Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2025)

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Artificial Intelligence and Firms’ Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

Authors
Yuanlin Wu1, Hongxing Liang1, Xin Lian1, Huajun Zheng2, *
1School of Economics and Trade, Guangdong Mechanical and Electrical Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China
2School of Economics and Management, Guangzhou Vocational University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China
*Corresponding author. Email: jnuscholars@163.com
Corresponding Author
Huajun Zheng
Available Online 13 March 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_14How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Artificial intelligence; Outward foreign direct investment; Firm internationalization; Heterogeneity
Abstract

This study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) application on the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023. Using a large panel dataset and a two-way fixed effects model, the empirical results demonstrate that AI application significantly reduces firms’ likelihood of undertaking OFDI. This negative effect remains highly robust after excluding major event years, removing municipality samples, constructing a balanced panel, and replacing the dependent variable with the scale of outward investment. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the suppressing effect of AI is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, firms with high financing constraints, large firms, and those in technology-intensive industries. These findings suggest that AI strengthens firms’ domestic operational efficiency, thereby weakening the incentives for overseas expansion and reshaping internationalization strategies under digital transformation. The study provides micro-level evidence on the interaction between intelligent technologies and global expansion decisions and offers policy insights for balancing AI-driven efficiency gains with long-term internationalization goals.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2025)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
13 March 2026
ISBN
978-94-6239-602-9
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_14How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Yuanlin Wu
AU  - Hongxing Liang
AU  - Xin Lian
AU  - Huajun Zheng
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - Artificial Intelligence and Firms’ Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Model Engineering (ICEMME 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 135
EP  - 147
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_14
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-602-9_14
ID  - Wu2026
ER  -