Artificial Intelligence and Supply Chain Resilience and Security

Abstract

Supply chain resilience and security are critical for promoting high-quality economic development and safeguarding national security. This study constructs a comprehensive index of supply chain resilience based on two dimensions—industrial diversity and innovation capacity—and integrates data on the number of artificial intelligence (AI) enterprises. Using panel data from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in mainland China from 2003 to 2022, this paper conducts an in-depth analysis to explore the intrinsic relationship between AI and supply chain resilience and security. The findings reveal the following: (1) Overall, the development of AI significantly enhances the resilience of China’s supply chains. This conclusion remains robust after addressing endogeneity through the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), substituting core explanatory variables with appropriate proxies, and conducting quantile regression. The quantile regression further indicates that the positive effect of AI on supply chain resilience diminishes as resilience levels increase. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that, at the regional level, AI has a more pronounced effect on supply chain resilience in eastern China and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. At the temporal level, using the 2008 global financial crisis as a case study, the analysis finds that external shocks exert a certain degree of negative impact on the process through which AI enhances supply chain resilience and security.