Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How can digital finance boost enterprises’ high-quality development?: evidence from China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As a new industry derived from the traditional financial system and enhanced by emerging technologies, digital finance is significant in microenterprise development. Based on the 2011–2018 Digital Inclusive Finance Index of Peking University, we examine the mechanism—inventory optimization and incremental innovation. We use the data of small and medium-sized enterprises to reveal the effect of digital finance—mismatch correction and defect improvement. The study results show that digital financing significantly improves enterprises’ high-quality development. Further research has revealed that digital finance can effectively correct scale, attribute, phase, and industry mismatches. Digital finance alleviates financing constraints, solves the expensive financing problem, and pushes enterprises to deleverage in the economic development process. However, digital finance is still limited for companies with high financing constraints and leverage. Moreover, financial regulation can significantly improve the economic performance of digital finance. The findings provide reliable empirical evidence and policy inspiration for promoting digital finance development, deepening the supply-side structural reform of finance, better serving the real economy, and achieving high-quality economic development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Balcázar CF (2015) Lower bounds on inequality of opportunity and measurement error. Econ Lett 137:102–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger AN, Iftekhar H, Mingming Z (2009) Bank ownership and efficiency in China: what will happen in the world’s largest nation? J Bank Financ 33(1–3):113–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CWS, Manh CD, Liu N, Sriboonchitta S (2019) Inferences of default risk and borrower characteristics on P2P lending. N Am J Econ Financ 50(1–14):101013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu H, Yu H, Chong Y et al (2023) Does the development of digital finance curb carbon emissions? Evidence from county data in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30(17):49237–49254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng S, Zhang R, Li G (2022) Environmental decentralization, digital finance and green technology innovation. Struct Chang Econ Dyn 61:70–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foguel MN, Veloso FA (2014) Inequality of opportunity in daycare and preschool services in Brazil. J EconInequal 12:191–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu ZQ, Huang YP (2018) The heterogeneous impact of digital finance on rural financial demand: evidence from China Household Finance Survey and Peking University Digital inclusive finance index. Financ Res 11:68–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Geng J, Xie W, Zhang G et al (2011) Challenges for the unified financial supervision in the post-crisis era: Singaporean experience and Chinese practice. J Financ Econ Prac 11(2):26

    Google Scholar 

  • Han H, Gu X (2021) Linkage between inclusive digital finance and high-tech enterprise innovation performance: role of debt and equity financing. Front Psychol 12

  • Hu M, Zhang J, Chao C (2019) Regional financial efficiency and its non-linear effects on economic growth in China. Int Rev Econ Financ 59:193–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinsohn J, Petrin A (2003) Estimating production functions using inputs to control for unobservable. Rev Econ Stud 70(1):317–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Wu Y, Xiao JJ (2020) The impact of digital finance on household consumption: Evidence from China. Econ Model 86:317–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu C, Xin L, Li J, Sun H (2022a) The impact of renewable energy technology innovation on industrial green transformation and upgrading: beggar thy neighbor or benefiting thy neighbor. Sustainability 14(18):11198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu P, Zhao Y, Zhu J, Yang C (2022b) Technological industry agglomeration, green innovation efficiency, and development quality of city cluster. Green Financ 4(4):411–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Liu J, Zhang L (2023a) Enterprise financialization and R&D innovation: a case study of listed companies in China. Electron Res Arch 31(5):2447–2471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Ma C, Huang Z (2023b) Can the digital economy improve green total factor productivity? An empirical study based on Chinese urban data. Math Biosci Eng 20(4):6866–6893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma XM, Shuliang L (2019) Financial credit risk prediction in internet finance driven by machine learning. Neural Comput Applic 1:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Meng N, Qin S (2020) Crowding out effect or catfish effect: a study on the impact of fintech on traditional inclusive finance. Modern Financ Econ (J Tianjin Univ Financ Econ) 40(1):56–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Min S, Peng Z, Haitao S (2021) Fintech and total factor productivity of firms — an empowerment and credit rationing perspective. China Indust Econ 04:138–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Olley G S，Pakes A. (1996) The dynamics of productivity in the telecommunications equipment industry. Econometrica,64(6):1263–1297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozili PK (2018) Impact of digital finance on financial inclusion and stability. Borsa Istanbul Rev 18(4):329–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosavina M, Rahadi RA, Kitri ML, Nuraeni S, Mayangsari L (2019) P2P lending adoption by SMEs in Indonesia. Qual Res Financ Markets 11(2):260–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salampasis D, Mention AL (2018) FinTech: harnessing innovation for financial inclusion. In: Handbook of Blockchain, Digital Finance, and Inclusion, vol 2. Academic Press, pp 451–461

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scott SV, Van Reenen J, Zachariadis M (2017) The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: an empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services. Res Policy 46(5):984–1004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang S, Wu XC, Zhu J (2020) Digital finance and corporate technology innovation-structural characteristics, mechanism identification and differences in effects under financial regulation. Manag World 36(05):52–66+9

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang C, Liu X, Li H, Yang C (2023) Analyzing the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprises’ labor demand: evidence from China. Energy Econ 124:106676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Huazhi L (2018) Financing of small and medium enterprises based on internet finance. Mater Sci Eng 394:1–5

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xin D, Yi Y, Du J (2022) Does digital finance promote corporate social responsibility of pollution-intensive industry? Evidence from Chinese listed companies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(56):85143–85159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xin L, Sun H, Xia X (2022a) Renewable energy technology innovation and inclusive low-carbon development from the perspective of spatiotemporal consistency. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:20490–20513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xin L, Sun H, Xia X (2022b) Spatial–temporal differentiation and dynamic spatial convergence of inclusive low-carbon development: evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:5197–5215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Ge W, Liu G, Su X, Zhu J, Yang C, Yang X, Ran Q (2023) The impact of local government competition and green technology innovation on economic low-carbon transition: new insights from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:23714–23735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhonglin W, Lei Z, Jietai H et al (2004) Mediation effect test procedure and its application. Acta Psychol Sin 5:614–620

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu X et al (2016) Digital finance—from traditional finance to digital and internet finance. In: Business trends in the digital era. Springer, Singapore, pp 161–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Z (2018) Safety promise, moral hazard and financial supervision: evidence from peer-to-peer lending. Financ Res Lett 27:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank colleague Jiayu Chen for firstly reading the manuscript and providing comments for improvements. We also thank the editors and reviewers for their helpful comments.

Funding

The authors received financial support from the Soft Science Research Program of Zhejiang Province (2022C35103) and Major Humanities and Social Sciences Research Projects in Zhejiang higher education institutions (2023QN098).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Mingrui Li & Pengzhen Liu

  2. School of Big Data Application and Economics, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Jin Hu

  3. School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

    Jiayu Chen

  4. Ji Yang College of Zhe Jiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, China

    Jiayu Chen

Authors
  1. Mingrui Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jin Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pengzhen Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jiayu Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Mingrui Li drafted the manuscript, Jin Hu collected and processed the data, Pengzhen Liu compiled the references, and Jiayu Chen reviewed and critiqued the manuscript. All authors participated in the conception and design of the study, provided feedback on earlier versions of the manuscript, and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiayu Chen.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Nicholas Apergis

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, ., Hu, J., Liu, P. et al. How can digital finance boost enterprises’ high-quality development?: evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 88876–88890 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28519-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28519-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation