Abstract: Service-oriented transformation is the only way for Chinese manufacturing enterprises to achieve high-quality development. This paper uses input-output tables and product word frequency retrieval to measure the level of enterprise input servicing and output servicing. Based on the data of Chinese industrial enterprises and Chinese import and export customs from 2000 to 2013, it examines the impact of industrial robot application on enterprise service-oriented transformation. The findings show that the application of industrial robots has significantly improved the level of enterprise input servicing and output servicing. After dealing with endogeneity issues and conducting robustness tests, the conclusion still holds. The mechanism testing reveals that the application of robots improves the input servicing level of enterprises mainly through cost reduction effects, and this effect on output servicing is not significant. The application of robots can promote both the level of input servicing and output servicing of enterprises through the human capital structure optimization effect and the value chain climbing effect. The heterogeneity testing results reveal that the promotion effect of industrial robot applications on enterprise service-oriented transformation is more evident in export-oriented enterprises and enterprises that purchase robots multiple times. Further study reveals that the service-oriented transformation caused by the application of industrial robots has significantly improved enterprise performance. In the future, the government needs to promote the popularization and application of industrial robots, so as to realize the deep integration between the manufacturing industry and the service industries, and empower Chinese manufacturing enterprises to climb high on the value chain.

Key words: application of robots, artificial intelligence, input servicing, output servicing