The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Facilitating Cross-Border Green Technology Transfer and Enhancing Sustainable Innovation in International Business: Evidence from Emerging Economies

Abstract

Introduction: Cross-border green technology transfer remains uneven, with emerging economies often locked out of low-carbon production networks despite urgent climate needs. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly positioned as a potential enabler that can lower information barriers, improve matching between technology suppliers and adopters, and accelerate the absorption of environmental knowledge.

Objective: This study examines how AI adoption influences cross-border green technology transfer and subsequent sustainable innovation performance among firms and industries in emerging economies, and identifies the conditions under which these effects are strongest.

Method: A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative analysis drew on a balanced panel of 1,842 firm-year observations from 18 emerging economies (2016–2023), combining patent assignment and licensing data, AI-related keyword frequencies in corporate disclosures, and secondary indicators of institutional quality and digital infrastructure. Fixed-effects, instrumental-variable, and mediation models were estimated. Complementary semi-structured interviews with 47 technology managers and policymakers provided process insights.

Results: Higher firm-level AI capability is positively associated with both the volume and quality of inbound green technology transfers. The relationship operates partly through improved cross-organizational collaboration and elevated R&D intensity. Institutional readiness (regulatory quality, cybersecurity, and ESG frameworks) and absorptive capacity significantly moderate the effects. Sustainable innovation outcomes, measured by green patenting, process eco-efficiency, and export of low-carbon products, rise following successful transfers, with stronger gains in middle-income economies that combine digital infrastructure with targeted industrial policy.

Conclusion: AI functions as a facilitator rather than an automatic substitute for institutional and capability-building efforts. Policy and managerial attention should focus on complementary investments in digital infrastructure, skills, and governance if emerging economies are to convert AI-enabled technology inflows into durable sustainable innovation advantages.