In the digital economy era, digital technology innovation serves as the core driver of new quality productive forces. Its complex and risky nature requires diverse resource support for enterprises. Existing literature mainly focuses on market-based cooperation methods such as TMT digital expertise and strategic alliances, but it overlooks the role of shareholders as essential resource providers. Modern shareholders not only supply financial capital but also serve as resource enablers for sustainable development, with different types of shareholders having distinct impacts on resource allocation. However, current research lacks systematic evidence on how shareholder digital resources contribute to corporate digital technology innovation.

This paper examines the impact of shareholder digital resources on corporate digital technology innovation, based on the identification of the digital industry characteristics of the top ten shareholders in China’s A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022. The results show that shareholder digital resources significantly drive corporate digital technology innovation. Mechanism testing shows that this effect operates through three channels: cooperation effects, correlation effects, and governance effects. Cross-sectional analysis indicates that the driving effect of shareholder digital resources on digital technology innovation is significantly enhanced when enterprises possess strong internal absorptive capacity and are supported by well-developed external digital infrastructure. Furthermore, economic effect analysis further indicates that shareholder digital resources enhance total factor productivity by promoting digital technology innovation.

This paper has the following contributions: First, it establishes a causal effect of shareholder digital resources on corporate digital technology innovation, complementing existing research on the determinants of digital technology innovation. Second, by constructing an identification framework for shareholder digital resources, it systematically uncovers three underlying mechanisms, enriching the literature on the economic effects of shareholder resources. Third, it highlights the value realization of heterogeneous shareholder resources, demonstrating their marginal contributions to corporate performance. These insights provide valuable implications for optimizing corporate resource allocation, activating digital transformation, and fostering new advantages in digital economic development.