Do Intelligent Manufacturing Concerns Promote Corporate Sustainability? Based on the Perspective of Green Innovation

Abstract

Using A-share listed companies in China’s all manufacturing industry (including 30 categories of manufacturing industries such as automobile manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, textiles and more) from 2010 to 2021 as a research sample, this study empirically examines the impact of intelligent manufacturing concerns on corporate sustainability based on textual analysis, and examines the impact mechanism and the moderating role of the business environment. This study found that: intelligent manufacturing concerns are significantly and positively related to corporate sustainability, i.e., corporate focus on intelligent manufacturing concerns will promote corporate sustainability; corporate focus on intelligent manufacturing concerns can promote corporate sustainability by influencing green innovation; and the business environment positively moderates the impact of intelligent manufacturing concerns on corporate sustainability. Further analysis found that ownership heterogeneity, regional heterogeneity and scale heterogeneity play a moderating role between intelligent manufacturing concerns and corporate sustainability, with intelligent manufacturing concerns contributing more to corporate sustainability in large, non-state listed companies and in the eastern and coastal regions.