Towards a Unified National Market: Virtual Agglomeration and Corporate Cross-Regional Expansiones
YIN Yan-hui1, SUN Xiang-dong2
1. College of Economics and Trade, Shandong Management University, Jinan, Shandong, 250357; 2. College of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029
Abstract：Dismantling spatial barriers and facilitating cross-regional capital mobility constitute the fundamental essence of building a unified national market. In this context, virtual agglomeration—spawned by digital-real economy integration—offers a new paradigm for firms to circumvent cross-boundary frictions. Utilizing a sample of A-share listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets, this paper systematically examines the impact of urban virtual agglomeration levels on the cross-regional expansion of enterprises and its underlying mechanisms. This study finds that urban virtual agglomeration significantly promotes the non-local expansion of enterprise groups, increasing both the “breadth” of establishing non-local subsidiaries and the “depth” of non-local capital investment. This conclusion remains robust after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that virtual agglomeration drives corporate cross-regional layout through three channels: fostering inter-city collaborative innovation, enhancing corporate management efficiency, and alleviating financing constraints. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the marginal effect of virtual agglomeration is stronger in regions with lower government integrity and lower degrees of marketization, as well as in cross-provincial expansion scenarios. Furthermore, it significantly enhances the breadth of cross-industry expansion and the depth of intra-industry expansion. To smooth the domestic economic circulation and build a unified national market, efforts should be made to consolidate the network foundation of virtual agglomeration, fully leverage its compensatory role, stimulate the internal momentum of enterprises to utilize digital dividends for optimizing cross-regional spatial layouts, and improve the macro-allocation efficiency of capital.
2026, Vol. 43 
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