Effects of Digital Transformation on Total Factor Productivity of Cultural Enterprises—Empirical Evidence from 251 Listed Cultural Enterprises in China

By analyzing the sample data of 251 listed cultural enterprises’ annual reports from 2011 to 2019 in China, this study empirically analyzed the effects of digital transformation on the total factor productivity (TFP), paths of effects, and heterogeneity characteristics of cultural enterprises in China. The findings indicate that digital transformation can significantly increase the TFP of Chinese cultural enterprises. The results obtained through robustness tests and endogeneity questions verify the credibility of the findings. The paths of effects mainly include improving the efficiency of content creation, financing ability, and research and development (R&D) investment of cultural enterprises, and the boosting effect of digital transformation on TFP is more significant among enterprises that are smaller in scale, located in midwest China, and positioned within the upstream chain of a segmented industry.