Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture (ICEDBC 2025)

A Quantitative Study on the Economic Benefits of Digital Transformation Investment in SMEs: A Case Study of Family-Holding Enterprises

Authors
Ziqi Wang1, *
1University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
*Corresponding author. Email: youxiangzq123@sina.com
Corresponding Author
Ziqi Wang
Available Online 26 February 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_28How to use a DOI?
Keywords
SMEs; digital transformation investment; economic benefits; family-controlled enterprises; multiple linear regression
Abstract

SMEs are the “capillaries” of the national economy. Digital transformation has become a key path for them to break through competitive barriers and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement. However, due to their centralized governance structure and significant resource constraints, family-held enterprises exhibit unique economic benefits from their digital transformation investments. This paper uses A-share listed family-held SMEs from 2018 to 2022 as a sample, and through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression, quantitatively explores the relationship between digital transformation investment and economic benefits. The results show that the average investment intensity of digital transformation in family-controlled SMEs is 2.37%, indicating a relatively low overall investment level. Investment intensity in digital transformation is significantly positively correlated with return on equity (ROE) and revenue growth rate (Growth) (β = 0.123 and 0.156, respectively, P < 0.05), meaning that for every 1% increase in investment intensity, ROE increases by an average of 0.123% and Growth increases by an average of 0.156%. Enterprise size and R&D investment intensity have a positive promoting effect on economic benefits, while the debt-to-equity ratio has an inhibitory effect. This study fills the gap in quantitative research on digital investment in family-controlled SMEs, providing empirical support for enterprise decision-making and policy formulation.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture (ICEDBC 2025)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
26 February 2026
ISBN
978-94-6239-604-3
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_28How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Ziqi Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - A Quantitative Study on the Economic Benefits of Digital Transformation Investment in SMEs: A Case Study of Family-Holding Enterprises
BT  - Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture (ICEDBC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 255
EP  - 261
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_28
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_28
ID  - Wang2026
ER  -