关键词: 数据要素, 公共数据, 数据开放, 数字技术, 技术创新

Abstract: In the era of the digital economy, public data openness is a crucial pathway to promoting digital economic development and empowering corporate innovation. The study exploits the launch of public data platforms in Chinese regions as a quasi-natural experiment and conducts an empirical analysis by using the data of A-share listed firms in China from 2007 to 2023. The results show that public data openness promotes both the quantity and quality of corporate innovation. The underlying mechanisms are that public data openness improves the application level of digital technology within firms (including increasing digital investment, digital technology output, and the overall level of digitalization) and optimizes the allocation efficiency of corporate innovation resources (including enhancing innovation funding, human capital investment, and the conversion efficiency of R&D investment). Furthermore, high-quality public data platforms are more effective in activating firms’ innovation potential. This innovation-enabling effect is more pronounced in industries with relatively intense competition, in non-digital economy sectors, and in firms with technology-oriented boards of directors. The conclusions of this study provide theoretical support and policy implications for optimizing the government's supply of public data elements and empowering high-quality corporate innovation.

Key words: Data Elements, Public Data, Data Openness, Digital Technologies, Technological Innovation