Author(s)

YuFei Gan

Affiliation(s)

School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, Jiangxi, China.

Corresponding Author

YuFei Gan

ABSTRACT

Amid escalating global environmental challenges, understanding how technological advancements drive sustainable innovation has become a critical topic. This study empirically examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on corporate green technological innovation using a sample of Chinese-listed companies from 2010 to 2023. The findings indicate that AI adoption significantly enhances green innovation performance. Additionally, the CEO green experience positively moderates the relationship between AI and green innovation, amplifying AI's positive impact. Furthermore, internal control quality and R&D investment are identified as mediating mechanisms through which AI influences green innovation, unveiling the internal pathways through which AI fosters sustainable innovation. By revealing these mechanisms, this study deepens the understanding of how AI drives sustainability within corporate structures. It not only provides empirical evidence on AI's role in promoting green innovation at the firm level but also highlights the importance of executives' environmental awareness and the roles of internal control and R&D investment. These findings carry significant practical implications for companies aiming to achieve sustainability through AI and for policymakers seeking to promote green innovation through technological advancements.

KEYWORDS

Artificial Intelligence; Green technological innovation; CEO green experience; Sustainable innovation; Corporate social responsibility

CITE THIS PAPER

YuFei Gan. Unlocking corporate green technological innovation with Artificial Intelligence: the moderating impact of CEO green experience. Social Science and Management. 2025, 2(1): 73-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/ssm3043.

REFERENCES

[1] United Nations. Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations General Assembly, 2015.

[2] UNFCCC. Paris Agreement. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2015.

[3] Song M, Fisher R, Kwoh Y. Technological challenges of green innovation and sustainable resource management with large scale data. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2019, 144: 361-368.

[4] Omri A. Technological innovation and sustainable development: Does the stage of development matter? Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2020, 83: 106398.

[5] Li G, Wang X, Su S, et al. How green technological innovation ability influences enterprise competitiveness. Technology in Society, 2019, 59: 101136.

[6] Costantini V, Crespi F. Environmental regulation and the export dynamics of energy technologies. Ecological Economics, 2008, 66(2-3): 447-460.

[7] Sahoo S, Kumar A, Upadhyay A. How do green knowledge management and green technology innovation impact corporate environmental performance? Understanding the role of green knowledge acquisition. Business Strategy and the Environment, 2023, 32(1): 551-569.

[8] Burstr?m T, Parida V, Lahti T, et al. AI-enabled business-model innovation and transformation in industrial ecosystems: A framework, model and outline for further research. Journal of Business Research, 2021, 127: 85-95.

[9] Obschonka M, Audretsch D B. Artificial intelligence and big data in entrepreneurship: A new era has begun. Small Business Economics, 2020, 55: 529-539.

[10] Abdelfattah F, Salah M, Dahleez K, et al. The future of competitive advantage in Oman: Integrating green product innovation, AI, and intellectual capital in business strategies. International Journal of Innovation Studies, 2024, 8(2): 154-171.

[11] Tao F, Qi Q, Liu A, et al. Data-driven smart manufacturing. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 2018, 48: 157-169.

[12] Ahmad T, Zhang D, Huang C, et al. Artificial intelligence in sustainable energy industry: Status quo, challenges and opportunities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 289: 125834.

[13] Altarawneh M, Shafie R, Ishak R. CEO characteristics: A literature review and future directions. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 2020, 19(1): 1-10.

[14] Bromiley P, Rau D. Social, behavioral, and cognitive influences on upper echelons during strategy process: A literature review. Journal of Management, 2016, 42(1): 174-202.

[15] Shahzad M, Qu Y, Zafar A U, et al. Does the interaction between the knowledge management process and sustainable development practices boost corporate green innovation? Business Strategy and the Environment, 2021, 30(8): 4206-4222.

[16] Kanashiro P, Rivera J. Do chief sustainability officers make companies greener? The moderating role of regulatory pressures. Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, 155: 687-701.

[17] Cao F, Jian Y. The role of integrating AI and VR in fostering environmental awareness and enhancing activism among college students. Science of The Total Environment, 2024, 908: 168200.

[18] Lv C, Shao C, Lee C C. Green technology innovation and financial development: Do environmental regulation and innovation output matter? Energy Economics, 2021, 98: 105237.

[19] Ittner C D, Larcker D F. Quality strategy, strategic control systems, and organizational performance. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1997, 22(3-4): 293-314.

[20] He W, Shen R. ISO 14001 certification and corporate technological innovation: Evidence from Chinese firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, 158: 97-117.

[21] Wu Y, Gu F, Ji Y, et al. Technological capability, eco-innovation performance, and cooperative R&D strategy in new energy vehicle industry: Evidence from listed companies in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 261: 121157.

[22] Lou Z, Chen S, Yin W, et al. Economic policy uncertainty and firm innovation: Evidence from a risk-taking perspective. International Review of Economics & Finance, 2022, 77: 78-96.

[23] Xue Y, Jiang C, Guo Y, et al. Corporate social responsibility and high-quality development: Do green innovation, environmental investment and corporate governance matter? Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 2022, 58(11): 3191-3214.

[24] Han H, Shiwakoti R K, Jarvis R, et al. Accounting and auditing with blockchain technology and artificial intelligence: A literature review. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 2023, 48: 100598.

[25] National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook 2020. China Statistics Press, 2020.

[26] An Y, Zhou D, Yu J, et al. Carbon emission reduction characteristics for China's manufacturing firms: Implications for formulating carbon policies. Journal of Environmental Management, 2021, 284: 112055.

[27] State Council of China. Made in China 2025. State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 2015.

[28] Ministry of Science and Technology. New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, 2017.

[29] Lennox C, Wu J S. A review of China-related accounting research in the past 25 years. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2022, 74(2-3): 101539.

[30] Johnson P C, Laurell C, Ots M, et al. Digital innovation and the effects of artificial intelligence on firms’ research and development–Automation or augmentation, exploration or exploitation? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, 179: 121636.

[31] Brem A, Giones F, Werle M. The AI digital revolution in innovation: A conceptual framework of artificial intelligence technologies for the management of innovation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 2021, 70(2): 770-776.

[32] Huang Y C, Huang C H. Exploring institutional pressure, the top management team's response, green innovation adoption, and firm performance: Evidence from Taiwan's electrical and electronics industry. European Journal of Innovation Management, 2024, 27(3): 800-824.

[33] Madhani P M. Resource based view (RBV) of competitive advantage: An overview. In Resource based view: Concepts and practices, Pankaj Madhani, ed, 2010: 3-22.

[34] Yang G, Nie Y, Li H, et al. Digital transformation and low-carbon technology innovation in manufacturing firms: The mediating role of dynamic capabilities. International Journal of Production Economics, 2023, 263: 108969.

[35] de Oliveira Teixeira E, Werther Jr W B. Resilience: Continuous renewal of competitive advantages. Business Horizons, 2013, 56(3): 333-342.

[36] Chen Y, Li J, Zhang J. Digitalisation, data-driven dynamic capabilities and responsible innovation: An empirical study of SMEs in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2022: 1-41.

[37] Kulkov I, Kulkova J, Rohrbeck R, et al. Artificial intelligence‐driven sustainable development: Examining organizational, technical, and processing approaches to achieving global goals. Sustainable Development, 2024, 32(3): 2253-2267.

[38] Neely Jr B H, Lovelace J B, Cowen A P, et al. Metacritiques of upper echelons theory: Verdicts and recommendations for future research. Journal of Management, 2020, 46(6): 1029-1062.

[39] Wang X, Gan Y, Zhou S, et al. Digital technology adoption, absorptive capacity, CEO green experience and the quality of green innovation: Evidence from China. Finance Research Letters, 2024, 63: 105271.

[40] Zhao J, Gómez Fari?as B. Artificial intelligence and sustainable decisions. European Business Organization Law Review, 2023, 24(1): 1-39.

[41] Mischel W. Toward a cognitive social learning reconceptualization of personality. Psychological Review, 1973, 80(4): 252.

[42] Liu F, Wang R, Fang M. Mapping green innovation with machine learning: Evidence from China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2024, 200: 123107.

[43] Arena C, Michelon G, Trojanowski G. Big egos can be green: A study of CEO hubris and environmental innovation. British Journal of Management, 2018, 29(2): 316-336.

[44] Shu C, Zhao M, Liu J, et al. Why firms go green and how green impacts financial and innovation performance differently: An awareness-motivation-capability perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2020, 37(3): 795-821.

[45] Quan X, Ke Y, Qian Y, et al. CEO foreign experience and green innovation: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Ethics, 2021: 1-23.

[46] Oussii A A, Boulila Taktak N. The impact of internal audit function characteristics on internal control quality. Managerial Auditing Journal, 2018, 33(5): 450-469.

[47] Caputo F, Pizzi S, Ligorio L, et al. Enhancing environmental information transparency through corporate social responsibility reporting regulation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 2021, 30(8): 3470-3484.

[48] Wong L W, Tan G W H, Ooi K B, et al. Artificial intelligence-driven risk management for enhancing supply chain agility: A deep-learning-based dual-stage PLS-SEM-ANN analysis. International Journal of Production Research, 2024, 62(15): 5535-5555.

[49] Eulerich M, Pawlowski J, Waddoups N J, et al. A framework for using robotic process automation for audit tasks. Contemporary Accounting Research, 2022, 39(1): 691-720.

[50] Chan K C, Chen Y, Liu B. The linear and non-linear effects of internal control and its five components on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese firms using the COSO framework. European Accounting Review, 2021, 30(4): 733-765.

[51] Gao J, Hua G, AbidAli R, et al. Green finance, management power, and environmental information disclosure in China—Theoretical mechanism and empirical evidence. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 2024.

[52] Shah S, Khan Z, Khan M K. R&D investment and green innovation: The role of government support in emerging economies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2024, 434: 140123.

[53] Mikalef P, Gupta M. Artificial intelligence capability: Conceptualization, measurement calibration, and empirical study on its impact on organizational creativity and firm performance. Information & Management, 2021, 58(3): 103434.

[54]  Yoo H S, Jung Y L, Jun S P. Prediction of SMEs’ R&D performances by machine learning for project selection. Scientific Reports, 2023, 13(1): 7598.

[55] [55] Ha J, Lee H, Kim J. R&D investment and corporate green innovation: Evidence from South Korean firms. Sustainability, 2024, 16(5): 1923.

[56] Rossoni A L, de Vasconcellos E P G, de Castilho Rossoni R L. Barriers and facilitators of university-industry collaboration for research, development and innovation: A systematic review. Management Review Quarterly, 2024, 74(3): 1841-1877.

[57] LeCun Y, Bengio Y, Hinton G. Deep learning. Nature, 2015, 521(7553): 436-444.

[58] Miric M, Jia N, Huang K G. Using supervised machine learning for large‐scale classification in management research: The case for identifying artificial intelligence patents. Strategic Management Journal, 2023, 44(2): 491-519.

[59] Parteka A, Kordalska A. Artificial intelligence and productivity: Global evidence from AI patent and bibliometric data. Technovation, 2023, 125: 102764.

[60] Babina T, Fedyk A, He A, et al. Artificial intelligence, firm growth, and product innovation. Journal of Financial Economics, 2024, 151: 103745.

[61] Wu L, Lou B, Hitt L M. Innovation strategy after IPO: How AI analytics spurs innovation after IPO. Management Science.

[62] Liu Z, Sun X, Yin Y. The impact of directors’ green experience on firm environmental information disclosure: Evidence from China. Chinese Management Studies.

[63] Zhang S, Cheng L, Ren Y, et al. Effects of carbon emission trading system on corporate green total factor productivity: Does environmental regulation play a role of green blessing? Environmental Research, 2024, 248: 118295.

[64] Tan K, Liu X, Wang Y. CEO green experience and corporate sustainability performance: Evidence from Chinese firms. Sustainability, 2023, 15(12): 9456.

[65] Osei Bonsu C, Liu C, Yawson A. The impact of CEO attributes on corporate decision-making and outcomes: A review and an agenda for future research. International Journal of Managerial Finance, 2024, 20(2): 503-545.

[66] Li X, Guo F, Wang J. A path towards enterprise environmental performance improvement: How does CEO green experience matter? Business Strategy and the Environment, 2024, 33(2): 820-838.

[67] Yi J, Murphree M, Meng S, et al. The more the merrier? Chinese government R&D subsidies, dependence, and firm innovation performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2021, 38(2): 289-310.

[68] Chen H, Yang D, Zhang J H, et al. Internal controls, risk management, and cash holdings. Journal of Corporate Finance, 2020, 64: 101695.

[69] Han F, Mao X. Impact of intelligent transformation on the green innovation quality of Chinese enterprises: Evidence from corporate green patent citation data. Applied Economics, 2024, 56(45): 5342-5359.

[70] Beladi H, Deng J, Hu M. Cash flow uncertainty, financial constraints and R&D investment. International Review of Financial Analysis, 2021, 76: 101785.

[71] Cockburn I M, Henderson R, Stern S. The impact of artificial intelligence on innovation. NBER Working Paper No. 24449.

[72] Horbach J. Determinants of environmental innovation—New evidence from German panel data sources. Research Policy, 2008, 37(1): 163-173.

[73] Cohen W M, Levinthal D A. Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1990, 35(1): 128-152.

[74] Zhang C, Yang C, Liu C. Economic policy uncertainty and corporate risk-taking: Loss aversion or opportunity expectations. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 2021, 69: 101640.

[75] Wu C, Gao J, Barnes D. Sustainable partner selection and order allocation for strategic items: An integrated multi-stage decision-making model. International Journal of Production Research, 2023, 61(4): 1076-1100.

[76] Sun Y, You X. Do digital inclusive finance, innovation, and entrepreneurship activities stimulate vitality of the urban economy? Empirical evidence from the Yangtze River Delta, China. Technology in Society, 2023, 72: 102200.

[77] Chen L, Li T, Jia F, et al. The impact of governmental COVID‐19 measures on manufacturers' stock market valuations: The role of labor intensity and operational slack. Journal of Operations Management, 2023, 69(3): 404-425.

[78] Kearns G S, Lederer A L. A resource‐based view of strategic IT alignment: How knowledge sharing creates competitive advantage. Decision Sciences, 2003, 34(1): 1-29.

[79] Teece D J, Pisano G, Shuen A. Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 1997, 18(7): 509-533.

[80] Hutchinson P. Reinventing innovation management: The impact of self-innovating artificial intelligence. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 2020, 68(2): 628-639.

[81] Agrawal A, Gans J S, Goldfarb A. Exploring the impact of artificial intelligence: Prediction versus judgment. Information Economics and Policy, 2019, 47: 1-6.

[82] Elenkov D S, Judge W, Wright P. Strategic leadership and executive innovation influence: An international multi‐cluster comparative study. Strategic Management Journal, 2005, 26(7): 665-682.

[83] Gama F, Magistretti S. Artificial intelligence in innovation management: A review of innovation capabilities and a taxonomy of AI applications. Journal of Product Innovation Management.

[84] Abou-Foul M, Ruiz-Alba J L, López-Tenorio P J. The impact of artificial intelligence capabilities on servitization: The moderating role of absorptive capacity-A dynamic capabilities perspective. Journal of Business Research, 2023, 157: 113609.

[85] Hambrick D C, Mason P A. Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 1984, 9(2): 193-206.

[86] Waldman D A, Sully de Luque M, Washburn N, et al. Cultural and leadership predictors of corporate social responsibility values of top management: A GLOBE study of 15 countries. Journal of International Business Studies, 2006, 37: 823-837.

[87] Yu W, Gan Y, Zhou B, et al. Revisiting the economic policy uncertainty and resource rents nexus: Moderating impact of financial sector development in BRICS. International Review of Financial Analysis, 2024, 94: 103324.

[88] Gan Y, Sun T, Chen Y, et al. The Impact of Corporate Digital Transformation on Green Technological Innovation in the Context of "Dual-Carbon" Goals. Advances in Economic Development and Management Research, 2023, 1(1): 97-103.

[89] Bi C, Gan Y, Wang W, et al. COP27 Perspective of Food, Land Resources and Digitalization for Sustainable Economy: Novel Evidence From Lower‐Middle‐Income Countries. Land Degradation & Development.

[90] Li L, Gan Y, Bi S, et al. Substantive or strategic? Unveiling the green innovation effects of pilot policy promoting the integration of technology and finance. International Review of Financial Analysis, 2025, 97: 103781.

[91] Ma L, Gan Y, Huang P. Higher education investment, human capital, and high-quality economic development. Finance Research Letters, 2025, 71: 106419.

[92] Ying L, Zhang J, Zhu J, et al. Impact of corporate philanthropy on firm performance: The moderating role of board structure. Research in International Business and Finance, 2024, 72: 102535.