Digitalization and the performance of non-technological firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 and natural disaster shocks
通过分析企业描述和季度电话会议文本构建数字化强度指标，发现非技术企业在新冠疫情和自然灾害冲击前数字化程度越高，冲击期间异常回报、盈利和收入增长越高，数字化通过供应链缓解冲击。
Over the last decades, firms have been incorporating digital technologies into their operations, a process known as digitalization. Nevertheless, understanding the link between digitalization and firm performance remains challenging. We propose a new firm-level measure of digital intensity based on textual analysis of business descriptions and quarterly earnings calls. To overcome endogeneity, we use two quasi-natural experiments: the COVID-19 pandemic and shocks involving suppliers affected by U.S. natural disasters. Non-technological firms with higher pre-shock digital intensity experience higher abnormal returns, higher profitability, and higher revenue growth during the shocks. The supply chain is one of the areas through which digitalization contributes to significantly mitigate the effects of these shocks, thereby enhancing firm resilience.