Do Executives’ Academic Backgrounds Enhance New-Quality Productivity? Evidence from the Construction Industry

Traditional sectors such as construction face persistent challenges in technological upgrading, digital adoption, and productivity transformation. However, the role of managerial knowledge attributes in facilitating such transitions remains largely unexplored. This study investigates whether the academic background of senior executives enhances new-quality productivity (NQP) in the construction industry. Using data from Chinese A-share listed construction contracting firms from 2013 to 2023, estimate the conditional causal effects using generalized random forests (GRF) with orthogonalized scores, complemented by entry–exit difference-in-differences (DID) identification. The results show that executives with academic backgrounds significantly improve firms’ NQP outcomes. Mechanism analysis reveals that the effect operates through accelerated digital transformation and the adoption of AI applications. Furthermore, the impact is conditioned by firm size, equity incentives, and market valuation. These findings highlight academic-oriented managerial attributes as an overlooked driver of productivity transformation in traditional sectors and provide evidence relevant not only for construction enterprises but also for other traditional and low-digitalization sectors undergoing structural upgrading.