【摘要】 在数字化浪潮下，辨识企业数字化转型是实质性技术跃迁还是策略性逢迎，是推动数字经济健康发展的关键议题。本文基于企业数字化转型言与行不一致的特征，构建数字化迎合程度指标，以检验其对企业经营发展的影响。研究发现：企业数字化迎合通过削减长期投资，加重运营负担，助长违规行为，导致企业经营绩效下滑，是企业机会主义行为的表征。信息不对称程度和数字化转型难度的增大会加剧企业数字化迎合的负面影响。此外，企业数字化迎合还将抬高市场估值，扰乱市场运行效率，累积股价崩盘隐患，对资本市场稳定造成潜在冲击。上述发现揭示出数字化迎合的机会主义本质，拓展了企业迎合理论，也为识别企业逢迎策略和防范转型风险提供了科学的决策依据。更多还原

【Abstract】 This paper investigates whether corporate catering behaviour in digital transformation constitutes a substantive technological transition or a strategic ingratiation. Based on the observed discrepancy between corporate rhetoric and action in digital transformation decision-making, an index of “digital catering intensity” is constructed to assess its impact on business operations and development. The findings reveal that corporate digital catering – characterised by reductions in longterm investment, increased operational burdens and a heightened incidence of misconduct – leads to a decline in firm performance and represents a clear manifestation of opportunistic behaviour. A higher degree of information asymmetry and greater difficulties in executing digital transformation are found to exacerbate this negative effect. Furthermore, this digital catering behaviour inflates market valuations, disrupts market efficiency, and accumulates stock price crash risk – thereby exerting a significant adverse influence on capital markets.Building on these results, the findings collectively indicate that opportunistic digital catering by firms constitutes strategic ingratiation rather than substantive technological upgrading. Consequently, the analysis suggests that policymakers must avoid both blind optimism towards digital technology – which risks condoning corporate digital catering strategies and overlooking potential systemic risks – and excessive restraint that could stifle genuine digital innovation and social progress. Given that digital technology remains a crucial driver for constructing a modern industrial system and cultivating new quality productive forces, it continues to hold significant development potential. Government authorities should therefore strengthen the identification and regulation of corporate digital ingratiation strategies while encouraging substantive digital innovation – a balanced approach essential for guiding the stable and sustainable development of China’s digital economy.In addition to these empirical and policy implications, the paper makes three key contributions. First, it offers a novel perspective for understanding corporate opportunism in the digital economy. The evidence shows that firms cater to market investment sentiment by exaggerating their digital transformation commitments to attract investor attention and inflate stock market valuations. However, in the absence of substantive digital transformation initiatives, this digital catering leads to a decline in business performance and significant operational inefficiencies. These findings illuminate the opportunistic nature of corporate digital catering, thereby enriching and extending corporate catering theory from the perspective of strategic ingratiation. Second, the paper innovatively proposes a quantitative method for measuring corporate digital catering intensity. The methodology involves constructing an indicator based on the divergence between a firm’s stated and actual levels of digitalisation, which directly reflects the extent of digital catering. The rationality and effectiveness of this indicator are subsequently verified from multiple perspectives. This approach provides a new avenue for quantitative research on corporate catering behaviour. Third, the paper reveals the role of digital catering in identifying operational inefficiencies and signalling risks in capital markets. It systematically demonstrates the adverse economic consequences of digital catering for both corporate performance and capital market functioning. These insights not only help investors identify emerging forms of opportunistic behaviour but also provide regulatory authorities with robust support for effectively detecting corporate ingratiation strategies and mitigating risks in the real economy’s digital transformation.更多还原