Research on the Impact of Enterprise Financial Shared Service Centers on Cost Control Capabilities in the Context of Digital Economy

Abstract

The profound transformation of enterprise cost structu res in the digital economy era poses severe challenges to traditional cost control models. Financial Shared Service Centers (FSSC), as important carriers of digital financial management, have received widespread attention, but their cost control effects and mechanisms of action remain theoretically controversial. Based on panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2018-2023, this study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences model to systematically examine the causal effects of FSSC implementation on enterprise cost control capabilities and their underlying mechanisms. The research findings indicate that FSSC implementation can significantly enhance enterprise cost control capabilities by 13.2%, but with a two-year lag period, reflecting the objective patterns of system integration and organizational learning. Data element allocation efficiency plays an important mediating role in the process of FSSC influencing cost control capabilities, with the mediating effect accounting for 38.7% of the total effect. Digital technology application levels exhibit a U-shaped moderating relationship with FSSC cost control effects-when digital technology investment intensity is below 1.2% of operating revenue, FSSC may increase rather than reduce costs. Further case analysis validates the practical value of these findings. This study constructs a "technology-organization-cost" triangular matching theoretical framework and proposes ideas for constructing a digital economy cost control capability index, providing scientific evidence for enterprises to optimize FSSC construction strategies and enhance digital transformation effectiveness, while enriching cost management theory in the digital economy context.