Research on Pathways of How Digital Transformation Affects the Business Performance of MEEC Enterprises in Chengdu

Zhu Yurong and Luo Ziling

Sichuan Agricultural University

Abstract: This paper aims to examine the impact of digital transformations on the business performance of the meetings,expositions,events,and conventions (MEEC) industry in Chengdu by conducting an empirical analysis of 68 MEEC enterprises in the city.The study employed the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to explore the pathways and factors involved.Drawing on the theory of synergetics,nine condition variables were carefully selected from four dimensions: digital technologies,digital strategy,digital infrastructure,and digital innovation.The findings revealed that digital transformations were an intricate systematic process,whereby a single factor alone did not serve as a necessary condition for MEEC enterprises to achieve high business performance.The analysis identified five distinct pathways that would lead to high performance,which can be categorized into three distinct models: the “organization-human resources” dominated model,the “human resources-infrastructure”driven model,and the multi-factor coordination model.The analysis also identified two pathways that would result in low performance,categorized as the “basic condition absent” model.Notably,there was substantial heterogeneity observed in the configurational pathways in terms of the magnitude of the impact of digital transformation on business performance across MEEC enterprises of different sizes.This paper suggests that the government should assume the role of a platform,providing policy and financial support to MEEC enterprises to help guide them through the process of digital transformation and that MEEC enterprises themselves should seize the opportunities arising from digital transformation to strengthen their digital infrastructure construction,human resources development,and innovation in brand building.This study presents empirical evidence that contributes to the understanding of the transformation process of MEEC enterprises within the digital economy era,as well as valuable insights into understanding the channels and internal conditions involved in digital transformations.

Keywords: MEEC enterprises,business performance,fsQCA,digital transformation

Introduction

As an emerging sector of the service industry,the MEEC industry plays an important role in promoting the flow and allocation of resource factors,the development of other industries,and the expansion of opening-up.In 2009,Chengdu received recognition from the China Convention/Exhibition/Event Society (CCEES) as a China Famous City for Meetings,Expositions,Events,and Conventions.Since 2016,the city has consistently positioned itself within the top five cities on the chart of “Most Competitive Exhibition Cities in China” for six consecutive years,ranking first in central and western China.The The Outline of 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) of Chengdu for Building International Capital of Meetings,Expositions,Events,and Conventionshas set out a clear goal of building Chengdu into an international capital for meetings,expositions,events,and conventions with global influence.Since the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC),Chengdu has stepped up its efforts in building the city into a world-famous cultural city.The city considers the building of international capital of meetings,expositions,events,and conventions as an important vehicle to implement its “three-city and three-capital”,the MEEC economy as an important component of the modern industrial system.To this end,Chengdu has been actively enhancing the fundamental capabilities and industrial chain of the MEEC industry to boost its global competitiveness.The development of MEEC enterprises plays a critical role in Chengdu’s economic and social development.At the same time,the rapid advancement of information technologies,including big data and cloud computing,is propelling China into the era of the digital economy.In the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,Xi Jinping,general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee,said,“We will accelerate the development of the digital economy,further integrate it with the real economy,and build internationally competitive digital industry clusters.” It is clear that embracing the wave of the information revolution and seizing the historical opportunity of digital development is critical for Chengdu’s MEEC industry to enhance product quality and production efficiency,and maintain enterprise vitality and market competitiveness.However,recent data from Digitization Report on Chinese Event Organizers (DRCEO) shows that the degree of digital transformation among Chinese MEEC enterprises varies significantly,with the majority still in the preliminary phase of transitioning to cloud-based operations.While approximately 30 percent of MEEC enterprises have made digital transformation endeavors,most of them face challenges such as high costs and difficulties in achieving effective benefits in the short term.Consequently,the exploration of how Chengdu’s MEEC enterprises can effectively seize opportunities and navigate challenges to achieve efficient digital transformation presents a pressing problem that needs immediate investigation.

Existing research primarily uses one-factor regression analysis to investigate the causal factors influencing business performance.However,the coupling mechanism between the digital economy and the MEEC industry is a complex process,where a single factor alone does not provide sufficient conditions for influencing the business performance of MEEC enterprises.The impact is the result of the interactions among multiple factors,underpinned by intricate logic.Therefore,drawing on the theory of synergetics,this study selected a set of digital transformation data from 68 MEEC enterprises in Chengdu and adopted the fsQCA method to investigate the pathways and configurations that affect the high business performance of MEEC enterprises in the city.The objective was to address the following research questions: What are the primary factors that affect the enhancement of business performance in MEEC enterprises? Can a single factor alone constitute the necessary conditions to impact the business performance of MEEC enterprises? How can MEEC enterprises identify the appropriate pathways to achieve high business performance based on their unique circumstances? Based on the analysis outcomes,this study will offer insights into the digital transformation of the MEEC industry and provide empirical evidence to support the high-quality development of Chengdu’s MEEC industry.

Literature Review

Factors Affecting Business Performance

The business performance of an enterprise is affected by various factors.The existing literature mainly focuses on examining the impact of external factors such as the marketing environments,industrial policies,and macroeconomic policies.Zheng and Liu (2021) found that a favorable business environment was equivalent to attractiveness,productivity,and competitiveness,resulting in improved resource allocation efficiency and optimization of business performance.Sun and Wang (2022)empirically demonstrated that the business environments could improve enterprises’business performances by improving their investment behavior.Chen,Meng,and Su(2021) conducted empirical research using a triple difference model.Their research findings indicated that government policies could effectively mitigate financing pressure faced by enterprises and enhance their market competitiveness,thus contributing to the short-term improvement of their innovation capability and overall performance.Jiang (2021) investigated the relationship between fiscal and tax policies,financing constraints,and innovation performance,and the results showed that government fiscal incentives could enhance enterprises’ innovation levels.Zhang et al.(2020) found that environmental,social,and governance (ESG) could significantly improve business performance by encouraging enterprises to embrace the concepts of green development and innovation,increase their investments in R&D and innovation and adopt energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.However,internal factors such as information strategies,IT governance,and investment in innovation can also have a significant impact on business performance compared to external factors.Wang and Zhang (2018) pointed out that IT governance such as technology resources,human resources,PR resources,and execution had a positive effect on business performance using questionnaire surveys and interviews.Stam et al.(2009) performed sample regression analysis on a dataset comprising 647 companies in the Netherlands and revealed that innovation input played a vital role in fostering high growth among startups.

Impact of Digital Transformation on Business Performance

Digital transformation,as a pivotal strategic decision of an enterprise,is one of the internal factors that can affect the business performance of the enterprise.Essentially,digital transformation refers to the strategic integration of digital technologies into some or all processes of an enterprise’s operations,aimed at redesigning its information structure,management models,operational mechanisms,and production processes.The overarching objective is to achieve intelligent production and operation,precise marketing and management,and efficient resource allocation,leading to disruptive innovations within operational models and even the entire system (Liu,2021).The academic community has extensively investigated the relationship between digital transformation and business performance,yielding a wealth of research outcomes.Some findings indicate a positive impact while others indicate a negative impact.However,the preponderance of the findings support the application of digital technologies because they do support and enhance enterprises’ abilities in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage,as well as improving both financial and organizational performance (Johnson,2017).Based on the resource-based view,Nwankpa et al.(2016) investigated and revealed that digital transformation yielded a favorable impact on business performance.Pei et al.(2023) argued that digital transformation effectively amplifies enterprises’ benefits through the facilitation of business model innovation,adoption of digital production methods,digital customer acquisition strategies,and digital management practices.Qi and Cai (2020) found that for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises,digital transformation had a positive impact on new product development,which in turn contributed to the improvement of business performance.Digital transformation could also contribute to boosting business performance when redundant resources prevent enterprises from increasing their innovation output (Li,2023).Still,some scholars do not accept the claim that digital transformation can boost business performance.Hajli(2015) asserted that digital transformation was costly and might result in lower business performance for some companies.Grewal et al.(2019) held that the digital divide resulting from digital transformation could potentially impede collaboration efforts and exert a detrimental influence on business performance.Bai et al.(2022) discovered that the digital transformation could entail a mitigating impact on the financial performance of manufacturing companies.Yuan (2022) argued that in the context of digital economy,numerous MEEC enterprises could not fully exploit the value of digital transformation due to constraints such as outdated strategic deployment,inadequate infrastructure,poorlydesigned organizational structure,and insufficient competent professionals.Consequently,the performance of digital transformation within these enterprises was proven to be unsatisfactory.

The existing research provides valuable references for this paper; however,it predominantly concentrates on analyzing the net utility of individual factors,making it challenging to assess the synergistic utility that arises from the combination of different factors.The exploration of diverse pathways leading to the same outcome remains limited in previous studies.Moreover,the current research findings pertaining to the digital transformation of MEEC enterprises are insufficient.Against this backdrop,this paper employs the fsQCA method to explore the mechanisms underlying MEEC enterprises’achievement of high business performance through digital transformation based on the theoretical frameworks of holism and combinatorial thinking.It has effectively addressed the limitations in previous research endeavors.

Research Framework

According to the theory of synergetics,improvements in business performance need the joint support of various factors at different levels.These factors may engage in interactions,leading to the formation of diverse combinations that synergistically propel the business toward high performance.For MEEC enterprises,the process of digital transformation necessitates substantial changes in their key entity attributes,by using information,computing,communication,and connection technologies.Throughout this transformative journey,an organizational structure that effectively integrates technology,strategy,organization,and capability is essential for success.Building upon the research findings of Wang (2022),this paper established a set of indicators tailored for MEEC enterprises’ digital transformation from the four dimensions of digital strategy,digital technologies,digital infrastructure,and digital innovation.Digital technologies serve as the key technological element that propels digital transformation.Digital strategy serves as a blueprint,encompassing target designs and strategic visions,guiding the course of digital transformation.Digital infrastructure serves as a critical capability that underpins the successful implementation of digital transformation.Digital innovation emerges as the driving force that sustains the long-term benefits derived from digital transformation.T he fou r d i mensions are interconnected,compatible,and complementary.Together they form the organic whole of digital transformation.This paper focused on investigating the linear relationships between the four dimensions and the business performance of MEEC enterprises in Chengdu,to provide a theoretical foundation for exploring the complex causal relationship between digital transformation and the improvements in their business performance.The theoretical framework of this study is established and presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Model of Pathways of How Digital Transformation Affects Business Performance of MEEC Enterprises in Chengdu

Digital Strategy

Digital strategy is an organizational strategy aimed at achieving differential value by effectively leveraging information systems and digital resources (Martin-Rojas,2011).MEEC enterprises faced notable challenges in effectively harnessing the role of digital technologies in adding and multiplying business value.These challenges arose primarily from limited experience in information technology application,outdated and labor-intensive management systems,inadequate groundwork for digital transformation,insufficient assessment of strategic positioning,and a lack of clarity concerning transformational direction and objectives (Zhao,2023).Therefore,the digital transformation of an enterprise was intrinsically coupled with its strategic design,as they promoted each other.Aligning the digital transformation process with the trajectory of the digital economy would enhance the market’s inclination to hold optimistic prospects for an enterprise’s future advancement (Cheng,2019).Jiang et al.(2022) examined the relationship between the implementation of a digital transformation strategy and the potential for performance reversal among declining companies.The findings of their research indicated that the implementation of a digital transformation strategy was conducive to maintaining positive stakeholder relationships,ultimately leading to sustained improvements in the performance reversal of declining companies.Wang(2023) argued that digital transformation,serving as a strategic approach for companies to generate value from differentiation by using digital technology,could help mitigate risks arising from uncertainties by facilitating diversification.This paper considers digital transformation as an essential condition for MEEC enterprises in Chengdu to achieve high business performance.

Digital Technologies

Digital technologies refer to a set of intelligent technologies,including but not limited to big data,the Internet of Things (IoT),artificial intelligence (AI),and cloud computing that originated during the era of Industry 4.0 (Yoo,2012; Ardolin,2012).They were among the most important factors facilitating enterprises in achieving digital transformation.The digital transformation of a company was built on digital technologies (Nwankpa et al.,2016).It was the application of digital technologies in enterprises’ operations that fundamentally enhanced their business performance and expanded the purview of their business activities (Bekkhus,2016; Karagiannaki,2017).By integrating digital technologies with other factors of production,enterprises could optimize their operations and explore new business models,thereby driving enhanced efficiency,profitability,and the generation of new value (Zhang et al.,2021).The use of digital technologies enabled enterprises to optimize their production processes,thus leading to improved resource utilization efficiency (Wang,2023).Digital technologies have changed the business types and service models of the MEEC industry,providing an intelligent trade platform for MEEC enterprises.By leveraging new media and various social platforms,MEEC enterprises could effectively carry out a range of essential processes,including but not limited to online communication,marketing activities,recruitment,and decision-making (Dong,2023).MEEC enterprises could use technologies such as big data mining to gather,store,and analyze vast amounts of data pertaining to customers’ preferences and consumption behaviors.This would offer them invaluable insights into their operational process,customer requirements,and market trends,among others,allowing them to offer tailored products and services,develop targeted strategies,and make informed decisions.As a result,they could run their business efficiently and achieve a high growth rate (Hu,2022).Therefore,the application of digital technologies or platforms is also an important condition that has a decisive role in shaping the impact of digital transformation on the business performance of MEEC enterprises.

Digital Infrastructure

Digital infrastructure refers to an infrastructure system that is driven by data innovation,underpinned by communication networks,and centered on computing power infrastructure.It includes emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) like 5G,cloud computing,AI,and IoT,and an assortment of digital platforms built upon the aforementioned technologies.Currently,a mere 25 percent of Chinese enterprises have completed the digital transformation,while over 55 percent of Chinese enterprises have yet to fulfill the digital transformation of their infrastructure.The limited number of enterprises that had completed the digital transformation process indicated that it was difficult for such endeavors to deliver substantial benefits (Wang et al.,2023).If digital technologies provide a powerful engine for enterprises’ digital transformation,digital infrastructure serves as a crucial cornerstone upon which digital transformation is built.Advanced infrastructure played a key role in an enterprise’s digital transformation process (Wang et al.,2014).A successful digital transformation starts with the construction of digital infrastructure.Well-developed infrastructure is the foundation for digital transformation and could significantly advance an enterprise’s digital transformation process and boost its business performance (Chen et al.,2019).Digital infrastructure,along with the diverse array of digital platforms it uses,provides critical support for enterprises’ digital transformation.They could have a disruptive impact on various business activities of an enterprise,including production and development,reduce their R&D costs,and improve their market efficiency (Li et al.,2022).Therefore,it is necessary to examine the role of digital infrastructure when it comes to the impact of digital transformation on the business performance of MEEC enterprises.

Digital Innovation

Digital innovation refers to the capability of a service-oriented manufacturing enterprise to develop products and services that align with evolving market trends,thereby facilitating the upgrading of their product and service packages (Xu,2023).Digital transformation,as a model used within the frontier of the digital economy,relies heavily on innovation (Yi,2021).Jin (2011) argued that the capability for independent innovation is the most central and critical factor in the digital transformation process of an enterprise.The more innovative an enterprise was,the more it tended to engage in digital transformation (Kong,2012).The capability for digital innovation exerted a substantial impact on the speed and quality of digital transformation (Lin,2023).By leveraging digital technology,enterprises could carry out flexible production and efficient distribution,allowing them to promptly respond to customer demands while adapting to changes in production tasks and product varieties (Wang,2019).Big data analysis allowed enterprises to identify intelligent business scenarios and diversify their business.For example,they could effectively extend the value chain through product networking and operational data collection.As a result,they could expand their business while securing their main business for higher profits and improved business performance (Xie,2019).At the same time,enterprises could also leverage digital technologies to further explore market demand and consumer preferences and provide tailored products and services that meet customers’ personalized needs.For example,they could use digital technologies to generate precise customer profiles,and rapidly carry out personalized,customized,and modular designs to achieve agile product development (Chen,2023).Through the innovative integration of digital technologies with business practices,enterprises propelled the pace of their cloud-based operations.This integration facilitated the proliferation of novel business models and types,including platform-based design,intelligent manufacturing,and networked collaboration,thereby elevating the overall level of enterprise operations (Jiao,2023).Digital innovation is an important condition for high business performance.

Research Design

Questionnaire Design

In light of the distinct characteristics of MEEC enterprises and the research objectives of this study,a three-part questionnaire was devised for data collection.The first part was intended to collect the basic information about these enterprises,including their business type and ownership,service location,and number of events.The second part was designed to collect data about the overall business performance of these enterprises in 2021.The third part,also the main body of the questionnaire,was designed to analyze the impact of digital transformation on the business performance of these enterprises.It defines five primary indicators,which are basic conditions,strategy and organization,digital platform application,business innovation,and efficiency; ten secondary indicators,and 18 items.

Data Sources and Method Selection

In this study,the fsQCA method was used to investigate the pathways of how digital transformation affects the business performance of MEEC enterprises in Chengdu.In contrast to other methods,the fsQCA method offers a systematic framework for examining the combination of causes that trigger an event and the interactions between internal causal factors so that the researchers can investigate the mechanisms through which multiple factors associated with digital transformation affect the business performance of MEEC enterprises in Chengdu from a holistic perspective.

To better understand the conditions possessed by MEEC enterprises,establish a more meaningful association with the case data,and ensure the validity of each case with substantive knowledge and the generalizability of research findings,this study primarily employed online questionnaires and field research as data collection methods.Responses from 68 MEEC enterprises in Chengdu were gathered,covering all relevant entities within the MEEC industry.The basic sample characteristics are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Sample Characterization

Variable Selection and Data Calibration

Variable Selection.

To improve the effectiveness of variable measurement and the accuracy of analysis,concerning the research results of Li et al.(2021),“strategy and organization” was selected to measure the performance of MEEC enterprises’ “digital strategy.” This indicator consists of two secondary indicators: digital strategy and organization and staff; “digital platform application” was selected to measure the performance of their“digital technologies.” This indicator consists of two secondary indicators: business intelligentization and big data mining and application; “basic conditions” was selected to measure the performance of their “digital infrastructure.” This indicator consists of three secondary indicators: platform foundation,ICT,and information security; “business innovation” was selected to measure the performance of their “digital innovation.”This indicator consists of two secondary indicators: service-oriented extension and customization.“Efficiency” was selected as the outcome variable to measure the performance of their digital transformation.“Efficiency,” as a metric that can be effectively measured,can help this study define the results more clearly.Higher efficiency indicates that the business performance generated after the digital transformation is better.Using efficiency as the outcome variable facilitates a more precise evaluation of the pathways and significance of this study.

Data Calibration.

In this study,mean value analysis was performed on the items of selected variables.The standardized results were used as the nine condition variables to investigate the pathways of how digital transformation affects the business performance of MEEC enterprises in Chengdu.The direct calibration method was used to set the three calibration points of each variable to 95 percent,50 percent,and 5 percent of the sample data for calibration purposes using the three anchor points,which are “full membership,”“crossover point” and “full non-membership.” The calibrated membership score is in the range of 0 to 1.When the membership score of the fuzzy set is 0.5,it is adjusted to 0.501 with reference to existing research (Xiao,2022).The thresholds for each condition variable are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Thresholds

Empirical Analysis

Necessary Condition Analysis

In this study,the fsQCA method is used to examine whether the nine causal conditions constitute the necessary conditions for digital transformation to affect MEEC enterprises’high business performance from the perspectives of consistency and coverage.Table 3 reveals that the consistency levels of all conditions are below 0.9,suggesting that no individual variable alone can be considered a necessary condition for driving the enhanced performance of MEEC enterprises via digital transformation.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct additional sufficiency analysis and configuration investigations to examine the synergistic effect of multiple conditions.

Table 3 Necessary Condition Analysis of the fsQCA Method

Sufficiency Analysis of Condition Configurations

Table 4 shows the results of the configurational analysis of the impact of the nine condition variables on efficiency.The results indicate that there are five pathways through which digital transformation can contribute to high business performance.The consistency of the global solution is 0.8885 and the coverage is 0.5280,showing good explanatory power.The consistencies of both individual pathways and the overall consistency are greater than 0.85,suggesting that all of the five pathways are important approaches that will lead MEEC businesses to high performance.Three configurational pathways that lead to high business performance are derived by generalizing the results of the five configurations.

Table 4 Results of Configurational Analysis

Investigation of Pathways Leading to High Business Performance During Digital Transformation

“Organization-Human Resources” Dominated Model.

This model includes two pathways,H1 and H2,where the organization and staff play a core role and are present while the platform foundation,ICT,and business intelligentization are absent as core conditions.This indicates that when an enterprise can but does not take advantage of digital platforms due to incomplete basic conditions,it can improve its business performance by establishing internal digital organizations and cultivating a high-quality digital workforce.Representative enterprises in this configuration include event organizers,venue operation companies,and investment and exhibition promotion agencies.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for the MEEC industry in Chengdu to pursue high-quality development and expedite its digital transformation efforts.Nonetheless,the introduction of digital technologies leads to substantial transformation costs and management complexities,which consequently impede business performance.Consequently,enterprises must have a f lexible organizational structure to effectively navigate and harmonize the diverse contradictions and conflicts of interest arising from the process of digital transformation.MEEC enterprises in Chengdu have effectively achieved a high level of business performance by implementing strategies such as recruiting specialized personnel proficient in digital transformation,providing training and evaluation programs for all employees,and promoting theoretical knowledge,policies,and practical applications of digital transformation to enhance employees’ skills and equip them with the necessary competencies required to adapt to digital transformation.

“Human Resources-Infrastructure” Driven Model.

This model also includes two pathways,H3 and H4.H3 suggests that in the absence of strategic elements,an MEEC enterprise can achieve a higher level of business performance if it establishes an optimal digital organizational structure,employs skilled professionals to navigate through the digital transformation process,and leverages next-generation information and communication infrastructure to facilitate operations.H4 indicates that even in an unfavorable context where an MEEC enterprise lacks a digital strategy,as well as core conditions such as platform foundation and business intelligentization,efficient operations can still be achieved through the utilization of information and communication infrastructure.Representative enterprises in this configuration include event organizers,event hosts,and investment and exhibition promotion agencies.Both H3 and H4 demonstrate the key supporting role played by infrastructure,represented by information and communication infrastructure,in facilitating the digital transformation of MEEC enterprises.In recent years,MEEC enterprises in Chengdu have actively promoted the development of digital infrastructure to transition MEEC events from offline to online.They have harnessed advanced technologies such as computing,AI,IoT,blockchain,VR,AR,and more to construct digital management platforms.These platforms enable targeted ad placement,targeted customer segmentation,and utilize customer data for identification,analysis,and prospect targeting,thereby selecting the most effective digital marketing methods.Furthermore,they have established comprehensive online exhibition platforms,effectively surmounting the temporal and spatial limitations inherent in traditional offline exhibitions and trade processes.For example,the inclusion of virtual exhibition halls and online live broadcasts within exhibition venues allows customers to enjoy round-the-clock visitation and explanation services.Consequently,exhibition activities have gained a broader developmental scope,information barriers between enterprises and customers are reduced,and the range of available goods is significantly expanded.

Multi-Factor Coordination Model.

H5 contains five core conditions,in which digital strategy,platform foundation,ICT,and business intelligentization are present while organization and staff are absent.The remaining variables are present as peripheral conditions.This pathway highlights the imperative for MEEC enterprises in Chengdu to leverage the coordination of digital strategy,digital infrastructure,and digital technologies to achieve favorable business performance.It demonstrates the interdependencies and synergies among the diverse components involved in the digital transformation process.In comparison to other pathways,this pathway exhibits the highest level of consistency at 97.31 percent,signifying that MEEC enterprises can achieve maximum operating efficiency by embracing this pathway.However,the coverage of this pathway stands at a relatively modest level of 18.54 percent,thus rendering weak explanatory power.This suggests that most enterprises cannot sustain their business for a long period.Representative enterprises in this configuration include event organizers and venue operation companies.Taking event organizers as an example,during the digital transformation process,they have to attend to a myriad of intricate operations encompassing planning,organizing,operating,and managing.In an endeavor to enhance efficiency,event organizers integrate digital transformation into their overarching strategic planning,thereby creating a comprehensive implementation plan.Through substantial investments in digital infrastructure and technologies,they achieve noteworthy advancements in digital transformation and accomplish their stage-wise strategic objectives.

Investigation of Pathways Leading to Low Business Performance During Digital Transformation

Given the causal asymmetry of the fsQCA method,this paper also investigated the peripheral configurations that lead to the low performance of MEEC enterprises during digital transformation with reference to the study by Du Yunzhou et al.,D1 and D2 in Table 4 suggest that there are two pathways leading to low performance and they are collectively referred to as the “basic condition absent” model.The findings reveal that the absence of a platform foundation and ICT is the principal determinant of low performance.Even in instances where digital strategy,organizational and personnel capabilities,business intelligentization,and other essential conditions are present,their influence on business performance is nearly inconsequential.The construction of platforms and the integration of ICT constitute essential components of basic conditions development.From a pragmatic standpoint,MEEC enterprises’ pursuit of a digital economy relies heavily on platform development,exhibiting strong network value-added effects.Technologies such as cloud computing,IoT,and AI possess significant network connectivity capabilities,enabling MEEC enterprises to establish customer-focused digital management platforms tailored to accommodate individualized customer requirements.This provides them with the foothold to carry out business innovation.On the contrary,in the absence of the data advantage and technical capabilities facilitated by platforms,MEEC enterprises are unable to achieve internal management synergy and enhance their overall quality and efficiency.Thus,MEEC enterprises should make full use of the advantages presented by ICT and speed up the construction of big data-based cloud platforms to meet the quantity and utilization requirements for infrastructure within the context of the digital economy as soon as possible.

It is noteworthy that in both the high-performance and low-performance pathways,all the variables associated with business innovation and big data mining and application,along with information security,are always present as peripheral conditions.This implies that while these condition variables do not exert a direct influence on the business performance of MEEC enterprises,their presence remains indispensable.Given that MEEC enterprises face the mining and application of diverse forms of internal and external data,including exhibition data,business operation data,and customer information during digital transformation,an unreliable digital platform is susceptible to potential attacks.Such vulnerabilities may result in the compromise of customer information and inflict harm upon the regular digital operations and management of the enterprise.As the maintenance of information security within an enterprise rests upon a well-functioning digital platform,platforms must be present as a peripheral condition.Innovation,as a core driver,is essential for business growth.However,the degree of digital transformation among MEEC enterprises in Chengdu necessitates further improvement,with a competitive edge in proactive development and innovation not established yet.Therefore,business innovation is also an indispensable peripheral condition.

Robustness Test

To test the robustness of our findings from multiple angles,this study,in line with the research suggestions by Zhang et al.(2019),conducted a robustness test on the causal configurations associated with the high performance of MEEC enterprises during digital transformation.This was accomplished by adjusting the consistency threshold and PRI threshold while maintaining the minimum frequency threshold unchanged.Specifically,the consistency threshold was augmented by 0.05.The configuration pathways obtained before and after the threshold adjustments align consistently with the outcomes derived from the original configurations.The results of this study demonstrate good robustness.

Analysis of Heterogeneity Arising from Size

In accordance with theRegulations for the Statistical Classification of Large,Medium,Small,and Micro Enterprisesissued by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2017,MEEC enterprises fall into two categories based on their employee count: micro and small enterprises (MSEs) with fewer than 100 employees and medium enterprises with more than 100 employees.To investigate the pathways of how company size affects business performance during digital transformation,separate sets of business cases were calibrated for each category.The findings are shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Heterogeneity Arising from Size

For MSEs,there is only one configurational pathway leading to high business performance during digital transformation.Organization and staff,ICT,and business intelligentization are present as core conditions while digital strategy as a core condition is absent.For medium enterprises,there are three pathways leading to high performance during digital transformation.Different from MSEs,medium enterprises focus more on the two condition variables of information security and digital strategy.This indicates that company size has a substantial impact on business performance during digital transformation and that MSEs face challenges stemming from a limited workforce,resources,capital,and demand,rendering them relatively less effective in achieving favorable outcomes in the context of digital transformation compared to their mediumsized counterparts.For medium enterprises to gain an endurable competitive advantage,they should constantly refine their digitalization strategies and strengthen the guarantee of data security.

Conclusions and Suggestions

This paper has conducted a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of 68 MEEC enterprises in Chengdu from four dimensions: digital strategy,digital technologies,digital infrastructure,and digital innovation,to explore factors that may affect the relationship between digital transformation and business performance and the pathways.The findings reveal that: (a) The performance of MEEC businesses is jointly affected by multiple factors such as strategy and organization,basic conditions,digital platform application,and business innovation.No individual variable alone can be considered a necessary condition for digital transformation to enhance performance; (b) In terms of the combination effect of different factors,five condition configurations lead to high business performance.They fall into three models by the dominating factor: the “organizationhuman resources” dominated model,the “human resources-infrastructure” driven model,and the multi-factor coordination model.Two condition configurations lead to low business performance,which are collectively referred to as the “basic condition absent”model; (c) MSEs and medium enterprises are different on core condition variables.

Based on the above conclusions,four suggestions are proposed:

(a) MEEC enterprises should clearly define digital transformation strategies,speed up their efforts in digital transformation and carefully select a transformation model that aligns with their operating conditions and product characteristics.They need to focus on two main aspects: First,they should bolster the development of digital infrastructure;proactively promote the comprehensive optimization and synergistic integration of traditional and new infrastructure; and introduce all-inclusive and end-to-end reforms to the MEEC industry by using digital technologies.Second,they should enhance R&D efforts in the domain of big data security technology and intensify data security risk management practices.Efforts should be made to establish a multi-level and multidimensional data security protection system tailored to the different levels of data,thereby augmenting the ability to safeguard information security.It is noteworthy that small and micro MEEC enterprises,lacking the advantages in capital and human resources,should adopt a forward-thinking approach and meticulously plan.They should identify a digital transformation roadmap that is suitable for their specific needs and avoid indiscriminately introducing digital transformation initiatives that may lead to excessive investments.

(b) MEEC enterprises should strengthen the development of digital professionals and expand the pool of high-end technical and managerial professionals within their organizations.This objective can be accomplished through concerted efforts in two key areas.First,they should intensify regular training targeting technical professionals and sign exhibition workforce training contracts with universities and colleges or other institutions.Second,they should capitalize on the employment market dynamics to promote relevant occupations and positions.This can be achieved by assisting job seekers in understanding emerging roles and fostering a more open and inclusive employment environment.Additionally,they should explore and establish networked human resources sharing platforms to invigorate labor markets,mobilize the enthusiasm and mobility of online job seekers,and facilitate a better alignment between supply and demand within the labor market.At the same time,MEEC enterprises should actively engage in marketbased competition for human resources.By actively recruiting digital professionals from other industries,MEEC enterprises can augment their pool of expertise and subsequently provide technical solutions to support their digital operations.

(c) The development of the MEEC industry in Chengdu started late,with a predominant emphasis on quantity over quality.Consequently,the industry’s brandbuilding consciousness is weak.Moreover,intense competition and a lack of distinct characteristics among enterprises have further hindered their influence and resulted in a lower quality of service supply compared to other provinces and municipalities.This predicament has impeded their acquisition of competitive advantages and significantly obstructed their specialization.To address these challenges,it is crucial to adhere to an innovation-driven approach,increase resources and R&D efforts toward digital information technologies,leverage the potential of digital technologies,and make breakthroughs in the domains of big data,AI,and the industrial Internet.By doing so,Chengdu can turn the MEEC industry into an important vehicle to extend the value chain and capitalize on its innovation advantages.

(d) The government of Chengdu and relevant regulatory authorities should actively guide MEEC enterprises during their pursuit of digital transformation.This guidance should enable enterprises to leverage digital technologies to drive comprehensive changes across their research and development,production,marketing,and services,facilitating their high-quality development in the digital economy era.To achieve this,the authorities should focus on two essential aspects.First,efforts should be made to establish sound fiscal,intellectual property protection,financial support,and talent incentive policies.The development roadmaps,key tasks,and goals pertaining to digital transformation should be clearly outlined.Importance should be attached to policy coherence.Strategic plans tailored to the realities of Chengdu’s MEEC industry and highlighting their strengths should be designed.Second,to address the resource constraints faced by MSEs,government authorities should provide necessary innovative services such as financing channels,digital business training,and guidance on novel management models based on MSEs’ characteristics of business concentration,flexible mechanisms,and efficient decision-making.This can ensure that MSEs gain direct access to a more extensive array of high-quality resources,ultimately obtaining tangible economic benefits.