Global trade, sustainability, and social impactInternational Business and FDIEconomic and Technological Innovation

J. Li, Haohang Li, Tong Li

2026.1.22Journal of Applied Economics

DOI: 10.1080/15140326.2026.2617752

Abstract

The digital economy is the driving force for the high-quality development of China’s economy and the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and the embedding of global value chains stability by enterprises is conducive to the construction of a secure and stable industrial chain supply chain and the realization of high-quality development of the economy. This paper places digital industrial agglomeration and the stability of firms embedded in global value chains within a unified analytical framework and explores the impact of digital industrial agglomeration on the stability of firms embedded in global value chains using firm-level microdata and survival analysis. This shows that digital industrial agglomeration reduces the risk of firms exiting global value chains and enhances their stability. Mechanism tests found that digital industrial agglomeration can strengthen the stability of firms embedded in global value chains through the functions of total factor productivity and green and practical patented technologies.

Citation format

LI, J.; LI, Haohang; LI, Tong. Digital industry agglomeration and internationalization of enterprises - evidence from the stability of China’s firm embedding in global value chains. Journal of Applied Economics, 2026, 29(1).