Does FDI facilitate digital transformation in developing countries? Evidence from Vietnamese firms
研究了外国直接投资是否显著帮助发展中国家企业获取数字化转型，基于2019年越南8000多家企业的样本，发现FDI有重要作用且效果因地区和行业而异。
Abstract This paper investigates whether foreign direct investment (FDI) significantly facilitates the access of firms in developing countries to digital transformation. It also examines if the level of access varies across firms of different geographical regions and operating sectors. Empirical analysis on a sample of more than 8000 firms in Vietnam during 2019 indicates that FDI plays an important role in helping firms cope with challenges raised by Industry 4.0. In addition, it lends support to the hypothesis that this effect is not homogenous. The results are robust to alternative econometric specifications and sample sizes. These findings convey important implications for developing countries’ FDI strategies and policies that aim to promote technological development for digital transformation. Thus, they are of special interest to researchers, policymakers, and industrial practitioners.