Feimei Liao, Ze Yang, Songqin Ye
Digital transformation is increasingly becoming the main theme of industrial change, injecting new power into enterprise development. Can digital transformation further improve the efficiency of enterprise operations and decision-making? Using Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2021 as the research sample, this study explores the impact of digital transformation on corporate cost stickiness and its impact mechanism. The results suggest that digital transformation can effectively curb enterprise cost stickiness. Improving the quality of internal control disclosures and reducing management agency costs are important mechanisms for digital transformation to curb enterprise cost stickiness. In addition, tests of heterogeneity based on regional and industry attributes found that digitisation’s inhibiting effect on corporate cost stickiness was more pronounced in the eastern region of China and the sample of high-tech enterprises. This study extends the literature on the driving factors of cost control and the economic consequences of digital transformation. Furthermore, it provides empirical lessons for companies in the digital economy age to improve quality and enhance the efficiency of operational decisions.