Abstract:

Based on the reality that Chinese enterprises are generally reliant on key customers, the inherent mechanism of digital transformation affecting their dependence on key customers was explored from both economies of scale and economies of scope, and an empirical test was conducted using Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2020. The study indicates that digital transformation has significantly reduced the dependence of enterprises on key customers. The mechanism test suggests that digital transformation helps enterprises achieve the economy of scale and enhance their competitive edge in the market on the one hand, and facilitates them to form the economy of scope and expand business boundaries on the other hand, thus reducing their dependence on key customers. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the influence of digital transformation on key customer dependence is more significant in the samples of companies with low marketization levels, state-owned enterprises, and those in the maturity stage. Finally, it is found that the decreasing the effect of digital transformation on the dependence of key customers has promoted the continuous improvement of the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises.

Key words:

digital transformation, dependence on key customers, economies of scale, economies of scope, efficiency of resource allocation

摘要：

立足于中国企业普遍存在大客户依赖的现实基础，从规模经济和范围经济两个方面探讨数字化转型影响大客户依赖的内在机理，并利用2012~2020年中国A股上市企业进行实证检验。研究表明：数字化转型显著降低了企业对大客户的依赖程度；机制检验发现，数字化转型一方面有助于企业实现规模经济、增强市场竞争优势，另一方面有利于企业形成范围经济、不断拓宽经营边界，由此降低企业对大客户的依赖；异质性分析表明，数字化转型对大客户依赖的影响在市场化水平低、国有企业以及处于成熟期的企业样本中更显著。最后，研究发现，数字化转型对大客户依赖的降低效用推动了企业资源配置效率的持续改善。

关键词:

数字化转型, 大客户依赖, 规模经济, 范围经济, 资源配置效率