Abstract Based on the perspective of cost stickiness, this paper studies the influence mechanism and effect of digital finance on R&D cost stickiness of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2020. The results show that digital finance suppresses the stickiness of R&D costs of enterprises, and the inhibitory effect of digital finance on R&D cost stickiness of eastern enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises is more obvious. This conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests, such as endogenous test, replacement of core variables, joint fixed effect and so on. Mechanism test shows that capital allocation efficiency and information transparency have some intermediary effects in the impact of digital finance on R&D cost stickiness. Digital finance suppresses R&D cost stickiness by improving capital allocation efficiency and accounting information transparency. The efficiency test finds that the stickiness of R&D cost has a significant inhibitory effect on the quality of enterprise innovation, while the positive effect on the quantity of enterprise innovation is not obvious. The digital finance can help reduce the stickiness of corporate R&D costs and improve the quality of corporate innovation. The conclusion of this paper deepens the understanding of enterprise R&D innovation from the perspective of cost behavior, and has important practical significance for promoting digital financial innovation to “ reduce cost ” and promote high-quality development of enterprises.
2023, Vol. 40 
