Does artificial intelligence drive technology convergence? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing companies

With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), seemingly unrelated technological domains have become closely interconnected, creating favorable conditions for achieving deep convergence between technologies. This study, drawing on the resource-based view theory, investigates the relationship between AI applications and technology convergence, while analyzing the moderating role of digital orientation. We chose Chinese A-share listed manufacturing companies from 2015 to 2022 as our research sample to validate our hypotheses. Empirical results indicate that the application of AI has a positive impact on both novel and reinforced technology convergence. Furthermore, firms with a high level of digital orientation enhance the positive effects of AI applications on novel and reinforced technology convergence. The research findings contribute empirically to the field of AI and technology convergence, offering valuable insights for firms on how to leverage AI to drive technology convergence.