Research on Pathways of How Digital Transformation Affects the Business Performance of MEEC Enterprises in Chengdu

This paper aims to examine the impact of digital transformations on the business performance of the meetings, expositions, events, and conventions(MEEC) industry in Chengdu by conducting an empirical analysis of 68 MEEC enterprises in the city. The study employed the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA) method to explore the pathways and factors involved. Drawing on the theory of synergetics, nine condition variables were carefully selected from four dimensions: digital technologies, digital strategy, digital infrastructure, and digital innovation. The findings revealed that digital transformations were an intricate systematic process, whereby a single factor alone did not serve as a necessary condition for MEEC enterprises to achieve high business performance. The analysis identified five distinct pathways that would lead to high performance, which can be categorized into three distinct models: the “organization-human resources” dominated model, the “human resources-infrastructure” driven model, and the multi-factor coordination model. The analysis also identified two pathways that would result in low performance, categorized as the “basic condition absent” model. Notably, there was substantial heterogeneity observed in the configurational pathways in terms of the magnitude of the impact of digital transformation on business performance across MEEC enterprises of different sizes. This paper suggests that the government should assume the role of a platform, providing policy and financial support to MEEC enterprises to help guide them through the process of digital transformation and that MEEC enterprises themselves should seize the opportunities arising from digital transformation to strengthen their digital infrastructure construction, human resources development, and innovation in brand building. This study presents empirical evidence that contributes to the understanding of the transformation process of MEEC enterprises within the digital economy era, as well as valuable insights into understanding the channels and internal conditions involved in digital transformations.