The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Firms’ Critical Digital Technology Innovation: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on National New-Generation AI Innovation Pilot Zones
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/3rdppy52Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Critical Digital Technology Innovation, Staggered Difference-in-Differences Model, Industry-University-Research Collaboration.Abstract
As a core policy instrument to boost regional and national digital innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) pilot policies facilitate corporate digital transformation via resource agglomeration, institutional guidance and innovation environment optimization. This paper treats the policy of National New-Generation Artificial Intelligence Innovation Development Zones as a quasi-natural experiment. We construct panel data of A-share listed firms in China as research samples and adopt the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically examine the causal effects and heterogeneous mechanisms of AI pilot policies on enterprises’ critical digital technology innovation. The empirical results show two key findings. First, AI pilot policies significantly elevate firms’ critical digital technology innovation performance, and this result remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Second, heterogeneous analysis reveals that the innovation-promoting effect of AI pilot policies is more pronounced for non-manufacturing firms, non-high-tech industrial enterprises and firms operating in highly competitive industries. This study provides micro-level empirical evidence for evaluating the effectiveness of AI pilot policies and offers practical implications for advancing corporate digital innovation.
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