Title: The Impact of Enterprises' Cloud Adoption on Their Innovation: From the Perspective of Data Factorization

Speaker: Tian Lihui, Doctor of London Business School, Professor of Finance and Practicing Lawyer; selected into the National-level Talent Program; Leader of Tianjin 131 Innovation Team; Bagui Scholar of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Lifelong Outstanding Scholar of Nankai University; Junwu Scholar of Guangxi University. He presides over many important academic and consulting projects such as the Major Project of the National Social Science Fund, the International Project of the National Natural Science Fund and the Major Project of the Ministry of Education. His financial research has won many awards at home and abroad. He once founded the Institute of Financial Development of Nankai University, one of the most influential academic institutions in the capital market. He once served as Vice President and Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Guangxi University, and was in charge of the overall strategic development of Nankai University. Currently, he is temporarily in charge of continuing education of Nankai University.

Abstract: Enterprises' cloud adoption provides a basic support platform for making full use of data resources, promotes the transformation of the production, storage and dissemination methods of innovative knowledge, and is an important way to realize the factorization of data production factors. This paper collects cloud adoption information of Chinese A-share listed companies by combining Python search and manual sorting, and examines the impact of enterprises' cloud adoption on their innovation using the multi-period difference-in-differences method. The research finds that enterprises' cloud adoption can significantly increase their R&D investment and patent output. Mechanism analysis shows that: first, the knowledge accumulation effect promotes the transformation of data factors into innovative knowledge, thereby driving innovation; second, the iterative innovation effect reconstructs the process of innovative trial-and-error experiments and accelerates the renewal and creation of innovative knowledge; third, the R&D decentralization effect improves the matching degree between R&D decision-making power and innovative knowledge, thereby stimulating innovation. Further research finds that enterprises' cloud adoption promotes the evolution of innovation structure towards high quality, expands the organizational and technological boundaries of innovation, and strengthens the creative destruction effect of patent output. The research of this paper provides important references for further promoting the "cloud adoption, data application and intelligence empowerment" strategy and building a modern economic system driven by new-quality productive forces.

Date & time: 25 June 2025, 16:00

Venue: B321, Zhixin Building, Central Campus, Shandong University