Manufacturing enterprise digital transformation, manager cognition, and strategic Risk-Taking-Evidence from China

Exploring how Chinese manufacturing companies integrate digital technology to transform, upgrade, and enhance strategic risk management is essential in the digital economy age. Our study reveals that the performance expectation gap (both the historical performance expectation gap and the industry performance expectation gap) serves as a critical pathway through which digital transformation negatively influences strategic risk-taking. Furthermore, the study highlights that managers' digital cognition can moderate the inverse relationship between digital transformation and strategic risk-taking. This moderating effect is particularly significant in companies with a concentrated R&D organizational structure, high levels of resilience, and more educated and higher R&D human resources. This study advances the research on strategic risk-taking and offers guidance for decision-making related to enterprise digital transformation and strategic risk management, thereby providing theoretical and practical value.