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| Bank-Enterprise Digital Synergy and Bank Lending: Evidence from Bank Loans |
| JIANG Xuanyu, ZHANG Mingmei, LIN Wen
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| School of Accountancy, Central University of Finance & Economics |
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Abstract Driven by the integration of the digital economy with the real economy, the digital transformation among enterprises has progressed rapidly in China. Prior research highlights that the digital transformation of enterprises and banks has significantly expanded the scale of corporate debt . However, it is crucial to recognise that Chinese enterprises continue to face persistent challenges in accessing credit. Furthermore, digital finance still encounters notable barriers and inefficiencies, limiting its ability to fully support the sustainable development of the real economy.
A critical reason for this phenomenon lies in the prominent issues of information fragmentation during the digital transformation process. Transformation efforts have primarily focused on internal processes within enterprises, often overlooking the digital synergy between enterprises and their external stakeholders in the broader ecosystem. This raises an important question: to what extent can digital synergy between enterprises and banks help break down information silos, enhance firms' access to credit, and strengthen the capacity of digital finance to effectively empower the real economy？
In this paper, we construct a “firm-bank-year” level dataset using bank loan data from A-share listed companies between 2014 and 2022. We find that: (1) higher levels of digital synergy between firms and banks significantly enhance firms' ability to access credit; (2) this effect is primarily driven by two channels—enhanced information coordination and governance coordination; (3) the impact is more pronounced in scenarios where digital synergy is substantive, firm-bank cooperative relationships are weaker, or banks exhibit a greater reliance on soft information; (4) in further analysis, compared to “dual low” synergy, moderate levels of digital synergy significantly enhance firms' credit access capabilities. Additionally, digital synergy between firms and banks contributes to optimizing the overall credit structure of firms.
Our paper makes several notable contributions to the literature. First, it expands the research on the economic consequences of digital transformation. Prior studies primarily focus on the impact of digital transformation of single firm on its operational performance or its spillover effects on stakeholders. This paper incorporates the digital transformation of both firms and banks into a unified analytical framework, shedding light on the economic consequences of digital synergy among stakeholders. Second, it enriches the understanding of firm-bank relationships. Prior research mainly examines the economic outcomes of firm-bank relationships from the perspectives such as cooperative characteristics, equity linkages and geographic proximity. This study reveals that digital synergy between firms and banks contributes to optimizing firm-bank relationships. Third, our paper explores the heterogeneity of firm-bank digital synergy and provides both theoretical explanations and empirical evidence on the channels through which digital synergy influences firms' access to credit. The findings of this study demonstrate that digital synergy enhances firms' credit access capabilities by improving information coordination and governance coordination between banks and firms. Furthermore, it identifies differentiated effects of substantive versus strategic digital synergy types, on the relationship between firm-bank digital collaboration and credit access.
This paper also offers several policy implications. First, it emphasizes the need to actively promote digital synergy between firms and banks to create a virtuous cycle between the financial sector and the real economy.Second, it highlights the importance of increasing subsidies for digital transformation initiatives, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) .Enhanced financial support from governments would enable SMEs to participate in collaborative digital initiatives with banks, thereby laying a sustainable financial foundation for their long-term high-quality growth. Third, the study highlights the need to strengthen innovation, application, and integration of digital technologies to promote substantive digital synergy between firms and banks. To maximize the benefits of digital collaboration, firms and banks should engage in deeper cooperation, thereby reinforcing foundational data infrastructure, cultivating a resilient and interconnected digital ecosystem, and facilitating more efficient information sharing and seamless business coordination between banks and firms.
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Received: 28 August 2024
Published: 14 August 2025
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