PDF(1245 KB)
The impact of digital business portfolio diversity on firms' innovation performance
Wang Kun, Zhao Mengli, Liu Jinxin
Science Research Management ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (8) : 65-75.
PDF(1245 KB)
PDF(1245 KB)
The impact of digital business portfolio diversity on firms' innovation performance
Digital transformation is a critical strategic initiative for enterprises to enhance efficiency and foster innovation. However, many firms encounter challenges in transitioning, such as hesitancy and incapacity, making the effective allocation of limited resources to digital business portfolios a key issue for successful transformation. Drawing on the absorptive capacity perspective, this paper examined the nonlinear impact of digital business portfolio diversity on innovation performance and explored the moderating effects of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the institutional environment. Using panel data from Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2021 and employing a negative binomial regression model, the study found that:(1) Digital business portfolio diversity exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation performance, where its impact first rises and then falls as diversity increases. (2) AI technology negatively moderates this relationship by enabling firms to rapidly acquire and utilize heterogeneous knowledge more efficiently. (3) Product market development positively moderates this relationship, as advanced product markets enhance knowledge acquisition from diverse portfolios but also increase the complexity of utilizing heterogeneous knowledge. These findings deepen the theoretical understanding of innovation performance during digital transformation from the absorptive capacity perspective, and will offer valuable implications for corporate strategy and policy-making in the digital era.
digital transformation / digital business portfolio / innovation performance / absorptive capacity perspective / institutional environment / artificial intelligence
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