Returnee executives and digital transformation: an inverted U-shaped relationship

Digital transformation has been an increasingly critical issue in the digital era. The paper expands research on corporate digital transformation drivers and examines executive contextual factors. A text mining method creates digital transformation indicators, and a nonlinear model is used to empirically analyse the impact of returnee executives on corporate digital transformation using Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021. After robustness testing, returnee executives and company digital transformation have an inverted U-shaped, nonlinear relationship. Further studies show that financial restrictions strengthen the inverted U-shaped association between returnee executives and digital transformation, while financial position weakens it. The findings are of great reference and implication for promoting the digital transformation of enterprises.

Automated summary

Digital transformation is an increasingly critical issue in the digital era. This paper expands research on the drivers of corporate digital transformation and examines executive contextual factors. Using text mining and a nonlinear model, the study analyzes the impact of returnee executives on corporate digital transformation in Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021. The findings show an inverted U-shaped, nonlinear relationship between returnee executives and company digital transformation, with financial restrictions strengthening this association and financial position weakening it.