Data-Driven Empowerment: How Government Data Governance Facilitates Firm Upgrading

Dan Wang; Jian Hu; Shenglin Ma

doi:10.5755/j01.ee.37.1.41789

Authors

Dan Wang School of Economics, Guangxi University, P. R. China
Jian Hu School of Statistics, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, P. R. China
Shenglin Ma School of Economics and Management, North University of China, P. R. China https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9517-2775

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.37.1.41789

Keywords:

Government Data Governance, Firm Upgrading, Big Data Administration Agencies

Abstract

Promoting deep industrial transformation and upgrading serves as the micro-level foundation for improving the institutional framework of new quality productive forces and advancing a high-standard socialist market economy. Enhancing government data governance mechanisms represents a critical pathway to achieving this objective. Drawing on panel data from 2011 to 2021 concerning the establishment of government big data administration agencies and Chinese A-share listed firms, this paper employs a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) approach to systematically examine the impact of government data governance on firm upgrading, along with its underlying mechanisms. The empirical results reveal that government data governance significantly facilitates firm upgrading, and this effect remains robust across a series of sensitivity checks. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the positive effects are more pronounced among firms in heavily regulated industries, high-tech sectors, enterprises with higher levels of data utilization, and regions with higher administrative levels of data governance institutions. Mechanism tests further suggest that government data governance improves the quality of public service delivery and empowers corporate digital governance, both of which play key intermediary roles in promoting firm upgrading. These findings confirm the enabling role of government data governance in advancing firm upgrading and offer policy implications for stimulating innovation among market entities and strengthening the micro-foundations of China’s economic recovery and growth momentum.

Author Biographies

Dan Wang, School of Economics, Guangxi University, P. R. China

Dan Wang is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Economics at Guangxi University, China. Her research interests are in the areas of corporate finance and related fields. Her scholarly works have been published in prestigious journals including Technology in Society, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Environmental Engineering & Management Journal (EEMJ). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8172-5669.
Jian Hu, School of Statistics, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, P. R. China

Jian Hu is an Assistant Researcher at the School of Statistics, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, China. His primary research domains include institutional economics and corporate finance. He has published extensively in internationally recognized journals such as the International Review of Financial Analysis, Technology in Society, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, Journal of Cleaner Production, Environmental Engineering & Management Journal (EEMJ), Global NEST Journal, Energy Exploration & Exploitation. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6691-2360.
Shenglin Ma, School of Economics and Management, North University of China, P. R. China

Shenglin Ma is a Candidate of North University of China whose research focuses on cross-border e-commerce. His papers have been published in journals such as Applied Economics, International Review of Economics & Finance, International Review of Financial Analysis, Finance Research Letters, Sustainable Cities and Society and Asia Pacific Business Review. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9517-2775.