How data factors drive to the new quality productive forces in China: the role of big data pilot zones

Seizing the opportunity of data factor empowerment to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces is a key measure to seize the high ground of development. Based on data from China’s A-share non-financial listed companies from 2012 to 2022, this paper takes the establishment of the ‘National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone’ as a quasi-natural experiment and constructs an staggered DID model to examine the mechanism through which data factors influence enterprise-level new quality productive forces. The empirical results show that data factors significantly enhance the development level of enterprises’ new quality productive forces and its three sub-dimensions. This effect varies significantly depending on enterprise characteristics and industry attributes. Moderating mechanism analysis reveals that government subsidies, internal control, and the business environment respectively strengthen the positive impact of data factors on human capital, technological innovation, and transformation and upgrading. This study offers important implications for the sustained empowerment of new quality productive forces by data factors.