Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Schubert, Torben
Author-Name: Ashouri, Sajad
Author-Name: Deschryvere, Matthias
Author-Name: Jäger, Angela 
Author-Name: Visentin, Fabiana
Author-workplace-name: RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, Mt Economic Research Inst on Innov/Techn
Author-Name: Cunningham, Scott
Author-Name: Hajikhani, Arash
Author-Name: Pukelis, Lukas
Author-Name: Suominen, Arho
Title: The role of product digitization for productivity
Abstract: Digitalization is considered an important driver of the unravelling societal and economic transformations. However, holding both promises and challenges, its effects on the performance of individual firms are still underexplored. In this paper, we recognize that digitalization may take many shapes and try isolating the effects specifically of product digitization on firm level labour productivity. Our analyses are based on a large Europe-wide unique dataset combining structured information from ORBIS and PATSTAT with novel web-scraped information on digitalization in firms involved in high-tech manufacturing. We show that digitalization benefits productivity. However, the effect appears to result exclusively from product digitization, while a general digital intensity measure turned out to be insignificant. Moreover, we show that the effects are stronger for firms with higher initial productivity and firms located in countries considered digitally leading. Our results from the European high-tech sector suggest that the digital transformation in Europe is slow paced and scaled-up in only a fraction of the firms.
Classification-JEL: o49,c81,o33,d20,o47
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20230214
Number: 2023-004
File-URL: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/125657064/wp2023_004.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 665005
Handle: Repec:unm:unumer:2023004
DOI: