From transfer to transformation: how national technology transfer centers drive digital innovation

Taking the construction of National Technology Transfer Centers (NTTCs) in selected cities as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the impact of technology transfer on corporate digital innovation using the Random Forest approach. Analyzing a dataset of 35,119 firm-year observations in China from 2008 to 2021, we find that technology transfer promotes corporate digital innovation through technology spillover effects, co-innovation effects and market scale effects, with these impacts persist in the long term. Additionally, the positive effect of technology transfer on corporate digital innovation is contingent upon lower technology transfer costs and stronger technology acceptance capabilities within enterprises. Our findings suggest that policymakers should encourage technology transfer to enhance the technological resources available for corporate digital innovation.