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

摘要： 数字化转型是跨国企业突破创新的新引擎。从资源基础理论和交易成本理论的视角，基于2012-2021年间中国A股上市的1588家跨国企业的面板数据，运用面板固定效应回归、二阶段最小二乘法等实证方法，探讨了跨国企业数字化转型对其创新绩效的直接影响，以及跨国企业数字化转型对其研发投入与创新绩效之间关系的调节作用。结果表明，中国跨国企业的数字化转型对其创新绩效具有显著的正向促进作用；且数字化转型强化了其研发投入对创新绩效的正向影响。异质性检验还发现，高新技术行业的跨国企业、大型跨国企业的数字化转型对创新绩效的正面影响更强；国有跨国企业数字化转型的创新效应高于非国有跨国企业。