IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v73y2025ipas0275531924003817.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of digital transformation on the servitization transformation of manufacturing firms

Author

Listed:
  • Sui, Xiaoning
  • Hu, Huanhuan
  • Wang, Rong

Abstract

In the burgeoning digital economy, the deep integration of the digital and real economies, along with industrial digitalization and service-oriented manufacturing, represent future development trends. Investigating the impact of digital transformation on servitization transformation is paramount for promoting the servitization transformation of manufacturing firms. This paper empirically examines data from listed Chinese manufacturing firms between 2007 and 2021, identifying several key findings. First, digital transformation significantly promotes the servitization transformation of manufacturing firms, a conclusion that remains robust through a series of tests. Second, digital transformation can drive the servitization transformation of manufacturing firms through two channels: enhancing total factor productivity and optimizing human capital. Third, the promotive effect of digital transformation on servitization transformation varies across firms with different ownership structures, technological levels, and scales. This study provides empirical evidence for promoting the high-quality development of manufacturing firms and accelerating their servitization transformation in the digital context.

Suggested Citation

  • Sui, Xiaoning & Hu, Huanhuan & Wang, Rong, 2025. "The impact of digital transformation on the servitization transformation of manufacturing firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924003817
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102588
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924003817
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102588?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vandermerwe, Sandra & Rada, Juan, 1988. "Servitization of business: Adding value by adding services," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 314-324, December.
    2. Oliner, Stephen D. & Sichel, Daniel E. & Stiroh, Kevin J., 2008. "Explaining a productive decade," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 633-673.
    3. Sui, Xiaoning & Jiao, Shuaipeng & Wang, Yongming & Wang, Haijun, 2024. "Digital transformation and manufacturing company competitiveness," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Daron Acemoglu & David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson & Brendan Price, 2014. "Return of the Solow Paradox? IT, Productivity, and Employment in US Manufacturing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 394-399, May.
    5. Edward D. Reiskin & Allen L. White & Jill Kauffman Johnson & Thomas J. Votta, 1999. "Servicizing the Chemical Supply Chain," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 3(2‐3), pages 19-31, April.
    6. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    7. 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.
    8. Wang, Haijun & Jiao, Shuaipeng & Ge, Chen & Sun, Guanglin, 2024. "Corporate ESG rating divergence and excess stock returns," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    9. Arthur Lewbel, 1997. "Constructing Instruments for Regressions with Measurement Error when no Additional Data are Available, with an Application to Patents and R&D," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(5), pages 1201-1214, September.
    10. Wang, Haijun & Jiao, Shuaipeng & Bu, Kun & Wang, Yebin & Wang, Yaxian, 2023. "Digital transformation and manufacturing companies’ ESG responsibility performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    11. Elitsa R Banalieva & Charles Dhanaraj, 2019. "Internalization theory for the digital economy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(8), pages 1372-1387, October.
    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. Suo, Xuekun & Zhang, Longting & Guo, Rong & Lin, Han & Yu, Mingchuan & Du, Xiuhong, 2024. "The inverted U-shaped association between digital economy and corporate total factor productivity: A knowledge-based perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    2. Wang, Haijun & Jiao, Shuaipeng & Ma, Chao, 2024. "The impact of ESG responsibility performance on corporate resilience," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 1115-1129.
    3. Dachs, Bernhard & Biege, Sabine & Borowiecki, Marcin & Lay, Gunther & Jäger, Angela & Schartinger, Doris, 2012. "The Servitization of European Manufacturing Industries," MPRA Paper 38873, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Cong Cheng & Hongfang Cui, 2024. "Combining digital and legacy technologies: firm digital transformation strategies—evidence from Chinese manufacturing companies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Satish Nambisan & Yadong Luo, 2021. "Toward a loose coupling view of digital globalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(8), pages 1646-1663, October.
    6. Hua Zhang & Qiwang Zhang, 2023. "How Does Digital Transformation Facilitate Enterprise Total Factor Productivity? The Multiple Mediators of Supplier Concentration and Customer Concentration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Long, Teng & Feng, Liyu, 2024. "Aging, low fertility and household debt risk," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Ma, Defang & Wang, Mengkai & Zeng, Bo & Jiang, Hong, 2024. "Peer effects of firm environmental protection expenditures," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Angelo Cavallo & Antonio Ghezzi & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, 2021. "Small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems: exploring an under-remarked relation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1843-1866, December.
    10. Wang, Haijun & Ge, Chen & Du, Xiance & Feng, Yiqiang & Wang, Weicheng, 2024. "Does digital literacy reduce intergenerational income dependency?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    11. Eric J. Bartelsman & Martin Falk & Eva Hagsten & Michael Polder, 2019. "Productivity, technological innovations and broadband connectivity: firm-level evidence for ten European countries," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(1), pages 25-48, March.
    12. Niu, Yuhao & Wang, Sai & Wen, Wen & Li, Sifei, 2023. "Does digital transformation speed up dynamic capital structure adjustment? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Lihua Chen & Yilang Chen, 2023. "A Metaorganizations Perspective on Digital Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Schubert, Torben & Jäger, Angela & Türkeli, Serdar & Visentin, Fabiana, 2020. "Addressing the productivity paradox with big data: A literature review and adaptation of the CDM econometric model," MERIT Working Papers 2020-050, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Shleha, Waleed & Vaillant, Yancy & Vendrell-Herrero, Ferran, 2023. "Entry mode diversity and closing commercial deals with international customers: The moderating role of advanced servitization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(1).
    16. Sonia Pant & Debashis Chakraborty, 2024. "Can Servicification Benefit Manufacturing Exports? Empirical Results for India," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 25(2), pages 126-157, September.
    17. Konings, Jozef & Dhyne, Emmanuel & Van den bosch, Jeroen & ,, 2018. "The Return on Information Technology: Who Benefits Most?," CEPR Discussion Papers 13246, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Anders Akerman & Ingvil Gaarder & Magne Mogstad, 2015. "The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1781-1824.
    19. Parteka, Aleksandra & Kordalska, Aleksandra, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and productivity: global evidence from AI patent and bibliometric data," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    20. Xie, Xiaoyu & Guo, Kaige, 2024. "How does productive service agglomeration promote manufacturing servitisation from an innovation perspective?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Manufacturing firms; Digital transformation; Servitization transformation; Total factor productivity; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • M11 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Production Management
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

    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:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924003817. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ribaf .

    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.