Abstract:

In the digital economy era, the use of data elements has become a key driving force for firms to reduce excessive financialization, strengthen core competitiveness, promote digital transformation, and achieve high-quality development. Using a sample of A-share listed non-financial firms from 2011 to 2024, this paper employs Python-based textual analysis to construct an indicator of firm-level data element utilization and systematically examines the impact of data element use on corporate financialization. The results show that the effective use of data elements significantly restrains firms’ tendency toward “shifting from the real economy to the virtual economy”. The underlying mechanism lies in the role of data elements as a new factor of production, which enhances factor productivity, facilitates technological breakthroughs, and alleviates operational risks and financing constraints. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals substantial differences across managerial backgrounds, firm characteristics, and geographic locations. Compared with large-scale and state-owned enterprises, the inhibitory effect of data element use on corporate financialization is more pronounced among non-state-owned firms and smaller firms. This effect is also evident in firms whose management teams possess digital backgrounds and in firms holding shares in financial institutions. From a geographic perspective, the restraining effect of data element use on corporate financialization is significantly stronger in eastern China than in central and western regions. This study provides important theoretical and practical implications for guiding manufacturing firms back toward the real economy and promoting high-quality economic development.

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