Abstract
We investigated the impact of employee turnover rates at different levels on the degree of digital transformation of non-financial A-share listed companies in China. Using the employment rates of different educational backgrounds and non-financial A-share listed companies in China from 2009 to 2016, we applied panel data and conducted regression analysis on the data to test their relationship. The baseline testing shows that companies can address the turnover of low skilled employees by adopting labor-saving technologies, which significantly improves the sustainability of digital transformation. The robustness test further validated these findings, emphasizing that the departure of highly skilled employees will have a negative impact on the sustainability of digital transformation initiatives, highlighting the necessity for companies to retain talent. Our research findings emphasize the importance of using advanced technology to replace low skilled tasks, workforce, and prioritizing the retention of high skilled talent to ensure a sustainable and competitive digital transformation trajectory for companies.
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