Artificial Intelligence Empowering Corporate Innovation Performance: Chain Mediation Mechanism and the Moderating Effect of Growth Capacity

This study investigates whether and through what mechanisms artificial intelligence (AI) application is associated with the innovation performance of Chinese listed firms. Based on a balanced panel of A-share manufacturing enterprises from 2015 to 2023, a firm- and year-fixed-effects framework is employed to estimate the relationship between AI application and innovation performance. The empirical evidence indicates that firms with higher levels of AI application exhibit stronger innovation performance. Further analysis identifies knowledge integration, labor demand, and organizational resilience as three mediating channels, while corporate growth capacity strengthens the association between AI application and innovation performance. Subsample estimates suggest that the relationship is more evident among large enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and high-tech enterprises.