Artificial intelligence and corporate ESG: Evidence from Chinese listed enterprises

IF 6.9 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Finance Research Letters Pub Date : 2025-09-26 DOI:10.1016/j.frl.2025.108547

Changlong Wang , Yi Zhang , YuMeng Miao

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Abstract

With the accelerated development of the digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an increasingly important catalyst for corporate sustainable development. Utilizing comprehensive data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning 2008 to 2023, this study analyzes AI’s influence on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The findings demonstrate that AI adoption substantially improves ESG performance, mainly through the enhancement of research and development capacity and green innovation potential, while digital transformation (DT) serves to strengthen these positive impacts. Heterogeneity analysis shows the beneficial effects of AI on ESG performance are particularly evident in state-owned enterprises, capital-intensive businesses, and firms located in eastern regions, with robustness tests confirming these conclusions. The study emphasizes AI’s pivotal position in promoting corporate sustainability within emerging economies and identifies its crucial boundary conditions concerning DT and green economic development. Thus, it provides both practical implications and theoretical contributions for corporate decision-making and policy formulation.

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人工智能与企业ESG：来自中国上市企业的证据

随着数字经济的加速发展，人工智能（AI）已经成为企业可持续发展越来越重要的催化剂。利用2008年至2023年中国a股上市公司的综合数据，本研究分析了人工智能对公司环境、社会和治理（ESG）绩效的影响。研究结果表明，人工智能的采用显著提高了ESG绩效，主要是通过增强研发能力和绿色创新潜力，而数字化转型（DT）有助于加强这些积极影响。异质性分析显示，人工智能对ESG绩效的有益影响在国有企业、资本密集型企业和东部地区企业中尤为明显，稳健性检验证实了这些结论。该研究强调了人工智能在促进新兴经济体企业可持续发展方面的关键地位，并确定了人工智能与绿色经济发展相关的关键边界条件。从而为企业决策和政策制定提供了实践意义和理论贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Finance Research Letters BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

11.10

自引率

14.40%

发文量

863

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