Big data development, information friction and corporate collaborative innovation: Evidence from Big Data Pilot Zone policy

Due to information friction, enterprises find it difficult to innovate through external collaboration, leading to a decrease in innovation efficiency. and increased investment costs. Using the Big Data Pilot Zone (BDP) policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employing the difference-in-differences method, we find that big data development significantly promotes enterprise collaborative innovation. Mechanism analysis shows that big data development can facilitate firms to accelerate digital transformation, and reduce search friction. At the same time, the BDP policy can reduce the transaction cost caused by information asymmetry through information sharing and exchange. Heterogeneity analysis shows that big data development has a greater impact on non-state-owned enterprises, large enterprises, enterprises with strong financing constraints, and enterprises in low-competition industries. Finally, we discuss the impact of big data development on the long-term growth of firms and find that it improves the corporate competitiveness and profitability.