Abstract:    With the continuous development of digital technology, digitalization has changed the operation process and innovation mode of enterprises, thus providing new opportunities and challenges for enterprises to integrate information and further carry out dual innovation. Based on the transaction cost theory and attention-based theory, this paper sorted out the mechanism through which an enterprise′s digitalization affects its dual innovation performance and clarified the moderating role of R&D alliance partner diversity. Based on the panel data of 93 listed companies in the automotive manufacturing industry from 2014 to 2021, the negative binomial regression was adopted to empirically find that enterprise digitalization has a significant promoting effect on explorative innovation, while there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between an enterprise′s digitalization and its exploitative innovation. Further analysis showed that the diversity of enterprise R&D alliance partners has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between enterprise digitalization and its explorative innovation, that is, the higher the diversity of R&D alliance partners, the stronger the promotion effect of enterprise digitalization on its explorative innovation; the diversity of R&D alliance partners has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between enterprise digitalization and its exploitative innovation, that is, the higher the diversity of R&D alliance partners, the flatter the inverted U-shaped relationship between enterprise digitalization and its exploitative innovation. This paper has not only filled the theoretical gap between an enterprise′s digitalization and its dual innovation, but also will provide a reliable empirical basis and management inspiration for the innovation synergy between enterprise digitalization and building diversified R&D alliances.

Key words: enterprise digitalization, explorative innovation, exploitative innovation, R&D alliance partner diversity