Digital finance and new quality productive force of enterprise: Based on the analysis of enterprise industrial and commercial big data

Digital finance addresses challenges related to inadequate supply and financing imbalances in traditional financial systems, supporting enterprise innovation and development. This study examines how digital finance affects high-quality productive forces in enterprises by constructing an evaluation index based on text-based big data from the registration records of Chinese industrial and commercial enterprises (2011−2022). The findings indicate four key patterns. First, digital finance significantly contributes to developing high-quality productive forces in enterprises. Second, it enhances these forces by increasing digital penetration rates, enabling technological advancements, and alleviating financing constraints. Third, heterogeneity analysis reveals that its effects vary across regions and industries, with a more significant impact on enterprises in Eastern regions and future-oriented sectors. Fourth, the influence of digital finance emerges with a lag, peaking after one year. These findings offer practical insights for enhancing how digital finance contributes to the real economy and guide strategies for advancing the global digital economy and improving high-quality productive forces.