Promoting energy saving and emission reduction benefits in small and medium-sized enterprises supply chains through green finance - Evidence based on artificial intelligence intervention

Abstract

To ensure the intelligent development and online development of supply chain finance (SCF) business, this study deeply explores the application of intelligent robots in the development of financial intelligence from the perspective of supply chain finance. This study reviews the intelligent robot operating system based on SCF management and analyzes in detail the impact of digital inclusive finance on the innovation mechanism of green financial enterprises. Causal inference methods are introduced to construct one or more “synthetic control” units. These units are weighted averages of multiple control units, aiming to simulate the pre-policy implementation state of the treated unit as closely as possible, thus more accurately estimating policy effects. In the empirical analysis, based on detailed financial data of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2015 to 2022, the relationship between the digital inclusive finance index and corporate green innovation is explored. In the analysis of control variables, enterprises' return on assets (ROA), auditors from the Big Four accounting firms (Big4), Book-to-Market (BM), enterprise size, and institutional investor shareholding ratio all show a positive correlation with green innovation of enterprises. Specifically, regarding the state of development of digital inclusive finance, the average of the Index is 0.213, with the median slightly higher than this value. This reveals that the development level of digital inclusive finance in the cities where most enterprises are located exceeds this average level. Regarding controlling the data results of variables, the enterprise size's mean value is stable at 21.989. The mean values of ROA, Big4, Research and Development (R&D), and BM are 0.044, 0.027, 0.025, and 0.783, respectively. In addition, digital inclusive finance positively impacts corporate green innovation. In small enterprises and the central and western regions, digital inclusive finance has a greater impact on green innovation. Therefore, the intelligent robot operating system has a wide range of application prospects in the digital SCF environment, which can improve the level of enterprise financial intelligence and promote the innovation activities of green financial enterprises.