New quality productive forces are the core driving force for China′s high-quality economic development and realization of modernization with Chinese characteristics while data is a key element in the development of new quality productive forces. This paper, using the data of listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2011 to 2022, and based on the quasi-natural experiment of the national big data comprehensive pilot zones, employed the difference-in-differences method to systematically examine the impact of data elements on the development of new quality productive forces of enterprises. The research findings are as follows: (1) Data elements significantly promote the development of new quality productive forces of enterprises; (2) Data elements promote the development of new quality productive forces of enterprises through internal incubation and external empowerment; and (3) The promotion effect of data elements on the development of new quality productive forces of enterprises has both inclusive and polarizing effects. The polarizing effect can be reduced and the inclusive effect can be amplified by improving the level of digital infrastructure, strengthening the green transformation of regions, and enhancing the coordination between the government and the market. This paper will have certain implications for formulation of China′s data industry policies, construction of the data market, and development of new quality productive forces.