Introduction

As China’s economy enters the new normal, the country’s requirements for the quality of economic development are getting higher and higher. It is urgent to optimize the allocation of existing resources and achieve more efficient output under the condition of constant resource input. However, Chinese governments at all levels have carried out macro-regulation on the allocation of production factors for a long time. Although the rapid economic growth has been achieved in a short period of time, it has also led to different degrees of misallocation of production factors among departments, industries, and regions. Thus, it has reduced the overall efficiency of resource allocation. Therefore, how to improve the efficiency of resource allocation has become a key issue.

Regional integration can eliminate local market segmentation to a certain extent. It reduces the flow cost of production factors and realizes the reallocation of factors in different regions1. Thus, it reduces the resource mismatch among different regions, improves the efficiency of resource allocation in the whole region. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is one of the core regions in China’s economic development. Its high-quality development plays a pivotal role in China’s economic growth. Strategic planning documents on the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt have been issued constantly, injecting new vitality into its development. Among them, the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by Relying on the Golden Waterway was released in 2014. The document required to clear up regional policies and regulations that are not conducive to the reasonable flow of factors. It also required to break down local market barriers, formulate unified market access system and integrated standards, accelerate the cross-regional flow of production factors, and achieve the optimal allocation of factors. It can be seen that accelerating regional integrated development has been an important part of the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as one of the key points of the strategy.

The enterprise is the basic component of economic development, and the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation directly affects the efficiency of resource allocation in the entire region. Then, these questions are whether the integrated development layout of the Yangtze River Economic Belt significantly affects the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises in the whole economic belt, what are the channels of the role, and whether there is a differentiated impact on different types of enterprises. Answering these questions is of great significance for the further layout and subsequent optimization and adjustment of the integrated development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. At the same time, it is also crucial for the economic transformation and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Therefore, this paper uses the double difference method to study the impact of regional integration development on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation based on the policy document Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by Relying on the Golden Waterway issued in 2014. It also conducts in-depth discussions on the channels of its role, attempts to open the black box of regional integration affecting the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation and provides a meaningful reference for the implementation of regional integration development.

Literature review

This research paper draws upon two distinct bodies of literature. The first concerns the factors that influence the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation, while the second examines the impact of regional integration.

The extant literature primarily examines the factors influencing enterprise resource allocation efficiency from two perspectives: macro and micro. From the perspective of macro-level influencing factors, a number of factors have been identified as having an important impact on enterprise resource allocation efficiency. These include the carbon emissions trading system2, emissions trading3, capital enrichment4, industrial synergy5, digital infrastructure6, establishment of urban commercial banks7, foreign direct investment8 and other factors. Furthermore, the influence of factors such as local government debt9, local government competition10, and local official turnover11 on enterprise resource allocation efficiency has also been the subject of scholarly interest. From the perspective of micro-level influencing factors, the quality of corporate financial information disclosure12, the advantage of information within the enterprise group13, executive compensation incentives14 and other factors have the potential to enhance corporate resource allocation efficiency. In conjunction with the accelerated advancement of digital technology, scholars have conducted further research into the influence of factors such as digital transformation15, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT)16and the utilisation of digital technology patents17 on enterprise resource allocation efficiency. These studies have demonstrated that digital transformation and the utilisation of digital technology can markedly enhance the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

The impact of regional integration is most evident in the following areas. Firstly, regional integration serves to reduce both the intensity of carbon emissions and the concentration of PM2.5 in the region18,19. Secondly, regional integration facilitates the promotion of regional green innovation and the acceleration of the green development process20,21. Thirdly, regional integration can assist in maintaining a balanced bilateral trade and enhancing the export performance of enterprises22,23. Fourthly, regional integration has the potential to enhance regional economic performance and stimulate economic growth24,25. Furthermore, regional integration can facilitate integrated urban and rural development, enhance the well-being of citizens, and mitigate imbalances between supply and demand26,27,28.

While the extant literature has discussed the factors influencing enterprise resource allocation efficiency and the impact of regional integration from various perspectives, the effect and mechanism of regional integration on enterprise resource allocation efficiency remain unclear. Accordingly, this paper will endeavor to address this issue and contribute to the existing research on the impact of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation. This paper makes the following contributions to the field: first, it unifies the analysis of regional integration and enterprise resource allocation efficiency. It then attempts to construct the role paths, role effects, and role conditions of regional integration in the problem of improving enterprise resource allocation efficiency. This provides a new perspective for solving the problem of resource allocation efficiency at the enterprise level. Secondly, the empirical testing of theoretical hypotheses based on the policy implementation quasi-natural experiment using the double-difference method contributes to the development of research methods on the economic consequences of regional integration. Thirdly, it provides an in-depth discussion of the heterogeneity of regional integration affecting firms’ resource allocation efficiency, the economic consequences and the moderating role of firms’ management level, which represents a valuable contribution to the existing research content in this area.

The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. It sorts out relevant theories related to this paper and presents research hypotheses in the third part. It introduces the empirical research design scheme of this paper in the fourth part. It reports the empirical results of this paper from the perspective of benchmark regression, robustness test, impact mechanism test, heterogeneity analysis and further discussion in the fifth part. It is the research findings and policy recommendations in the sixth part. The research gaps and future perspectives are presented in the seventh part.

Theoretical analysis and research hypothesis

Regional integration is the process of breaking down the market segmentation between different regions in order to smooth the flow of production factors between different regions and finally achieve the balanced development of regional integration15. There is a close relationship between regional integration and improving resource allocation efficiency, because factors, such as financial resources, labor resources and so on, achieve efficient flow across regions in the process of regional integration18. These factors can be allocated more efficiently among different regions and within different enterprises. Among them, the reasonable flow and allocation of financial capital reduces the financing constraints faced by enterprises and significantly improves the allocation efficiency of financial resources in enterprises. The rational flow of labor resources accelerates the process of talent gathering and improves the efficiency of labor resources allocation. In addition, the integration process also puts greater competitive pressure on enterprises, which undoubtedly leads to the optimization of their own management level, rational allocation of internal and external resources, and reduction of operating costs to obtain opportunities for sustainable development. This invisibly promotes the improvement of enterprise resource allocation. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper.

H1

If other conditions remain unchanged, regional integration can improve the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Regional integration, financing constraints, and efficiency of enterprise financial resource allocation

According to the theory of financing constraints, financing constraints have an important impact on the efficiency of corporate financial allocation. The cost and availability of external funds are important factors affecting the allocation of corporate financial capital. Financial institutions will weigh whether or at what interest rate level to provide loans to enterprises based on their performance and risk level. In contrast, financial institutions prefer to lend to companies with higher return on capital and lower financial risk in order to protect their capital for the sake of profit. According to the “law of one price”, there is no distance and no information asymmetry between two neighboring regions (provinces or cities) in a fully integrated market, so the corresponding transaction friction cost is zero24. When other conditions are the same, other conditions, the prices of financial assets in the two regional markets remain consistent. It means that there is no difference in corporate financing costs after considering its characteristics and operation conditions. In addition, according to the theory of information asymmetry, due to the complete integration of the market, information between enterprises and financial institutions can be efficiently transmitted, and enterprises face a better financing environment with less financing constraints. However, enterprises in different regions face different financing costs and financing constraints due to local protectionism and information asymmetry among regions, enterprises, and financial institutions. These factors seriously affect the allocation efficiency of financial resources between enterprises and regions. With the implementation of regional integration strategy, information can flow at high speed between regions28. Enterprises can timely push information to market entities, and financial institutions outside enterprises can undoubtedly grasp more adequate information than before, thus reducing the degree of information asymmetry between the two sides. Reducing the information asymmetry of enterprises can not only reduce transaction costs, expand financing channels, and promote competition among banks, but also reduce the rent-seeking space, reach more tail groups, and effectively reduce the financing constraints of enterprises. Efficient enterprises in urgent need of capital can obtain appropriate development funds, which reduces the possibility of highly efficient enterprises being squeezed out of the financial market due to their inability to meet financing conditions. Thus, it can effectively improve the level of financial resource allocation of enterprises. Therefore, this paper proposes the following hypothesis.

H2

When other conditions remain the same, regional integration eases the financing constraints of enterprises, and then improves the level of financial resource allocation of enterprises, so the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises can be improved.

Regional integration, talent agglomeration, and efficiency of labor resource allocation in enterprises

The imperfect infrastructure, supporting facilities, and public services between regions often lead to a decrease in the attractiveness of labor, especially talent. According to the theory of labor mobility, the administrative barriers and local protectionism that exist between regions also hinder the flow of different types of talents between industries and regions. The above factors lead to the lack of obvious increase in the quantity and quality of talents in the region, which becomes one of the important factors limiting the improvement of the talent gathering level of enterprises in the region. The development of regional integration can promote the free flow of talents. At the same time, it effectively improves the construction level of regional infrastructure and the optimization degree of service environment. According to the theory of agglomeration economy, it can continuously attract the inflow of talents and strengthen the agglomeration effect of enterprise talents19. Then, it can drive the enhancement of enterprise talent agglomeration level at the factor level and improve the allocation efficiency of enterprise labor resources. On the one hand, regional integration can weaken policy and administrative barriers. It is conducive to accelerate the free flow of talent and labor related factors, promote the efficient allocation of various talent elements within the region, and achieve the optimization of different types of talent structures within the region and among enterprises. On the other hand, regional integration development can significantly promote the construction of relevant infrastructure within the region. It continuously improves the quality of public services and optimizes the environment for scientific research. According to the theory of public goods, the livelihood security of talents will be improved, software and hardware services will be more thoughtful, and the willingness of talents to stay will be constantly strengthened26. The concentration level and quality of talents in enterprises can be significantly improved, and the allocation efficiency of labour resources in enterprises can be significantly enhanced. Therefore, this paper proposes the following hypothesis.

H3

When other conditions remain unchanged, regional integration accelerates the process of talent gathering in enterprises, and further optimizes the allocation of labor resources in enterprises, so the efficiency of resource allocation in enterprises can be improved.

Regional integration, operational costs, and efficiency of enterprise resource allocation

Regional integration reflects the internalization process of regional spatial externality. Actually, it establishes a cross regional integrated market to reduce trade barriers and costs between different regions. According to the theory of trade freedom, under the framework of this market, trade activities between different regions are more active, exchanges between enterprises are more convenient, production factors flow more smoothly, and the market scale continues to expand with the promotion of trade freedom25. With the continuous expansion of market size, the scope of enterprise trade is becoming wider, and there are more trading partners. There will be more choices in product sales and acquisition of factor resources. Therefore, with the advancement of regional integration, enterprises can choose high-quality intermediate inputs for product production at lower costs, and the industrial scale effect brought by enterprise agglomeration can directly reduce their production and operating costs27. In addition, according to the theory of market competition, the expansion of market scale also makes the market competition become fierce and enterprises face more pressure to operate. In this competitive environment, in order to seek corporate development, enterprises will also take the initiative to optimize their own operation methods and management process to adapt to changes in the market environment20. Therefore, the operating costs of enterprises are constantly reduced in the context of the development of regional integration. The essence behind the reduction of operating costs is the process of optimising one’s own management and improving the allocation efficiency of capital and labour factors. As a result, the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises is constantly improved. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed in this paper.

H4

When other conditions remain unchanged, regional integration reduces the operating costs of enterprises, thereby the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises can be improved.

Research design

Framework for measuring resource allocation efficiency

According to the research of Hsieh and Klenow, the mismatch of resources can be understood as the inefficient allocation of factors among enterprises29. That is, the cost of using resources of different enterprises in the same industry differs from the production efficiency. Some enterprises with relatively low production efficiency can obtain resources at a lower resource use cost than market clearing. On the contrary, some enterprises with relatively high production efficiency need to procure resources with higher resource use costs than market clearing. Based on the existing research results3 and the monopolistic competition model established by H-K, this paper sets up an analytical framework for resource mismatch and provides a theoretical basis for calculating the efficiency of resource allocation.

Assume that only one final product Y is produced in an economy with a perfectly competitive final product market. The production of Y requires the production of Ys (s = 1, ……, S) in S industries as intermediate inputs. The production of Ys is transformed into the final product Y based on the C-D production function:

$$Y=\prod\limits_{{s=1}}^{S} {Y_{s}^{{{\theta _s}}}} ,\sum\limits_{{i=1}}^{s} {{\theta _s}=1} $$
(1)

The maximizing the profit of a representative firm can be expressed in the following form:

$$\mathop {\hbox{max} }\limits_{{{Y_s}}} \pi =PY - \sum\limits_{{s=1}}^{s} {{P_s}{Y_s},s.t.Y=\prod\limits_{{s=1}}^{S} {Y_{s}^{{{\theta _s}}}} ,\sum\limits_{{i=1}}^{s} {{\theta _s}=1} } $$
(2)

According to the first-order condition, \({P_s}{Y_s}={\theta _s}PY\) can be got. Where, \({P_s}\) denotes the price of the output product \({Y_s}\) of the industry \(s\); \(P\) represents the price of the final product \(Y\). For the convenience of later discussion, the final product is expressed in counting units, so that \(P\) can take the value of 1. The total industry output \({Y_s}\) is obtained by summing the CES of the output \({Y_{si}}\) of \({M_s}\) firms in the industry \(S\).

$${Y_s}={\left[ {\sum\limits_{{i=1}}^{{{M_s}}} {{Y_{si}}^{{\frac{{\sigma - 1}}{\sigma }}}} } \right]^{\frac{\sigma }{{\sigma - 1}}}}$$
(3)

Where, \(s \) is the substitution coefficient between different intermediate products in an industry, and the output \({Y_{si}}\) of enterprise \(i\) products can be expressed as:

$${Y_{si}}={Y_s}{\left(\frac{{{P_s}}}{{{P_{si}}}}\right)^\sigma }$$
(4)

In the above equation, \({P_{si}}\) represents the price of the enterprise’s \(i\) products. Therefore, the following formula is established:

$${P_s}={\left[ {\sum\limits_{{i=1}}^{{{M_s}}} {{P_{si}}^{{1 - \sigma }}} } \right]^{\frac{1}{{1 - \sigma }}}}$$
(5)

Suppose that the production of enterprise \(i\) in the representative industry \(S\) satisfies the following production function:

$${Y_{si}}={A_{si}}{K_{si}}^{{{\alpha _s}}}{L_{si}}^{{1 - {\alpha _s}}}$$
(6)

Among them, \({A_{si}},{K_{si}},{L_{si}},{\alpha _s}\) respectively represent the total factor productivity, capital input, labor input, and capital elasticity coefficient of enterprise \(i\) in the industry \(S\). After the introduction of capital distortion \({\tau _{Ksi}}\) and labor distortion \({\tau _{Lsi}}\), the profit function of representative firm \(i\) in representative industry \(S\) is as follows:

$${\pi _{si}}={P_{si}}{Y_{si}} - (1+{\tau _{Lsi}})w{L_{si}} - (1+{\tau _{Ksi}})R{K_{si}}$$
(7)

Where, \(R\) denotes the capital price of the enterprise \(i\), \(W\) represents the labor price of the firm \(i\). According to the profit maximization of enterprise, it can be concluded that:

$${\tau _{Lsi}}=\left( {1 - {\alpha _s}} \right)\frac{{\sigma - 1}}{\sigma }\frac{{{P_{si}}{Y_{si}}}}{{w{L_{si}}}} - 1,{\tau _{Ksi}}={\alpha _s}\frac{{\sigma - 1}}{\sigma }\frac{{{P_{si}}{Y_{si}}}}{{R{K_{si}}}} - 1$$
(8)

Then, based on the numerical calculation of capital distortion and labor distortion, the misallocation degree of enterprise resources is obtained. According to existing researches, the substitution coefficient between different intermediate products in an industry ranges from 3 to 5. This article follows the settings of Hsieh and Klenow to let \(\sigma =3\). Referring to the results of existing literature, \(R=0.1,w=1\), and the output of the firm is measured by its operating income, the capital input of the enterprise is measured by the net value of fixed assets, and the labor input of the firm is measured by the labor compensation paid by the firm. In addition, the value of capital elasticity coefficient \({\alpha _s}\) is obtained by regression estimation of the input-output data of the enterprise in the industry.

Econometric model

In this paper, the following econometric model is set up to identify the impact of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation:

$$mis\_{y_{it}}={\alpha _0}+{\alpha _1}Trea{t_{it}} \times Tim{e_{it}}+\sum\limits_{j} {{\beta _j}X_{{it}}^{j}} +{\mu _s}+{\nu _t}+{\varepsilon _{it}}$$
(9)

Where, \(mis\_{y_{it}}\) represents the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation. \(Trea{t_{it}} \times Tim{e_{it}}\) indicates the regional integration process of the region where the enterprise is located. Specifically, \(Trea{t_{it}}\) and \(Tim{e_{it}}\)represent the inter-group dummy variable and the time dummy variable respectively. \(Trea{t_{it}}=1\) indicates that the listed enterprise is located in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region, that is, it is the experimental group; \(Trea{t_{it}}=0\) indicates that the listed enterprise is not in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region, that is, it is the control group. \(Tim{e_{it}}=1\) shows that the year is during the implementation of the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, that is, the year is 2014 and later; \(Tim{e_{it}}=0\) shows that the year is before the implementation of the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, that is, the year is before 2014. \(X_{{it}}^{j}\) denotes a series of control variables; \({\mu _s}\) represents the industry fixed effect; \({\nu _t}\) indicates the year fixed effect; \({\alpha _0}\) is the constant term; \({\alpha _1}\) and \({\beta _j}\) are the coefficients; \({\varepsilon _{it}}\) expresses the random error term.

Variable selection

  1. (1)

    Explained variable: efficiency of enterprise resource allocation (\(mis\_{y_{it}}\))

The efficiency of resource allocation is closely related to the degree of resource misallocation. The lower the degree of resource misallocation, the higher the efficiency of resource allocation. Therefore, this paper uses the degree of enterprise resource misallocation as a proxy for enterprise resource allocation efficiency. The specific calculation method of the degree of enterprise resource misallocation has been explained above3.

  1. (2)

    Explanatory variable: regional integration (\(Trea{t_{it}} \times Tim{e_{it}}\))

The Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by Relying on the Golden Waterway was released in 2014, which called for: clearing up regional policies and regulations that are not conducive to the reasonable flow of factors, breaking down local market barriers, developing a unified market access system as well as integrated standards, accelerating the cross-regional flow of production factors, and realizing the optimal allocation of factors. The Outline of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Plan was issued in 2016, which once again emphasized that it should build an open, unified and orderly competition market system in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and accelerate the integrated development of the upper, middle and lower reaches. It can be seen that accelerating the development of regional integration has always been an important part of the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and is one of the focuses of the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Therefore, this paper draws on the research ideas of Huang Wen et al.27, defines the inter-group dummy variable \(Trea{t_{it}}\) and the time dummy variable \(Tim{e_{it}}\) based on the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and uses their interaction terms (\(Trea{t_{it}} \times Tim{e_{it}}\)) as proxy variables for regional integration.

  1. (3)

    Control variables.

With reference to relevant research results, the following control variables are selected in this paper to control factors that may cause bias in model estimation. The enterprise size(size) is measured in logarithmic form by the number of employees; the return on assets(roa) is gauged by the ratio of total profits to total assets; the growth is represented by the growth rate of business revenue; the corporate debt ratio(tl) is expressed by the ratio of total liabilities to total assets; the corporate cash holding ratio(cash) is proxied by the ratio of the sum of monetary funds and trading financial assets to total assets. In addition, considering that enterprises in different years and industries may have adverse effects on the research results, dummy variables of year and industry are further controlled.

Data description

This paper uses data from China’s listed companies from 2011 to 2022, sourced from the CSMAR database. Referring to the current research results, the following processing is carried out on the samples. The samples of listed companies with ST, *ST and PT are removed; the samples with missing and abnormal data of main research variables are excluded; the samples with less than 10 employees are eliminated; the financial and real estate samples are rejected. In order to reduce the bias caused by extreme observation values on the estimation results, a two-sided 1% tail reduction is applied to all continuous-type variables. The results of descriptive statistics for each variable are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Descriptive statistical results of main variables.
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Analysis of measurement results

Analysis of benchmark regression results

Based on the econometric model set above, the DID model is used to test the impact of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation. The fixed effects of industry and year are controlled in all the estimates. In order to preliminarily test the robustness of the regression results, the method of gradually increasing the control variables is used here to estimate respectively. The regression results are shown in Table 2. It can be seen that the coefficients of regional integration are different from 0 at a significance level of at least 10%, and the signs are negative in all estimated results. It indicates that the regional integration has a significant positive impact on the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises. The hypothesis 1 is confirmed.

Table 2 Results of Baseline Regression.
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Robustness test

  1. (1)

    PSM-DID estimation.

The regression results in Table 2 validate the research hypothesis 1 proposed in the previous section of this paper, but an important prerequisite for ensuring the effectiveness of DID estimation is the validity of the parallel hypothesis. To this end, the propensity score matching (PSM) method is used to preprocess the samples, and the adjusted samples are judged to meet the parallel hypothesis by observing the standard deviation and T-test results of the control variables after matching. Specifically, the nearest neighbor matching methods of one-to-one, one-to-two, and one-to-three are used for matching. The predicted variables in the model include the core explanatory variable and the control variable. The results of the balance test are shown in Tables 3, 4, and 5. It can be seen that the deviation of all paired variables is within 2%, and there is basically no significant difference between the treatment groups and the control groups at the 10% level, which means that the samples are well matched.

Table 3 Matching results of one-to-one nearest neighbor matching method.
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Table 4 Matching results of one-to-two nearest neighbor matching method.
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Table 5 Matching results of one-to-three nearest neighbor matching method.
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The matching samples based on one-to-one, one-to-two and one-to-three nearest neighbor matching methods are further estimated, and the results obtained are shown in Table 6. It can be seen that the coefficients of regional integration remain negative at the significance level of 5%, which indicates that the conclusion that regional integration has a significant positive impact on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation is still valid.

Table 6 Robustness test 1: estimation results of PSM-DID Model.
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  1. (2)

    Changing the measurement method of variables.

In order to further test the robustness of the research conclusion, this paper firstly considers changing the measurement method of the core explanatory variables. It uses the market segmentation index of each province as the reverse proxy variable of regional integration and the market integration index of each province as the forward proxy variable of regional integration to re-estimate. The results are shown in columns (1) and (2) of Table 7. It can be seen that the estimated coefficients are all significant at the 5% level, indicating that the conclusion that regional integration can improve the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation is still valid. Secondly, the measurement method of explained variables is changed. The labor resource mismatch index of the enterprise and the absolute value of the difference between the 10-quantile and 90-quantile of enterprise productivity in the industry of the enterprise are respectively used as proxy variables for the degree of enterprise resource mismatch to re-estimate. The regression results are shown in columns (3) and (4) of Table 7. The results also show that the main conclusions of this paper are robust.

Table 7 Robustness test 2: changing the measurement of variables.
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Test of influence mechanism

This part examines the effect mechanism of regional integration on the efficiency of labor resource allocation from three aspects: alleviating the financing constraints of enterprises, improving the degree of talent agglomeration of enterprises, and reducing the operating costs of enterprises. If the increase of regional integration level can promote the improvement of the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation by these three aspects, it will play a more obvious role in the enterprises with large financing constraints, low degree of talent agglomeration, and high operating costs due to the development of regional integration.

Firstly, the function of enterprise financing constraints is tested. The KZ index proxy is used for enterprise financing constraints. According to the value of enterprise KZ index, the samples are divided into two groups: large financing constraints (larger than the median of enterprise financing constraints by year and industry) and small financing constraints (smaller than the median of enterprise financing constraints by year and industry). The estimated results of this part are shown in columns (1) and (2) of Table 8. It can be found that the coefficients of regional integration are significantly negative at the level of 5% in the groups with large financing constraints, while they are not significant in the groups with small financing constraints. Therefore, it can be inferred that the financing constraint is a channel through which regional integration affects the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Secondly, the function of enterprise talent agglomeration is tested. Considering that enterprise R&D personnel generally represent high-quality talents in the enterprise, the enterprise talent agglomeration is proxied by the proportion of enterprise R&D personnel. According to the value of enterprise R&D personnel proportion, the samples are divided into two groups: high degree of talent agglomeration (greater than the median degree of talent agglomeration in enterprises by year and industry) and low degree of talent agglomeration (less than or equal to the median degree of talent agglomeration in enterprises by year and industry). The estimated results of this section are shown in columns (3) and (4) of Table 8. It can be found that the coefficients of regional integration are negative in these two groups, but they are significant only in the group with a low degree of talent agglomeration at the level of 1%. Therefore, it can be inferred that the talent agglomeration is another channel through which regional integration affects the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Finally, the function of enterprise operating cost is tested. The operating cost is represented by operating cost rate. According to the value of operating cost rate, the samples are divided into two groups: high operating cost (greater than the median operating cost of enterprises by year and industry) and low operating cost (less than the median operating cost of enterprises by year and industry). The estimated results of this part are shown in columns (5) and (6) of Table 8. It can be found that the coefficients of regional integration are significantly negative at the level of 1% in the group with high operation costs, while the regional integration has not brought positive effects in the group with low operation costs. Therefore, it can be inferred that the operation cost is also a channel through which regional integration affects the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Based on the above empirical results, it can be found that regional integration promotes the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation through three channels: easing enterprise financing constraints, improving the degree of enterprise talent agglomeration, and reducing enterprise operating costs.

Table 8 Mechanism inspection results.
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Heterogeneity analysis

The attributes and the location distribution of the enterprise may have differences in the research results. Therefore, in order to study the heterogeneity of regional integration in improving the efficiency of labor resource allocation in enterprises, this section estimates the samples in groups according to the perspectives of the property right nature of enterprises, the degree of competition in the industry in which the enterprises are located, the size of the enterprises, and the coastal and inland distribution of the provinces in which the enterprises are located. It further explores the heterogeneous results of the study hypothesis in different groups.

Firstly, in order to investigate the differential impact of regional integration on enterprises with different property rights, all enterprises are divided into non-state-owned enterprises and state-owned enterprises, and they are grouped for estimation. By comparing the results of column (1) and (2) in Table 9, it can be found that the coefficients of regional integration are significantly negative in the groups of state-owned enterprises at the 1% level, but not significant in the groups of non-state-owned enterprises. It implies that regional integration can mainly promote the improvement of the efficiency of resource allocation of state-owned enterprises.

Secondly, in order to examine the differential impact of regional integration on enterprises in different industries, all samples are divided into monopolistic and non-monopolistic industries according to whether the firms are in monopolistic industries or not, and they are grouped for estimation. Comparing columns (3) and (4) in Table 9, it can be seen that the coefficients of regional integration are negative in the non-monopoly industry groups at the level of 1%, while the coefficients in the monopoly industry groups are not significant. This expresses that regional integration can promote the improvement of resource allocation efficiency of enterprises in the non-monopoly industry groups.

Table 9 Estimated results of heterogeneity between the nature of Enterprise Property rights and the degree of Monopoly in the industry.
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Thirdly, to investigate the differential impact of regional integration on enterprises of different sizes, this paper divides all enterprises into large-scale enterprises and small-scale enterprises based on whether the logarithm of the number of employees in the enterprise exceeds the median of the logarithm of the total sample of employees, and estimates them by grouping them. By comparing columns (1) and (2) in Table 10, it can be seen that the coefficients of regional integration are negative in both large and small enterprise groups, but they pass the significance test only in the grouping of large-scale enterprises. It makes clear that regional integration mainly promotes the improvement of resource allocation efficiency in in large-scale enterprises.

Fourthly, in order to examine the impact of differences between coastal and inland regions on the estimation results, the enterprises are divided into coastal and inland provinces based on the information of the provinces where they are located, and they are grouped for estimation. Comparing columns (3) to (4) of Table 10, it can be found that the coefficients of regional integration are significantly negative only in the coastal province enterprise groups, while they are not significant in the inland enterprise groups. This expresses that compared with inland regions, the improvement of regional integration level in coastal areas can have a positive effect on the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises.

Table 10 Estimated results of heterogeneity in enterprise size and Regional distribution.
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Further analysis

  1. (1)

    Economic Consequences: Effects on Enterprise Productivity.

The improvement of resource allocation efficiency is conducive to the increase of enterprise productivity, thus promoting economic growth. Therefore, this part further examines whether regional integration leads to the improvement of enterprise production efficiency by improving the efficiency of resource allocation. If regional integration can indeed lead to the improvement of enterprise production efficiency by improving the efficiency of enterprise labor resource allocation, the productivity of enterprises with low efficiency of enterprise resource allocation will be improved more with the development of regional integration.

Therefore, according to the median efficiency of enterprise resource allocation at the year-industry level, enterprises are divided into two groups, high and low level of labor resource allocation. It respectively investigates the impact of regional integration on the total factor productivity of enterprises. The estimated results are shown in columns (1) and (2) of Table 11. It can be seen that the coefficient of regional integration is positive in both groups with high and low resource allocation efficiency. However, it is only significant at the 10% level in groups with low resource allocation level. It indicates that regional integration indeed leads to an increase in total factor productivity of enterprises by improving resource allocation efficiency.

  1. (2)

    The Regulating Effect of Enterprise Management Level.

The efficiency of enterprise resource allocation is directly related to the management level of enterprises. Therefore, this section further discusses whether the management level of enterprises plays a regulatory role in the process of regional integration. That is, whether the level of enterprise management affects the intensity of regional integration to improve the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation. For this purpose, the impact of regional integration on enterprise resource allocation efficiency is examined separately by dividing enterprises into two subgroups of high and low management level according to the median of enterprise management level at year-industry level. The estimated results are presented in columns (3) and (4) of Table 11. It can be seen that the coefficient of regional integration is negative at 1% significance level in the subgroup with high level of enterprise management, while the coefficient is not significant in subgroup with low levels of enterprise management. Therefore, it can be inferred that the level of enterprise management positively regulates the improvement effect of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Table 11 Discussion on Economic consequences and Regulatory effects.
Full size table

Summary and discussion of empirical analysis

This empirical study mainly found that regional integration has a significant positive impact on the resource allocation efficiency of firms. This is mainly because regional integration can ease firms’ financing constraints, improve the degree of talent aggregation, and reduce operating costs, thereby improving firms’ resource allocation efficiency. This conclusion is in line with current research, which mostly examines the impact of market segmentation on regional resource allocation efficiency from the perspective of market segmentation. This research has found that market segmentation reduces regional resource allocation efficiency.

First, unlike the existing literature, this article studies the path to improving the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation from the unique perspective of regional integration, which has a certain degree of innovation. Although current research has extensively discussed the factors influencing the efficiency of corporate resource allocation from both macro and micro perspectives2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17, it has not yet focused on the important factor of regional integration. In the context of China, the market is facing regional segmentation, and the impact of regional integration on the efficiency of corporate resource allocation is an important issue that urgently needs to be studied. Therefore, this study identifies a feasible way to improve the efficiency of corporate resource allocation from the perspective of regional integration.

Second, although the existing literature has focused on the important role of regional integration, most of these studies discuss the impact of regional integration on urban development18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28, and there is relatively little research on the impact on enterprises. This article extends the study of resource allocation efficiency from a more micro perspective to the firm level, providing new empirical evidence for related research.

Third, from a research methodology perspective, previous studies on regional integration have rarely used exogenous shocks for econometric testing. This article is based on the study of the impact of external policies, which can effectively mitigate the endogeneity problem in model estimation and enhance the credibility of research conclusions.

Research conclusions and policy recommendations

This paper clarifies the mechanism of regional integration affecting enterprise resource allocation efficiency from the theoretical point of view and proposes a research hypothesis. And then it uses the micro data of Chinese listed companies to test the econometric model and obtains the following conclusions. Firstly, in general, regional integration can significantly reduce the degree of resource misallocation of enterprises and improve the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises. Secondly, regional integration can improve the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises mainly through three channels: easing the financing constraints of enterprises, improving the degree of talent agglomeration, and reducing the operating costs of enterprises. Thirdly, the effect of regional integration on improving the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation is heterogeneous, which has a greater effect on state-owned enterprises, enterprises in non-monopoly industries, large-scale enterprises, and enterprises in coastal areas. Finally, regional integration improves the productivity of enterprises by optimizing the resource allocation level of enterprises. The enterprise management level positively moderates the effect of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Based on the research findings of this paper, the following policy recommendations are made. First, the process of regional integration should be accelerated, trade barriers between regions should be actively reduced, and the restrictions and limitations of the household registration system on labour mobility should be eased. At the same time, it should also improve the inter-regional financial credit system, gradually improve the inter-regional flow of financial resources, and enhance the allocation efficiency of various resources. Second, enterprises should take the development of regional integration as an opportunity to actively improve their management level and release the improving effect of regional integration on the allocation efficiency of labour and financial resources of enterprises. Finally, enterprises with different property rights, scale, degree of industrial monopoly competition and geographical distribution should take the initiative to engage in the process of regional integration development according to their own characteristics, and make use of the strategic layout of regional integration development to provide the driving force for improving their own resource allocation efficiency.

Research shortcomings and future perspectives

This article lacks comprehensive research on the mechanism of improving the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises through regional integration. There may be many mechanisms for regional integration to improve the resource allocation efficiency of enterprises, and this article has only studied three of them. This may be one of the future research directions. What’s more, the research on resource allocation efficiency of enterprises in this article is not specific enough. In the future, more research can be conducted on the resource allocation efficiency of labour and capital in enterprises.