The Impact of Digital Capability on Manufacturing Company Performance

Abstract

Digital capability is an advanced capability that manufacturing companies need for their digital and intelligent development. At present, the influence mechanism behind the impact of digital capability on manufacturing companies’ performance is still unclear and lacks quantitative analysis. Based on the dynamic capability view, we propose a research model to investigate digital capability, digital innovation, value co-creation, and company performance and conduct an empirical study based on questionnaire data from 209 digital manufacturing companies. The empirical results show that digital capability has a significant positive impact on company performance. The results further show that digital innovation mediates the effect of digital capability on performance within a company, while outside the company, value co-creation mediates the impact of digital capability on company performance. This research provides empirical support in favor of companies developing digital capabilities in the context of digital transformation and offers theoretical insight into the contradiction between the potential value of digital capability and companies’ practice.