Key Influencing Factors of Export Enterprises’ Operating Performance in the Era of Digital Transformation

Abstract

In the background of deepening global economic integration and increasingly intricate digital transformation, export enterprises are confronted with unprecedented competitive pressures. The enhancement of export firms’ operational performance has become a key manifestation of their core competitiveness. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effects of R&D expenditures, trade policy uncertainty and executive incentives on export enterprises’ operating performance in the era of digital transformation. This study used a quantitative research approach and selected 66 member enterprises of the Laizhou Foreign Trade Association as the survey subjects and collected data through a questionnaire survey, and a total of 186 valid questionnaires were obtained. The results confirmed that R&D expenditures and executive incentives positively promoted export enterprises’ operating performance, while trade policy uncertainty negatively inhibited it. Based on the research findings and informed by international business knowledge, this study provides targeted countermeasures and recommendations: 1) Strengthening R&D investment and government-enterprise collaboration for high-quality development of enterprises; 2) Establishing a policy early-warning mechanism to mitigate the negative impacts of trade policy uncertainty and 3) Improving executive incentives and compensation restraint mechanisms

Keywords: research and development expenditure, trade policy uncertainty, executive incentives