP significantly increases corporate TFP primarily through three pathways: enhancing digital technology innovation, alleviating financial constraints, and improving corporate information disclosure. Furthermore, in the context of industry–university–research (IUR) collaboration, PDP has a more pronounced positive effect on corporate TFP. Additional analysis indicates a synergistic effect between PDP and corporate digital transformation, meaning that firms with a higher level of digital transformation can more effectively leverage PDP to achieve TFP growth. This study provides critical theoretical and empirical evidence for leveraging PDP to improve corporate TFP and offers important references for government departments in optimizing the design of PDP policies and enhancing their implementation effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Kan Jia & Jinqi Qin & Yang Li, 2025. "How does public digital procurement enhance corporate total factor productivity? The role of industry–university–research collaboration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(8), pages 1-22, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0330160
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330160
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0330160
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0330160&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0330160?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Chen-Wen & Liu, Victor W., 2013. "Corporate governance under asymmetric information: Theory and evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 280-291.
    2. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Geoffrey Barrows & Hélène Ollivier & Ariell Reshef, 2023. "Production Function Estimation with Multi-Destination Firms," CESifo Working Paper Series 10716, CESifo.
    2. Tianjiao Zhao & Xiang Xiao & Qinghui Dai, 2021. "Transportation Infrastructure Construction and High-Quality Development of Enterprises: Evidence from the Quasi-Natural Experiment of High-Speed Railway Opening in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Laura Hospido & Eva Moreno-Galbis, 2015. "The Spanish productivity puzzle in the Great Recession," Working Papers 1501, Banco de España.
    4. Anna M. Ferragina & Giulia Nunziante, 2018. "Are Italian firms performances influenced by innovation of domestic and foreign firms nearby in space and sectors?," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(3), pages 335-360, September.
    5. Vu Hoang Duong & Tuong Phi Vinh, 2024. "Spillover effects of Japanese firms and the role of absorptive capacity in Vietnam," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 38(2), pages 22-41, November.
    6. Martin, Philippe & Mayer, Thierry & Mayneris, Florian, 2011. "Public support to clusters: A firm level study of French "Local Productive Systems"," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 108-123, March.
    7. Martha Denisse Pierola & Ana Margarida Fernandes & Thomas Farole, 2018. "The role of imports for exporter performance in Peru," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 550-572, February.
    8. Massimo Colombo & Annalisa Croce & Samuele Murtinu, 2014. "Ownership structure, horizontal agency costs and the performance of high-tech entrepreneurial firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 265-282, February.
    9. Peydró, José-Luis & Jiménez, Gabriel & Kenan, Huremovic & Moral-Benito, Enrique & Vega-Redondo, Fernando, 2020. "Production and financial networks in interplay: Crisis evidence from supplier-customer and credit registers," CEPR Discussion Papers 15277, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Ma, Yongfan & Hu, Xingcun, 2024. "Shadow banking and SME investment: Evidence from China's new asset management regulations," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 332-349.
    11. Jack Rossbach & Jose Asturias, 2017. "Misallocation in the Presence of Multiple Production Technologies," 2017 Meeting Papers 1094, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    12. Roberto Martino & Phu Nguyen-Van, 2014. "Labour market regulation and fiscal parameters: A structural model for European regions," Working Papers of BETA 2014-19, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    13. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Fernando Úbeda, 2022. "Individual entrepreneurial orientation and performance: the mediating role of international entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 875-900, June.
    14. Jose Garcia-Louzao & Linas Tarasonis, 2023. "Productivity-enhancing reallocation during the Great Recession: evidence from Lithuania," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(3), pages 729-749.
    15. Nikita Céspedes & María E. Aquije & Alan Sánchez & Rafael Vera Tudela, 2016. "Productividad sectorial en el Perú: un análisis a nivel de firmas," Chapters of Books, in: Nikita Céspedes & Pablo Lavado & Nelson Ramírez Rondán (ed.), Productividad en el Perú: medición, determinantes e implicancias, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 3, pages 70-92, Fondo Editorial, Universidad del Pacífico.
    16. Zhu, Ling & Liu, Shasha & Kong, Dongmin, 2023. "Governments' fiscal stress and firm decentralization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Ariu, Andrea & Breinlich, Holger & Corcos, Gregory & Mion, Giordano, 2019. "The interconnections between services and goods trade at the firm-level," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 173-188.
    18. Weili Li, 2025. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Optimizing Enterprise Productivity in the Digital Economy: A Genetic Algorithm and Multi-Objective Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 2670-2688, March.
    19. Stefania Lovo & Gonzalo Varela, 2022. "Internationally Linked Firms and Productivity in Pakistan: A Look at the Top End of the Distribution," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 2110-2131, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0330160. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.