The Impact of Customer Demand Orientation on Digital Transformation of Enterprises

Abstract

With the continuous development of science and technology, the digital transformation of enterprises has become one of the core forces to maintain competitiveness and create lasting value. However, this transformation is not only a technical change but also a strategic process that requires deep insight and flexibility. Building on theories of customer value theory and data-driven decision-making, this paper explores the impact of customer demand orientation on the level of enterprise digital transformation based on the data collected from manufacturing enterprises in China's A-share and Shanghai stock markets from 2010 to 2021. We find that the degree of customer demand orientation has a positive impact on the level of digital transformation; further, this main effect is moderated by industry concentration externally and investor interaction response internally. More specifically, the more intense the competition in the industry and the shorter the response time of enterprises to investors’ questions on the interactive e-platform, the stronger the impact of customer demand orientation on the level of digital transformation. These insights introduce novel effects from several perspectives on enterprise digital transformation, offering significant theoretical and practical implications for policy-makers and enterprise decision-makers regarding business digital transformation.