Can the reduction of institutional transaction costs help private enterprises move towards "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation"? | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Can the reduction of institutional transaction costs help private enterprises move towards "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation"? Hui Li, dongsheng Yu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4008313/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Can the reduction of institutional transaction costs help private enterprises move towards "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation"(SRDI)? This article takes the lead in clearly defining the generation and essence of institutional transaction costs, and scientifically constructs an institutional transaction cost index. Using the matching data of private listed enterprises and institutional transaction costs from 2003 to 2020, the GMM method is used to empirically analyze the impact of institutional transaction costs on the "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation" of private enterprises. The research findings are as follows: ( 1 ) Institutional transaction costs in China have shown an overall downward trend during the sample inspection period, with a decrease of 23.91%. There are also differences in the levels among different regions, with the lowest in the eastern region and the highest in the western region. ( 2 ) The reduction of institutional transaction costs is conducive to the growth of total factor productivity and the improvement of innovation level in private enterprises, which helps them move towards "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation". This supportive effect is mainly achieved through the "factor allocation effect" and "market competition effect" of enterprise entry. ( 3 ) The promotion effect of reducing institutional transaction costs on the Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation of private enterprises is more evident in enterprises in the eastern region and those with high financing constraints. The research conclusion of this article has important implications for reducing institutional transaction costs, helping private enterprises move towards "Specialization, Refinement, Differential, and Innovation", and building an innovative country. Institutional transaction costs Specialization Refinement Differential and Innovation Total factor productivity Enterprise entry Factor allocation effect Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Mar, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Mar, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 07 Mar, 2024 First submitted to journal 03 Mar, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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