Tech‐Savvy, Business‐Wise: How IT‐Oriented Executives Drive AI Adoption
Abstract
ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a core engine of technological innovation and competitiveness. Using data on Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2009 to 2023, we find that executives' IT background significantly promotes corporate AI adoption, particularly in learning‐based AI rather than logic‐based AI. Mechanism analyses suggest that IT‐oriented executives facilitate AI adoption through strategic conduct in AI cognitive construction and substantive initiatives in AI technology innovation. Further heterogeneity analyses reveal that the positive effect is significantly stronger for executives with longer tenure, those occupying the CEO position, and those whose IT backgrounds were acquired in more recent technological eras. Moreover, the promoting effect of IT‐oriented executives intensifies across successive stages of AI development.
Fields of Study & Subjects
AI in Service Interactions
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Managerial and Decision Economics
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1161–1178
- Publication date
- 5 March 2026
- Language
- EN