Abstract: Digital transformation is a new engine for multinational enterprises to break through innovation. From the perspectives of resource-based theory and transaction cost theory, based on the panel data of 1588 multinational companies listed on China’s A-share market from 2012 to 2021, it uses empirical methods such as panel fixed effects regression and two-stage least squares regression to explore the direct impact of digital transformation of multinational enterprises on their innovation performance, as well as the moderating effect of digital transformation of multinational enterprises on the relationship between their R&D investment and innovation performance. The results indicate that the digital transformation of Chinese multinational enterprises has a significant positive promoting effect on their innovation performance; and digital transformation has strengthened the positive impact of R&D investment on innovation performance. Heterogeneity testing also found that the digital transformation of multinational enterprises in high-tech industries and large multinational enterprises has a stronger positive impact on innovation performance; the innovation effect of digital transformation of state-owned multinational enterprises is higher than that of non-state-owned ones.

Key words: R&, D investment