Artificial Intelligence, ESG Performance and Corporate Value: Evidence from Chinese Listed Manufacturing Companies

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the digital economy, stricter "Dual Carbon" goals and ESG regulations, Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms face urgent transformation pressure. Previous studies haven't really clarified how AI applications, ESG performance, and corporate value are linked together. They also tend to overlook the behavioral biases that come up in corporate decision-making. This paper tries to fill those gaps by looking into the relationships among the three. Panel data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms between 2009 and 2024, excluding ST companies and those with missing data. The methods include two-way fixed effects regression and a mediation model. The empirical analysis focuses on two aspects: first, how AI applications directly affect corporate value, and second, whether ESG performance plays a mediating role. The underlying mechanism from a behavioral economics perspective. The results show that AI applications significantly boost corporate value at the 1% level. ESG performance turns out to be a notable improvement in ESG outcomes, which in turn raises corporate value. These findings offer some empirical evidence and practical takeaways for firms doing digital transformation and for policymakers working on sustainable development governance.