The impact of digital leadership on disruptive technological innovation in enterprises

Using a sample of A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2023, this paper systematically examines the impact of digital leadership on corporate disruptive technological innovation. Empirical results show that digital leadership significantly promotes disruptive innovation output at the levels of invention patents, utility models and overall innovation performance. Mechanism analysis reveals two main pathways through which digital leadership exerts its influence: first, by enhancing data assetization level of enterprises, transforming data resources into production factors that drive innovation; and second, by increasing the attractiveness to technical talent, thereby expanding the reserve of high-end human capital. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the innovation-enhancing effect of digital leadership is more pronounced in firms with low overtime intensity, top management teams with overseas backgrounds, and relatively mature management teams in terms of age. The findings provide new empirical evidence for understanding how top executives’ characteristics shape frontier innovation in the context of digital transformation, and offer policy implications for fostering new quality productive forces and advancing Chinese-style modernization.