Naiping Zhu, Luqin Kong
The adoption of artificial intelligence is of great significance in promoting sustainable development and developing new quality productivity. As people's attention to environmental protection and social welfare continues to increase, ESG performance is receiving attention from investors. In this study, we conducted empirical research using data from A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022, examining the relationship and impact mechanism between corporate ESG performance and AI adoption from the perspective of signal theory. We found that corporate ESG performance plays a positive role in promoting AI adoption by alleviating financing constraints. After robustness and endogeneity tests, the results still hold true. In addition, heterogeneity testing found that this impact is stronger when the enterprise is state-owned or non-heavily polluting. The research results highlight the unexpected role that ESG performance plays in driving the process of enterprise intelligence and promoting high-quality social development.