Can artificial intelligence enhance corporate resilience? Empirical evidence from China's A-share listed firms

As the core technology driving a new round of scientific and industrial transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a pivotal role in China's strategy for advancing high-quality development, particularly in how it integrates with micro-level enterprises. Using data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2023, this paper examines the impact of AI on corporate resilience at the firm level. Corporate resilience is measured across four dimensions: innovation capacity, resistance capacity, recovery capacity, and financing stability. We further explore the mechanisms through which AI affects resilience. The findings reveal that AI significantly enhances corporate resilience, this conclusion remains robust after a series of alternative measurements, high-dimensional fixed-effects models, and endogeneity checks. Mechanism analysis shows that improving resource allocation efficiency, strengthening risk management, and fostering continuous innovation are three primary channels through which AI contributes to resilience. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect of AI is more pronounced among labor-intensive firms, non-internationalized firms, firms facing higher environmental uncertainty, and industries characterized by intense competition as well as greater financing constraints. Therefore, guiding the strategic direction of AI and promoting its localized application can play a crucial role in enhancing corporate resilience.