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

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Driving High-Quality Firm Innovation through Digital Infrastructure Investment in China

Authors
Deqing Ye1, Yangxin Wang2, *
1Bangor Business School, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2DG, United Kingdom
2Bangor College, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, China
*Corresponding author. Email: 1094743445@qq.com
Corresponding Author
Yangxin Wang
Available Online 26 February 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_40How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Digital Economy; Digital Infrastructure; Firm Innovation Quality; Difference-in-Differences; Broadband China
Abstract

Utilizing China’s “Broadband China” demonstration city strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, and based on panel data of A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020, we employ a time-varying Difference-in-Differences (DID) model for empirical examination. We sequentially propose a theoretical framework containing the aggregate effect (H1) and four hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of reducing information costs (H2), accelerating knowledge spillover (H3), and alleviating financing constraints (H4). The empirical results vigorously support the core hypothesis H1, namely that digital infrastructure construction significantly enhances the innovation quality of local firms (measured by invention patents). Dynamic effect analysis indicates that this promoting role presents a trend of sustained enhancement following policy implementation. This study provides solid empirical evidence for understanding the micro-level returns on digital infrastructure investment in the digital age.

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_40How 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

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Deqing Ye
AU  - Yangxin Wang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - Driving High-Quality Firm Innovation through Digital Infrastructure Investment in China
BT  - Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture (ICEDBC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 387
EP  - 394
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_40
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-604-3_40
ID  - Ye2026
ER  -