Can Enterprises Achieve Shared Benefits from Digital Transformation?-A Study on Employee Benefits Expenditures in Chinese Listed Companies

With the rapid advancement of digital technologies, firms are increasingly embracing digital transformation to improve productivity and competitiveness. However, it remains unclear whether and how this technological shift yields shared benefits for employees. Using panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies (2014–2023), this study examines the effect of firm-level digitalization on employee benefits spending. We develop an analytical framework linking value creation to internal distribution and focus on three channels (innovation, efficiency, and labor composition). The results show that more digitalized firms allocate significantly more to employee benefits. Mechanism tests indicate that digitalization raises firms’ R&D intensity and R&D personnel share (boosting innovation-generated surplus), enhances total factor productivity and profit margins (strengthening efficiency rents), and shifts the workforce toward higher-skilled, more educated employees (heightening retention incentives). Heterogeneity analysis finds the positive effect is strongest among state-owned enterprises, larger firms, and those in more developed cities. These findings provide new insights into how technology-driven gains translate into improved employee benefits at the firm level, with practical implications for managers and policymakers promoting people-centered digital transformation.