Impact of artificial intelligence and enterprise standardization on productivity: the driving force of business sustainability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the repercussions of enterprise standardization and the implementation of artificial intelligence on the productivity of Chinese businesses to foster sustainable business development and prosperity. Design/methodology/approach Company-level data from Chinese listed companies from 2015 to 2023 were used to construct an artificial intelligence terminology database using machine learning technology. Semantic mining was conducted on the annual reports and patent texts of listed companies to develop enterprise-level artificial intelligence indicators. In addition, econometric methods were used to analyze the relationships between enterprise standardization, artificial intelligence and productivity. Findings The findings demonstrate a positive correlation between enterprise standards and artificial intelligence, on the one hand, and enterprise standardization and productivity, on the other. Furthermore, the implementation of artificial intelligence has led to a substantial enhancement in the role of enterprise standardization and productivity. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that enterprise standardization and artificial intelligence exert a particularly significant impact on enterprise productivity in the secondary industry. From the enterprise level, enterprise standardization and artificial intelligence exert a positive influence on the productivity of manufacturing enterprises. Conversely, in high-tech enterprises, artificial intelligence impedes the enhancement of enterprise productivity. Originality/value In the context of the digital economy, this paper proposes a novel relationship among enterprise standardization, artificial intelligence and productivity. It extends the theoretical understanding of productivity enhancement by examining its heterogeneous impacts across industries. In addition, it provides theoretical insights and practical guidance for optimizing productivity growth through rational standardization and artificial intelligence.