数字化转型对企业债务融资成本的影响研究

Research on the Impact of Digital Transformation on the Cost of Corporate Debt Financing

摘要: 本文以2012~2022年中国A股上市公司为研究样本，实证检验了数字化转型对企业债务融资成本的影响及其作用机制。通过文本分析法构建企业数字化转型程度指标，并建立固定效应模型进行回归分析，研究发现：数字化转型显著降低了企业债务融资成本，该结论在经过一系列稳健性检验后依然成立。机制检验表明，数字化转型通过提升信息透明度和强化内部控制质量两条路径降低债务融资成本，中介效应显著。异质性分析进一步揭示，数字化转型的降成本效应在中小企业和非国有企业中更为显著。本研究从债务融资成本视角拓展了数字化转型经济后果的研究，为理解其内在机制提供了理论与实证支持，并对企业实践与政策制定具有启示意义。

Abstract: This study examines the impact of digital transformation on corporate debt financing costs and its underlying mechanisms using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022. Based on a textual analysis method to construct a firm-level digital transformation index and fixed-effects regression models, we find that digital transformation significantly reduces the cost of debt financing—a result that remains robust across a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analyses reveal that digital transformation lowers debt financing costs primarily through two channels: enhancing information transparency and strengthening internal control quality, with both mediating effects being statistically significant. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the cost-reducing effect of digital transformation is more pronounced among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-state-owned enterprises. This study extends the literature on the economic consequences of digital transformation from the perspective of debt financing costs and provides theoretical and empirical insights into its underlying mechanisms, offering implications for corporate practices and policy-making.