Digital-Intelligent Transformation as a Catalyst for Debt Cost Reduction: Evidence from Organizational Resilience Enhancement

Digital-Intelligent Transformation (DIT)—defined by the in-depth integration of digital and AI technologies—reshapes firm operational paradigms and serves as a pivotal remedy for corporate financing constraints. This study innovatively constructs a four-dimensional DIT index (technology-application-strategy-ecosystem), which includes 160 core keywords, and systematically examines its impact on corporate debt financing costs. Empirical analysis of Chinese listed companies (2007–2022) demonstrates that DIT significantly reduces corporate debt financing costs, with results robust to a battery of robustness tests. The effect is primarily mediated by enhanced organizational resilience, which encompasses crisis response, prevention, and medium- to long-term competitiveness. Additionally, product market development and internal organizational flattening significantly amplify this cost-reduction effect. This study provides empirical evidence and policy implications for firms to adopt differentiated transformation paths and synergize technical and organizational changes, as well as for governments to empower firm transformation in a targeted manner, build a digital-intelligent ecosystem, and deeply advance the unified national market.