数字化转型下数字贸易对中小企业“专精特新”发展的影响研究

A Study on the Impact of Digital Trade on the “Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative” Development of SMEs in the Context of Digital Transformation

摘要: 中小企业实现可持续发展对中国经济发展有至关重要的作用，但目前中小企业在规模、资金等因素上不具备优势，发展受阻等问题，因此国家提出发展“专精特新”企业，引导更多中小企业实现可持续发展，从而推动我国经济高质量发展。随着数字技术的普及，我国数字贸易发展迅速，在一定程度上促进了企业数字化转型和企业国际竞争力的提升，从而影响中小企业实现“专精特新”发展的步伐。因此，本文探讨数字化转型下数字贸易对中小企业“专精特新”发展的影响机理，利用2012~2023年中国19个省域面板数据，使用固定效应模型、中介效应模型对地区数字贸易发展水平是否影响当地中小企业“专精特新”发展进行实证研究。结果表明：数字贸易能够显著正向促进中小企业“专精特新”发展，从作用机制上看，劳动力有效配置和产业结构升级是数字贸易推动中小企业“专精特新”发展的重要作用渠道，可以通过优化劳动力有效配置和推动产业结构升级来有效促进当地中小企业“专精特新”发展。进一步证实了数字化转型是数字贸易发挥促进作用的重要基础和实现路径，企业通过数字化转型能够更充分地利用数字贸易带来的市场机遇和效率提升，加速“专精特新”能力的构建与释放。基于此，从省域角度提出促进中小企业“专精特新”发展的政策建议，为推动我国中小企业数字化转型和高质量发展提供参考。

Abstract: The sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) plays a crucial role in the economic development of China. However, currently, SMEs face challenges such as disadvantages in scale and capital, which hinder their growth. Therefore, the state has proposed developing “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” (SRDI) enterprises to guide more SMEs toward sustainable development, thereby promoting high-quality economic growth in China. With the widespread adoption of digital technologies, digital trade in China has developed rapidly, which to some extent promotes corporate digital transformation and enhances international competitiveness, thus affecting the pace at which SMEs achieve SRDI development. This paper explores the mechanism by which digital trade influences the SRDI development of SMEs under digital transformation. Using panel data from 19 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2023, fixed-effects models and mediating-effects models are employed to empirically examine whether regional digital trade development levels impact local SMEs’ SRDI development. The results indicate that digital trade significantly and positively promotes the SRDI development of SMEs. In terms of the mechanism, effective labor allocation and industrial structure upgrading are important channels through which digital trade drives SMEs’ SRDI development. Optimizing labor allocation and promoting industrial upgrading can effectively advance SRDI development among local SMEs. This further confirms that digital transformation is a crucial foundation and path for digital trade to exert its promoting effect. Enterprises can more fully leverage market opportunities and efficiency gains brought by digital trade through digital transformation, thereby accelerating the construction and empowerment of SRDI capabilities. Based on this, policy recommendations are proposed from a provincial perspective to promote SMEs’ SRDI development, providing references for advancing the digital transformation and high-quality development of Chinese SMEs.